Today is the Fourth of July. In America, this is our Independence Day.
On a side but related note, I am a European mutt. I have family from all over and then some, and I love tracing all those lines to their immigrant roots back to the motherland...and then some. But on a day like today, I think of all my Italian-American metro NY friends who are second generation Americans, whose grandparents were born in Europe. My best friend and fiance are both first generation Americans - their parents were born in Latin America. Even my daughter is a second generation American. My most recent immigrant ancestor generation wise is my great-grandfather, born in Ireland. Timewise, it's my great-great grandmother, who came over from Germany. They were both here before the turn of the 20th century. I have no ancestors who came through Ellis Island because they were all here already. In fact, a whole branch of my tree was here 150 years before the United States even won their independence from England. They've been here for more than 350 years. So I don't have any cultural traditions handed down to hold on to, because my family has been here for so long, but because my family has been here for so long, I am unequivocally American.
Oh, except for the fact that most of my colonial ancestors were AGAINST independence during the Revolutionary War...yep, them Raynors be Loyalists!
Oh well. They lost, but they stayed, so here I am, an American, wishing everyone a very happy and safe Fourth of July!!
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