Parties, parades, presents, and even fireworks displays, all for me, the birthday boy. Quite the wakeup call one day to find out the parades and fireworks were not for me. Crushed but curious, I began to question what the festivities really signified.

The birth of a country, wow, that is something to celebrate. A tiny country was begun that day in 1776. Thirteen stars adorned the flag of this country, one for each state that signed on to the idea of a free land. A land so promising that forty-seven more times states asked to place their star on our country’s banner.

Each signature on the Declaration of Independence was much like a service member placing his or her signature on an enlistment form today. That signature affirms the person’s belief in the mission s/he is about to embark on. We know painfully well the outcome when something goes wrong in war with a service member. The same fate was assured if the grand idea of independence from England went wrong and failed.

The fifty-six signatures on that famous document carried promises of belief in God, each other, and the people of this land. After thinking about it, I guess I’m not too disappointed that it’s not all about me.

Al Gerbitz

Birthday Boy and Veteran

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