Summer is here, the weather is heating up, they are playing tennis at Wimbledon, and the Fourth of July is next weekend. The Fourth has always been a big time holiday in the Schneider household. Coming from a long line of pyromaniacs, I love fireworks and have passed this passion on to my daughter, Natalie

For years and  years, we have had rather large fireworks displays, first at our ranch in Montana, and lately at a secure venue near Boise. It was a tradition to water down the pasture and blast the crap out of our arsenal over a period of a couple of hours.

All of that fun comes to an end this year, as Natalie, and her annual party, has moved on to Austin, Texas. We will be travelling down South to visit her, minus the fireworks. People have been asking, and expressed disappointment when we said the tradition had come to an end.

The money we will save on fireworks will probably pay for our trip to Austin, but there will be a bit of sadness on the fourth when we watch someone else light the fuses many miles away from home. We will still remember what the day stands for, Happy Birthday United States.