- The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45.
- After signing the Declaration, John Hancock remarked that Congress must now “all hang together”. Benjamin Franklin replied, “Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
- The initial date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress was July 2, 1776. But Congress revised the Declaration for final approval on July 4, 1776.
- The only two signers of the Declaration of Independence who later served as President of the United States were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
- Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (bitter rivals) died on the same day, July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration.
- Congress made Independence Day an official unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. (In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday)
- John Hancock was the first and only person to sign the Declaration on July 4, 1776.
- The names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were withheld from the public for more than six months to protect the signers. If independence had not been achieved, the treasonable act of the signers would have, by law, resulted in their deaths.
- Eleven places have “independence” in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Missouri, with 113,288 residents.
2nd Inning.
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| Bucksaw Marina |
Highlights of the Brew Crew...Bucksaw weekend. This past weekend I headed down without the other members of the Brew crew to the Bucksaw Marina Resort on Truman Lake. The purpose of this trip was for a manly gathering of Uncles, Nephews, and male cousins to gather for a sort of 'going away' fishing trip for my Uncle Daryl. You see, Daryl has cancer and was diagnosed back in March and given 3-6 months to live. So, this was a good ole fashioned guys' weekend at the big fishing hole! The person that orchestrated the festivities was cousin Corey and he rented several of the floating cabins that are connected to the marina in addition to renting the suite above the marina store/restaurant for us to stay in over the weekend.
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| Sittin' & visitin' |
I made it down Friday night after work and the headcount then was around 30, so we had a good gathering of relatives and friends of the family to have a good time. Many beers were consumed as many of us got to reacquaint ourselves with cousins and their sons that we had not seen in too many years. Great Uncles and Cousins from Sarcoxie, Missouri...Cousins from Bolivar, Missouri...and Uncles and Cousins from around the Kansas City area all sitting around visiting and checking out each other's boats and the catch of the day from the catfish trot lines. I ended up in the suite with my Great Uncles and had the chance to visit with them as they talked about the 2011 Joplin tornado (Sarcoxie is right down the road from Joplin).
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| My Great Uncle Frankie standing with Uncle Daryl fishing to his right |
Sleeping on the couch in the suite with the old men meant I was getting the light turned on in the room when they got up and they got up at 5:30am. So, I went down and had breakfast with them in the marina restaurant and after that I hopped on my Great Uncle Frankie's pontoon boat along with my Uncle Daryl and Cousin Sonny. We headed out that day to catch some perch for use as bait on the trot lines and jug lines. We caught a small mess of perch then headed back into the dock. Eating lunch with our large group at the marina restaurant's outdoor patio on the water I had a good time visiting until my chair fell through one of the cement tiles and I tumbled to the floor. Embarrassed, I worked my unfortunate circumstances into a free cheeseburger and fries with a slight limp and neck ache. Later that afternoon, and after a young boy there with his family caught a whole stringer of perch and sold them to us for bait, I headed out with my Cousin Corey, Cousin Sonny, and Corey's friend Jerry to check the trot lines and bait the hooks. With nothing on the lines worth keeping we headed back to the dock for some dinner at the marina restaurant.
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| My Uncle Daryl |
The next morning after breakfast a bunch of us loaded onto my Great Uncle Frankie's boat to go check his jug lines. Well, the night before a little rainstorm came through and blew his jugs from where he dropped them. This lead us to playing a unique hybrid game of fishing and hide and seek. He had dropped out 9 jugs and after finding the first 7 and nothing on the lines we were getting a bit disappointed. Number 8 had a gar fish that we ended up throwing back and after a bit of searching we found number 9. Pulling up the final jug we had a nice catfish dangling and jumping around. With our catch on the boat we headed back to the marina to meet up with the other fellas that went out to check and bring back the trot lines. They ended up bringing back a few to add to their stringers from Friday and Saturday morning. Once everyone had emptied their rooms a group set out to clean the fish while a few of us loaded up and headed home. It was a fun weekend and I enjoyed visiting my Great Uncles and meeting cousins I had not seen since my childhood and to see their sons. It was good to see My Uncle Daryl visiting with everyone. I believe he had a really good time around family and friends.
3rd Inning.
4th Inning.
Cool videos...
