Independence Day was yesterday.
At least, for Americans, it was.
And it got me to thinking: independent of what?
Well, independent of King George quartering his troops in our houses, and snooping through our private papers.
But we won that little dust up.
Certainly, it must be something more than that.
There is a line from a musical about Ben Franklin that goes something like this: "Will those Americans, for whom the name American will not be new, love liberty -- being given it outright in the crib, for nothing?"
Good question, Ben. Just how much do we love liberty -- and how much do we really have?
My friends, the Milers, arrived from The States yesterday. We spent the day watching the ocean and having a very nice lunch-dinner in Barra. To top off the evening, we were invited to the restaurant owned by my Spanish teacher, Ricky Campbell.
The celebrants consisted of Mexicans, Canadians, and Americans -- all there to celebrate Canada Day and Independence Day. The live entertainment was just plain fun. A multi-national group listening to music from at least four decades was a pretty good indicator that liberty is alive and well.
But I also discovered today that independence is sometimes an illusion. Our technology provides us with almost miraculous tools to live our lives in foreign lands. But those life lines can be rather fragile.
Somewhere today my wallet disappeared between noon and 5. There were several obvious places to look. We did. It is gone.
And, of course, it is never the wallet itself or the cash. It is all of those other things that keep us tied to institutions: driver's license, credit cards, bank cards.
So, I start the process of cancelling cards and getting replacements. If I were in Oregon, I would have the replacements in about 10 days. In Mexico, it will be -- well, let's just say it will be longer.
Independent. Yes, we are. But when the independence fades, we can see just how dependent we are.
I am extremely fortunate to have friends like the Millers. They are bending over backwards to help me.
There are times where we need to learn to rely on the kindness of people who care a lot about us.
