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Unbelievable Automobile Prices!

THE STARS WILL REALLY SHINE

Last year at this time I told a story that means a lot to me. Now days it seems that the fourth of July is about picnics, parties and people getting together to celebrate the birth of our great nation. As for me, I want this day to be a memorial to all the brave Americans who fought and died to win our freedom and for those that still keep the light of freedom burning bright today.

For those of you who were not here last year, read this article and pass it on. For those of you who were readers of Nichols Notes last year, I hope you don't mind us running this article again but whichever group you fall into, I believe some things need to be said over and over again until they finally sink in. If you have been a part of Nichols Notes since the beginning, or at least for some time, I think the Fourth of July will have a special meaning this year.

Just since the beginning of Nichols Notes, our Nation has gone through just a sample of some of the ups, downs and struggles, a nation and its people have to go through to stay free. Remember this day and above all else remember those that have made it possible.

DID YOU WATCH THE FIREWORKS

By the time you read this it will be the day after the 4 th of July. I wonder how many watched a fireworks display close to you? If you did, I wonder if you know what you saw and why?

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate the 4 th of July with fireworks? The answer began with a song, the Star Spangled Banner. You see, that song was written when Francis Scott Key looked out over the battlefield one night during the Revolutionary War. Mr. Key was forced to watch this battle from behind the British fleet, because he and two other men were placed under guard because they knew too much about the British plans of attack. He watched in horror as the battle raged through the night but he couldn't refuse the magnificent images the battle revealed.

He was awe struck by the red glare of the black powder rockets. Rockets of the era were very different than the ones used in modern warfare today. They were actually two-stage black powder rockets mounted on sticks about the size of broom handles. The first stage would launch the rocket and once that stage burned out it would actually light the fuse to the second stage, which was a black powder bomb. The bomb portion of the rocket would approximate the explosive power of a stick of dynamite.

This crude rocket could only be aimed in the general direction of the enemy and when the first stage burned out and ignited the fuse to the bomb stage, no one could know exactly where it would land during the night battle. Anyone in Vietnam will remember their version of the two stage rockets and how scary it was when the first stage burned out. Then all you could do was crawl in a hole and pray it didn't land on top of you.

Most all of you have seen or possibly have set off a miniature version of the second stage rockets like the ones I am talking about. Today we call them "Bottle Rockets."

The next image Francis Scott Key saw during this night battle were mortar and cannon rounds bursting in the air at various heights above the ground. When he saw the bombs bursting in the air it would have been a beautiful sight. We know how deadly they were, if you were around where one of these aerial bombs went off. Again, by today's standard they were prehistoric. Today's aerial bombs use altimeter or barometric devices to trigger the explosive charges. The aerial bombs used in the Revolutionary War used a cord fuse that would ignite when the charge in the mortar or cannon would send the explosive device hurling through the air. Most cannon or mortar crews hated this type of round, because often they would go off either inside the barrel or just right out of the barrel and kill the crew that fired it.

However, if it worked right it would have been a sight to see. As the casing that made up the cannon ball started to explode hundreds of sparkles of fire would spread out over the battlefield. The reason you would see the slowly evolving burst of hundreds of sparkles forming a giant circle in the air was because of the black powder used during that day. Also, many of the canisters had metal fragments mixed with the powder and once it started exploding the particles of powder and metal would blow out in a circle and the particles of powder would burn out at different rates causing a beautiful exploding star image in the night sky. This was then, as is today, a beautiful display of explosives, of course, unless it was over you during a battle.

You can see a similar image today at a fireworks show when they shoot off "Star Burst" explosives in the night.

By the way, Key didn't write about it in his song, but another sight and sound he saw that night was the flash and crack of the muskets fire by both armies during that battle.

Today you can almost see and hear the same sight and sounds when "fire crackers" go off in the night.

With all of the incredible sights and sounds he saw that night there was one image that impressed him more than all the rest.

During the Revolutionary War it was difficult to know exactly where your soldiers were. Therefore it was hard to know which side won the battle. This was especially true in a night battle. Commanders for both sides would have to wait anxiously for the first light of the morning to know the truth about which side won. The truth about which side won would usually be displayed by which flag was still standing. The night he watched the battle, the truth of the battle that night was that our flag was the one left standing.

Now you know about the song and how we try to recreate that night every 4 th of July by using fireworks displays to give us a glimpse of what Francis Scott Key saw and heard that faithful night when our Star Spangle Banner was born.

There is one other image that is important during your fireworks display that should have touched your heart and put a lump in your throat.

When the fireworks show starts to come to an end, it is traditional for the sky to light up with a massive number of multicolored star bursts to go off one on top of each other. Do you know why?

Well, the way I like to explain it is, that portion of the show is for God. Well, maybe not for God but it is time given to God to finish the song. You see, once a year, only on the night of the 4 th of July all around our Great Nation, God brings back every soldier that has ever died for our Nation. God has them all dress up in their new heavenly uniforms and marches them out for all of to see.

As you and your family are watching the fireworks displays next year, think of our National Anthem, The Star Spangle Banner , and the sights and thought that inspired this great song. I am going to briefly describe how this song was first written as a poem and then became a song. Judge J. H. Nicholson, Francis Scott Key's brother-in-law, took the poem written by Mr. Key to a printer and copies were circulated around Baltimore under the title "Defense of Fort M'Henry". Two of these copies still survive today. It was printed in a newspaper for the first time in the Baltimore Patriot on September 20, 1814. It was then printed in papers as far away as Georgia and New Hampshire . To the verses was added the melody of a tune "Anacreon in Heaven." In October a Baltimore actor sang Key's new song in a public performance and called it "The Star-Spangled Banner." When this song was first sung, it became popular immediately and it remained just one of several patriotic airs, until it was finally adopted as our National Anthem on March 3, 1931.

Now as you think about this original poem and the mention of 'in Heaven" and when it comes time for the finale, look up and watch the soldiers that died for you, as they proudly assemble before your eyes in the sky. When the star burst explode into millions of sparkles in the night, notice that they are multi-colored. That is to let you know our dead soldiers were of all different nationalities, races, creeds and colors. Most of all, notice that every sparkle represents a soldier that glorified us all, when in the amount of time you see the sparkle glow, as it falls towards earth, that was the time it took for him to change his uniform, from the one he wore as he served our Nation, to the one he now wears, as a solider in God's army.

You may even shed a tear as you watch the bright lights of the souls that died for us burn out, as they fall towards earth. They have to because they can never come back to earth and be where we can tell them how much they mean to us. You see, they only have a moment to show their stuff and let us know they are proud of what they did for a grateful Nation. One moment, to let us know they will be forever home with our Lord and they are truly the brave soldiers, we have always thought them to be.

If you are starting to tear up a little now because you watched the display last night and never realized any of this before do not be too hard on yourself. Like I told you, God forms them up every year on the 4th of July. He will proudly march them in the sky next year and every year in the future to let us know, just how proud He is of them. From now on be sure to go to your fireworks show and right when God starts showing them off during the finale you should start singing the Star Spangle Banner . Invite others to join with you and during this special moment they will hear you. It is not much, but its a way we can say, we are proud of them too and God will hear us saying thank you to Him for taking care of them for us.

By the way, I do not talk about politics on the 4th of July. Now you know why!

To all Nichols Notes readers -- Happy Fourth of July!

To all Veterans -- Thank You!

See You Next Week and May God Bless,

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

If one really seeks to understand, without hypocrisy and without guile, there will be times when you will be literally stunned with the pure knowledge and understanding that will flow to you from another human being.

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