The Chow Nation, in residence at Bellemaison for some 6 years now, is getting ready for a big 4th of July weekend. The Festival that commences weekly when their Best Friend comes, will be expanded and enhanced to celebrate Freedom and Independence, two things The Chows value deeply.

Their Best Friend, Cliffie, comes on Fridays and Saturdays to help them with different things around Club Chow. He airs out their beds, makes sure there's ample feed, plays Ball, supervises Chase, and arbitrates any on-going disputes that might plague the Chows during the week. He's their Best Friend.

Anyway, the Chows have texted Cliffie to stop by Super 1 and pick up hot dogs for Festival this week, as they say they are All-American dogs and what is more All-American than hot dogs on the grill? Bob Barker, Venerated Elder of The Chow Nation, says strawberries are really All-American and he's a little cheesed that the strawberry pots have been moved beyond his reach this year. He loves to eat the ripe strawberries right out of the pots and me, his observant mother, took only the better part of 10 years to figure out why I could never get a decent crop of strawberries to watch Wimbledon with--. Bob has complained bitterly to Cliffie who has told him sadly that some things are beyond even his powers. :)

Cleo (the black member of the Chow Nation) says Bob is a little pissy about Wimbledon anyway because the black American won the women's singles instead of the blond American. Bob does play favorites.

And so, tennis rackets in hand and rumps firmly in our Adirondack chairs by the pool, the Chow Nation and I salute our forefathers, The Hamiltons, who believed so deeply in their dream, this democracy, and wish beyond wish that somehow we Americans don't employ our ongoing democratic visions about freedom and independence in other areas of the world to the destruction of our moral fabric.

Because good moral fabric is damned hard to get.



JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA