This Fourth of July marks the 229th year since the  birth  of our nation and we will all be gathering together with our friends and families to celebrate it in typical American  fashion.       We generally start by imitating the shrew and eating our own body weight in hot dogs, BBQ meats, beans, potato salad and cole slaw in a staggering variety. These will be washed down by several hundred million gallons of beer, soda pop, lemonade and other potables while we swap stories in the back yard about what we did in the war and swat misquitoes and the kids run amuck thru the neighbors vegetable garden.      As the sun begins to drop below the horizon we pick over the BBQ grill for any tidbits which still remain edible and then drive to our local collesium , lakeshore or meadow to watch the city fathers blow up a hundred thousand dollars worth of our tax money in a dazzling display of pyrotechnics. Either that or we do it ourselves in our own backyard with penny rockets, Black Cat firecrackers and a variety of spark and fire spewing incendiaries that would leave a pyromaniac drooling. We blow up sticks and stones and flower beds and the neighbors mailbox, terrify the cats, dogs and local indigenous flora and fauna and in general a good time is had by all.                        The Star Spangled Banner      On September 13, 1814, During the war of 1812 with the British, Francic Scott Key an attorney from Washington D.C. was aboard a British truce ship securing the release of a Maryland Physician who had been captured by the British during the attack on our nation's Capitol.      As the British were moving on Baltimore after burning Washington D.C. and had begun an active bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key was forced to stay aboard the truce ship during the long night of the bombardment. As he waited thru the night he anxiously wondered whether the fort still stood and in the early morning light he was filled with a patriotic fervor as he saw the Stars and stripes still flying over the fort in defiance.      He was immediately inspired to write down verses for a poem on the back of a letter and later in his hotel room, finished it in the form which we see it today. He distributed his poem on the defense of Fort McHenry on handbills and in a matter of days it was put to music as the Star Spangled Banner which later became our national anthem.   We would like to offer you a sincere wish from the management of Odd People for you all to have a safe and happy fourth of July!