This past weekend Amanda's parents came down to visit us in Charleston. We celebrated the 4th in a little community called Rosebloom, just south of town. I took one too many pictures of the weekend celebration, so I figured the easiest thing to do is to break them into a couple of different posts. We'll start with a little bit of atmosphere.
First, let me apologize for accidentally turning on the date stamp and ruining every picture with ugly yellow numbers. Second, let me be the first to say that the fireworks pictures are Amanda's. I couldn't get a good fireworks shot to save my life. Third, I've been trying to play games with those of you who pay attention and I've discovered that none of you do. Nevertheless, kudzu to you if you can tell me exactly:
- Why I included picture number two.
- Who the men in picture number three are, why they were there, and what they were doing.
- What the most frequent song we heard during the celebration was.
I want full explanations. There will be no partial credit awarded. I expect to hear from you in the comments section.
On your mark, get set, GO!
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8 comments:
I figure by not posting comments we get to meet the real Jake and Amanda... taunts and all. Ha ha
Seriously, I always feel dumb leaving comments, but because you seem to really want them:
1.I think you included picture number two because you secretly long to own that snazzy red/white/blue shirt the man on the stage is wearing.
2. Seems odd... I think those are Civil War dudes... maybe they think the South would have won the revolutionary war quicker (you know, if the south was even there... you know what I mean, right?) ? I have no real guess in case you didn't notice.
3. Surely it wasn't "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
and now you know why I don't leave comments.
It is nice to see how you all are doing down there in the south... Hope all are healthy! Peter looks cute, Amanda looks lovely and the deer head... well, it looks like a deer head.
Blessings, Kim
Humored at last!
It was a noble effort, Kim. But as you might suspect, your answers were funny... but wrong. At least mostly wrong. I mean, that is a pretty snazzy shirt.
And by the way, I don't recall them ever playing/singing the Battle Hymn.
Here's my best SWAG:
1: Guys on stage look like (keep in mind that it's a small pic, so I wasn't able to get a close look) Johnny Cougar, Charlie Daniels, and Peter Mentzel.
2: National Guard soldiers from Mississippi! Who else would do the 4th of July color guard dressed like CSA militia? Ok, 1/3 kidding. But that's still my story and I'm sticking to it.
3: Dixie.
Miss you guys.
Love,
Jim
I miss you too, Jim.
1. Funny. I noticed the resemblance to Charlie Daniels, too. Keep guessing.
2. Not Mississippi National Guard soldiers (although very funny), but definitely Civil War reenactors. And not simply bearing arms, but performing a funny twist on an old ritual. If anyone can guess it, you can.
3. And right on. We heard it 4 times in the short time we were there.
1) That's the Indiana flag! Ha, I win!
2) I know for sure that they're not surrendering... so I have no guess.
3) Three guesses (yeah, yeah, cheating, whatever)--Amazing Grace, Yankee Doodle, God Bless America
How'd I do?
1. You get half credit. Here's a hint: The flags were marched around in the order they became states.
2. Definitely not surrendering. Also not the answer I was looking for.
3. Wrong, wrong, and wrong again. Fortunately, Jim already answered this one correctly.
Ok. Try number two (2).
1: Going with hint that flags were marched in order of joining the Union of States, it looks like the states that withdrew during the War of Northern Aggression are grouped separately (you really should upload a higher rez picture - makes me feel like I need glasses), so I'm guessing that, if I'm right about that last part, it has something to do with that. Otherwise, I have no clue.
2: Looks like a Ceremonial Color Guard, but there appears to be only 1ea Unit Colors carried by the soldiers. That being said. It looks like a group of skirmishers, set in a very small line of assault.
Was that any better than the first S.W.A.G.?
Okay, here are the answers:
1. Dani is right in noticing that Indiana's flag is in the center of the shot. It is followed immediately by Mississippi's state flag, because Mississippi followed Indiana into the U.S. So it's Indiana and Mississippi, and Indiana first. That's really all there was to that one.
2. This one is complicated. I'm not sure anyone will figure this out, so I'm gonna go ahead and tell the story.
In the middle of the presentation of the state flags, they stopped the ceremony to talk about the "War Between the States." That's when the mock CSA militia came onto the ball field. After mourning the war, the Confederate militia immediately fired what "Charlie Daniels" called a "21-gun salute" in honor of the United States of America. What's weird about that?
Independence Day is supposed to be celebrated with a 50-gun salute—a shot for each state. And besides that, a 21-gun salute is supposed to be artillery fire.
What they really did was a 3-volley salute. That's what you do when the President dies. It's what's done on Memorial Day. It's what's done over the graves of fallen soldiers and policemen. It is not an act of celebration. It is an act of mourning.
I thought it was more than ironic. It seemed very deliberate, very tongue-in-cheek. What do you think? Am I reading into things too much, Jim? Or have I misunderstood?
And of course, the final answer:
3. Dixie (Jim wins)
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