Saturday Afternoon Football

Living in Alabama you have to choose a team — Alabama or Auburn. In the 1960’s I married into an Alabama family. Beginning in September, Saturday afternoons were set aside for football. We all gathered in the patriarch’s family room around a small TV screen. Thank God it was in color. I flipped through magazines and observed the ritual.

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Kinetic Sculpture

I’ve always been a big fan of wind chimes — a soft tinkle in the wind or the louder melodic sound of tuned pipes that play their own song. Here are three artists that have taken it a bit further.

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Celebrating the 4th with Fireworks

Did you know that fireworks have been around for over 2,000 years? Originating in China, they are still widely used in many Chinese celebrations. In fact to this day, the world’s main production of fireworks is in China.

Marco Polo is generally credited with bringing the black gun powder west. The Italians are credited with the first European country to manufacture fireworks.

In Philadelphia, a year after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and with the encouragement of Congress, Philadelphia lit up the sky with a “grand exhibition of fireworks which began and concluded with thirteen rockets …” Boston also celebrated that first year with fireworks.

This weekend we are celebrating 234 years of independence. How is your family celebrating this Fourth of July?

History of Fireworks
How Fireworks Work
The First Fireworks on the 4th of July
Fourth of July Celebrations - James R. Heintze