Batman vs. Deadpool. If you have read comic books, played the comic book related video games, or seen the comic book character movies then you have probably wondered what a live-action battle between characters would look like and who would win. Well, the folks over at Bat in the Sun productions have put together a video pitting Batman versus Deadpool. Very entertaining! Enjoy!
Batman vs Alien vs Predator. Let's stay with the Batman theme and mix in some sci-fi via Predator and Aliens. Enjoy!
5th Inning.
What I'm watching...Falling Skies. A show that is in it's 3rd season on the TNT channel and that the wife and I enjoy watching is 'Falling Skies'. This show is about survivors of an alien invasion of Earth. A few days after the invasion, the aliens have wiped out our militaries, power grids, and killed over 90% of the world's population. This show follows a group of survivors from Massachusetts, known as the 2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment (2nd Mass), as they fight back. This show stars Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, and Will Patton (I always recognize him from Armageddon and Remember the Titans). 
The show premiered in June 2011 but after it's 10 episode season completed we had to wait a year for season 2 and likewise for season 3. Even though there is a big gap between each season it has been a great sci-fi show to watch. It's sort of an alien version of 'The Walking Dead'. The first two seasons saw the 2nd Mass make their way from Boston to Charleston, South Carolina while fighting a race of aliens that are insect-like and are controlled by another race of aliens called the Espheni. At the end of the 2nd season the 2nd Mass are greeted one night by another race of aliens that have been battling the Espheni across the cosmos and offer their assistance on Earth. So, if you are looking for another good show to watch and if you love sci-fi, then check out 'Falling Skies' on Sunday nights on TNT!
6th Inning.
TV shows that ended good countdown. As the month of May closed and I found a few shows going off the air after their series finales were played it got me thinking about my favorite television series finales. I've compiled the list with videos over here.
7th Inning.
Firearms corner...1000 yd shot. I came across this article and video a couple of weeks ago. Once you purchase your first firearm and head to the range to practice you get that rush of adrenaline and you want to try shooting from farther and farther away to see how accurate you can be, especially for the hunters. Also, our military obviously needs folks that can shoot from long distances when we find our forces needing to eradicate threats from long range distances and that is where this fella learned to shoot. Former Army Ranger, Ryan Cleckner, takes a 1,000 yard shot with a Barrett M107 in .50 caliber (big boy caliber) while shooting off-hand (no means of rest support while standing) and hits the target with one shot. Truly amazing! Check out the video below and don't forget to aim small, miss small!
8th Inning.
FFL Factoid...Buying/Selling Online. Not so much a factoid this week but more of an FYI for the new home-based dealers and new storefront dealers. In the last 7 months as anti-gun legislation has been proposed there has also been discussion of buying and selling guns online. As a relatively new Federal Firearms Licensed dealer, I have been partaking in the selling of firearms and accessories online during all this legislation discussion and I have learned quite a bit in that time. There are numerous sites that are designed for buying/selling such as GunsAmerica.com, GunBroker.com, GunCycle.com, and Armslist.com. For most sites, you have to set up an account and usually you have to identify yourself as a dealer or private seller. Most sites offer extra services for a dealer but at an extra cost. This can be a great tool for a home-based dealer that doesn't want to pay for a business website. After setting up your account you can post ads or start buying. Each site has a fairly easy walkthrough process on how to post ads or auctions. To make selling easier, posting pictures of your firearms will get your ad more views and aid in selling them. Try not to use stock photos from the Internet because many scammers will use those in 'selling' firearms and the majority of buyers want to see the actual firearm you are selling. When it comes to the financial part of the transaction, most sites have a system set up for you take credit cards if you are a dealer but others recommend U.S. Postal money orders. Most private sellers will be selling local but for dealers or anyone that sell across state lines an FFL transfer will need to be made where the seller sends the firearm to a licensed dealer where the buyer will pick it up and complete the background check paperwork. For more details on the process click here and happy selling and happy buying!
9th Inning.
Baseball video...With the 4th of July this week and All-Star Game around the corner I saw it fitting to present a great singer doing justice to the National Anthem. Carrie Underwood at the 2006 MLB All-Star Game. Enjoy!
Extra Inning.
10th Inning.
A great video that ESPN put together showing members of the military returning home and reunited with their families. Remember those in the military. Pay them respect by buying them a meal, their gas, groceries, etc. I'm going to make an extra effort to do it.
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