I hope you had a happy and relaxing Independence Day! Kind of takes something off the occasion when it falls on a Wednesday, doesn’t it? However, it’s better than having the “Fourth of July” be the first Monday of the month.

This week was “Vacation Week” in the industrial area where I grew up. All the textile mills closed for the week of the fourth, and everyone was given a vacation at the same time. The joke we told on ourselves was that they’d have to sweep the lint off the beaches of Panama City after Vacation Week. I could never fully appreciate the humor, because vacation at our house usually meant helping my father with a major project around the house or yard.