Happy 4th Of July From Not Another New England Sports Blog.

There's no denying that times are- at best- rough or uncertain right now. But this is the 4th of July and this blog is my soap box- so while I can't pretend to have all the answers, I do know that shedding the notion that American exceptionalism and American military might are things to apologize for or eschew will not make things any better.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the NANESB! visitors a happy Independence Day and to remember our outstanding men and women in the military who cannot be there to enjoy a cookout, ballgame or day at the lake with their loved ones.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free

-Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President of the United States

But since you're here, good NANESB! reader, why not stay for some vintage American-as-Apple-pie eye candy with an emphasis on the 4th of July and Americana?

The above 1953 work by the incomparable Gil Elvgren is appropriately titled Looking for Trouble. Hopefully her being cautious pays off so we don't wind up with some ridiculous fireworks ban a-la that one episode of South Park.

Elvgren also produced illustrations for NAPA Auto parts advertisements up until the late 1970s. This untitled work was used by NAPA during the 1976 bicentennial, complete with a Philly fille parked in front of Independence Hall. This was completed less than 4 years before his death in 1980.



This concludes my 4th of July message. Have a great Independence day, everybody!