Because the 4th of July is on a Saturday this
year, most people (especially the the 'ville) will probably take off
for the weekend right after the fireworks. Leaving Thursday night
instead of Friday is probably the smarter thing to do, considering just
about everyone in the country will have the day off and will likely be
traveling to their Independence Day celebratory location of choice.

Around
here it will be a ghost town for a few days – many of the regular, more
visible people will head off to the Cape or up North to Hampton Beach
or Lake Winnipesaukee. You are more likely to run into a 'villen at the
Dunkin' Donuts in Falmouth on Sunday morning than you would at the
Dunkin' Donuts in Magoun Square – that's just par for the course.

Enjoy
the weekend – spent time with family, friends, a good book or a movie.
Play some golf, take a boat ride, just go for a walk – whatever suits
your fancy. This is the perfect time to wind down from the school year,
budget woes and anything else that might be on your mind lately.

Believe
it or not, in no time, it will be blazing hot, then summer will be
gone, the kids will be back to school and the election bump and grind
will be in full effect. Of course, then Thanksgiving, Christmas and New
Years will be right after that. Yes, time is flying by – so enjoy it
while you can.

When you pause to remember what this holiday
means to us as a nation, keep in mind that we are lucky to live in a
country with many more freedoms than most other nations – that we are
lucky to have evolved into the nation we are. There are well over 100
nations in the world that celebrate an Independence Day of their own –
but none have made such a global impact or have been as historic as
ours.

Keep that in mind this weekend, when you're lighting up
the grill or throwing back a few beers – enjoying the family and
friends and not thinking about work and life's stress all that much.
And remember not to drink and drive – this is one of the most dangerous
weekends when it comes to motor vehicle accidents involving alcohol and
drugs. Don't be a statistic.