Happy birthday, America!

July is stars and stripes. It’s outdoor cookouts, family gatherings, fireworks and tributes to those protecting America’s shores.

On July 4th, we celebrate America’s 235th year as a nation. With conflicts continuing to rage in the Middle East and elsewhere, our thoughts are with all the brave men and women serving here and abroad. We thank them for their service and pray they will all be home soon.

This July, we’re celebrating a second birthday: St. Mary Parish’s. Yep, St. Mary is 200 years young and going strong.

Parish officials and St. Mary movers and shakers are throwing a party to remember. Live music, birthday cake and fireworks mark the occasion. And we wouldn’t miss it for the world.

So, no matter what you have on tap this July, the Patriot’s Parade in Houma, fireworks in Morgan City or picnicking in Thibodaux, take a moment to thank those who help ensure our freedom.

In a letter penned by John Adams to his wife Abigail in July 1776, he wrote, “[Independence Day] will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

Couldn’t have said it any better, Mr. Adams. We’ll make you proud in the Tri-parishes.