Rodge reports on all things "Stars & Stripes" in this episode. It's Fireworks, Flyovers, Hotdogs, the National Anthem and even where to buy your last minute picnic items! Be careful and keep those fingers away from bottle rockets!
Show Description: Rodge reports on all things "Stars & Stripes" in this episode. It's Fireworks, Flyovers, Hotdogs, the National Anthem and even where to buy your last minute picnic items! Be careful and keep those fingers away from bottle rockets!
INTRO
Here is a snappy summary of the news – a weekly digest of the latest events and happenings at home and abroad. I’m your host, Rodge Bigsby and this is your Retrotone News Minute!
Greetings Mr. & Mrs. America and all the stars and stripes from sea to shining see. Happy 243rd, Land of the Free!
1) HEADLINE #1 TANKS, FLYOVERS, AND FIREWORKS. THE STAGE IS SET FOR JULY 4th SPECTACLE IN DC
Our very own...President Trump is sparing no expense for the “Salute to America” celebration in ttWashington on July 4, including flyovers by the famed Blue Angels, 2 Super Hornet F-18s, 4 Apache helicopters, B-2 bomber and two F-22 fighters, and Tanks. Boys and girls will get a rush from the rumble of a legion of M1A1 Abrams tanks roaring down Constitution Avenue, along with brand new Sherman Tanks. Salute to America will honor each of the nation’s five service branches with music, military demonstrations, multiple flyovers and the "biggest ever fireworks," according POTUS, it’s gonna be H-U-G-E. Yuge! After Trump speaks, John Stamos, will take to the mic, to host America’s official 243rd birthday party, with performances by the Grammy Award-winning legend Carole King, Vanessa Williams, Colbie Caillat… the National Symphony and... the one and only Muppets! Rodge just melts for Miss Piggy. Be sure to tune in on PBS!
2) WHAT COULD BE MORE AMERICAN THAN SHOPPING... CONSUMING... BUYING!? Costco is closed for the4th, but here are some stores and restaurants staying open for Uncle Sam and YOU! (2x faster -- speed read like old FedEx commercials) (MUSIC: circus tune)
7-Eleven
Bed Bath & Beyond
Best Buy
Burlington Coat Factory
CVS
Dillard's
Dollar General
Food Lion
Home Depot
J.C. Penney
Kroger
Lowe’s
Macy's
Meijer
Neiman Marcus
Office Depot
AND OfficeMax
Old Navy
PetSmart
Publix
Sam’s Club
Save-A-Lot
Sears
Stein Mart
Stop and Shop
Target
T.J. Maxx
Trader Joe’s
Ulta Beauty
Walgreens
Walmart
Wawa
Wegmans
Whole Foods Market
Winn-Dixie
AD 1 LINE: AND NOW A WORD FROM AN AMERICAN TOY HERO…
Only two people actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4: John Hancock and Charles Thomson, secretary of Congress. Most of the others signed on August 2. What the deuce, Democracy?
July 4 wasn't deemed a federal holiday until 1870, almost 100 years after our nation’s founding.
Americans consume around 155 million hot dogs on the Fourth of July each year. They also spend $92 million on chips, $167.5 million on watermelon, and $341.4 million on beer.
The Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Show is believed to be the biggest fireworks show of all. The Macy's show, which has been blasting off over New York City's East River for more than 40 years, includes more than 75,000 individual shells and costs the clothing retailer an estimated $6 million.
The Fourth of July celebration is one of the busiest weeks in America's emergency rooms, averaging 12,900 fireworks-related injuries during the week of July 4th.
4) AND NOW... FOR A VERY SPECIAL ALL-AMERICAN EDITION OF POLLY’S POETRY CORNER – CELEBRATING OUR BELOVED NATIONAL ANTHEM
According to the American Battlefield Trust, “one of the cultural landmarks to emerge from the War of 1812 was the penning of The Star Spangled Banner by 35-year-old Washington, DC journeyman poet Francis Scott Key. Key wrote the words to a poem on the back of an envelope, originally entitled, “The Defense of Fort McHenry” after watching the British naval bombardment of the Baltimore stronghold the evening of September 13 -14, 1814. To Rodge’s surprise, there are actually 4 verses to our National Anthem. Key’s brother-in-law Judge Joseph A. Nicholson arranged the words to a popular tavern tune, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” written by British songwriter John Stafford Swift. We just can’t escape our British roots now can we. President Herbert Hoover, on March 3, 1931, signed the law making “The Star Spangled Banner” the official national anthem of the United States.“ Let’s take pause for some peerless patriotism...
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
5) SIGN OFF STATEMENT:
And that's one for the Republic! I'm your host Rodge Bigsby and this has been news (AND!) opinions from Retrotone, a service of Evergreen Podcasts.
Until next time… make a good day! Yoo-Ha! Hashtag, RodgeBigsby.
