There's So Much To Be Grateful For

It’s the Fourth of July, and everyone in America has so much to be grateful for. To name just a few of the most obvious things: a freedom-based economic system, prosperity beyond anything imaginable through all prior human history, and ongoing new miracles from information to communications to photography to entertainment. (Right now we’re streaming “Hamilton.”).

Of course, the toxic left-wing media, let alone rioters on the streets, are filled with nothing but anger, resentment, rage and hate. What is wrong with these people?

Over the past few days I took a break from my pandemic-induced exile in the country to visit my regular haunts in New York City. There, the Mayor and City Council there are doing everything in their power to destroy the place as quickly as possible. But even with still mostly-deserted streets and the few people walking around having masks on their faces, there is still plenty to appreciate.

I went out on the street after a thunderstorm, with some drops still coming down, and suddenly the sun came out. Rainbow? I looked up Perry Street to the East, and there it was:

Note in that picture that the “concrete jungle” of Manhattan is quite a bit leafier than you may have been led to believe.

That evening, loud booms could be heard from my living room, even with the windows shut. Fireworks? I had read that the annual Macy’s July 4th extravaganza had been canceled due to fears of large crowds. But there were rumors that Macy’s was going to be holding unannounced displays at different locations around the island in the days before the 4th. Perhaps this was one of them, and near enough to get a glimpse. I went up to the roof, and sure enough:

And then there was the view from the same location looking in the other direction (South). The tall building with the spire in the background toward the right is the new One World Trade Center. It seems much closer in person than it does in the photograph. (It’s about one and a half miles away.)

Happy July 4th to all!