In honor of July 4th The Spirit of America I was born in the heart and mind and sweat and tears of the founding fathers. Men like Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Franklin. And in places like Williamsburg, Jamestown, Philadelphia and Boston. I stand with the Lady in the harbor as she raises her torch endlessly to the sky and cries out “Give me your tired, your poor.” I rode with Paul Revere and the others that rode to raise the minute men. I stood beside them at Concord bridge the night they fired the shot heard around the world. I stood and fought with the Continental Army as they harassed the British. I suffered with Washington and his troops in Valley Forge. I stood beside Nathan Hale as he proclaimed “I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” I applauded as John Henry thundered “Give me Liberty or give me death.” I was on board when John Paul Jones proclaimed “I have not yet begun to fight”, even though his ship was sinking around him, and then went on to win the battle. I was with Francis Scott Key as he watched the battle for Fort McHenry and wrote “Oh say can you see.” I walked along side explorers like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett I traveled with the pioneers as they pressed on toward the west. I worked and sweated along side the men who won the west, and rode with the pony express riders. I walked with the Apache on the “Trail of Tears” and my tears mingled with theirs. I fought alongside the defenders of the Alamo. I was there welcoming each immigrant as they came through Ellis Island. I cheered at the inventiveness of people like Otis, Bell and Edison who gave us great inventions. I worked along side the people as they built the first transcontinental railway that helped bind this country together I wept with Lincoln as he knelt and prayed for wisdom in keeping this country together. And I wept again when he was shot. I cheered when Roosevelt proclaimed “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” I was with the men during the Normandy invasion on D. Day. I helped raise the flag at Iwo Jima. I cheered when Kennedy proclaimed “Ask Not” and I cried as both he and his brother were shot down too early in life. I was there with the men who fought in Vietnam and I held them when they died. And I hung my head in shame at the way they were treated when they came home. I was there beside Dr. Martin Luther King as he marched to Atlanta. I cheered as I heard him proclaim “I have a Dream.” And I cried as a cowered gunned him down. I played alongside Jackie Robinson when he broke the color barrier in baseball. I sat alongside Rosa Parks as she refused to give up her seat on the bus that started the bus boycott. I was on stage with Bob Hope as he entertained our troops around the world. I laughed with Red Skeleton as he told his stories of Gertrude and Heathcliff or turned himself into Clem Kadiddlehopper or Freddie the Freeloader. I laughed as well as Mark Twain, Mark Russell, and Will Rogers poked fun at our government, our leaders and our foibles and helped us not take ourselves too seriously. I rode into space born on the courage of men like Glenn and Aldren and a host of other brave astronauts. And I wept again when the ranks of these brave people were reduced by the loss of those who died helping to expand our horizons. I stood, shocked, as on Sept. 11 terrorists attacked. But I stood proud when people rallied around to help friends and strangers alike, and stood in line for hours to donate blood I stood shoulder to shoulder with the thousands of volunteers as they worked around the clock to rescue the injured and trapped and retrieve the fallen. I cheer as time and again the people of this great country race to the aid of people all over the world who have been struck by disaster, without thought of what they will get in return. I stand and sing with gusto, a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat when someone sings The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, or God Bless America. For I am the Spirit of America that made this country great and I am alive and well and still going strong. unpublished work David Cloud 2017 used by permission