Do you think about freedom? If you do, and I hope you do, I hope you remember the sacrifices of those who won it and preserved it for us. I hope you remember our Founding Fathers and the patriots who gave or risked their lives to oppose oppression and take a wild chance on liberty as a new nation.



I hope you remember our servicemen now serving who are willing to do the same to defend your rights and mine.





I hope you'll also remember those who have fallen or went missing in action. There may even be some still in captivity from past wars - please don't forget them, even though some of our leaders have.


Also remember that there are people of many nations who love freedom. Some have even joined us and sacrifice much to help us fight for freedom. Some of them are now proud US citizens helping us to build our nation here.


I hope you'll think of and join all those who hold up our flag and carry forth its message of freedom.


I hope you'll also remember that there are people in all parties (or perhaps the whole parties themselves) who may seek the power of government for their own ends. The laws they pass and the decrees they utter may not advance the cause of freedom. It's easy to joke about such officials as clowns, but the problem is more serious than that. Vigilance is the price we must pay for liberty.


I hope you'll remember that there are generations still rising and yet to come that need the blessings of freedom. Let's keep America free.


(Photos by Jeff Lindsay taken on June 13, 2009 at Appleton's famous Flag Day Parade.)

On the southeast side of town, on Kensington across from Best Buy, is a wonderful new place for gourmet bread, pastries, and sandwiches. Dolce Vita (the sweet life in Italian) is a much appreciated new offering in Appleton's gastronomic scene. I've tried bread and pastries there, and recently took my son there for lunch where I had the best tuna sandwich ever. It had real tuna steak, perfectly done and seasoned, inside a croissant bun with lettuce, cheese, and red onion. Marvelous. Welcome, Dolce Vita!

It's near Red and White, the new wine tasting bar, and next to another gourmet spot that will open soon. Details to follow.

One of the interesting things about the Appleton area and the Fox Valley community is the abundance of entertainment opportunities. In the area of humor, people may be surprised to find that there are two dedicated comedy clubs in the and a variety of other settings to see professional comedians. An article by Jim Collar of the Post-Crescent, "Rivalry between Skyline Comedy Cafe and Comedy Quarter spills into courts," illustrates the positives (though it also covers the unfortunate legal battle between the two competing comedy clubs):

For fans of live stand-up comedy, there has never been a better time to call the Fox Cities home. Two competing clubs — the long-established Skyline Comedy Cafe in Appleton and the upstart Comedy Quarter in the Town of Menasha — offer a choice as both typically stage shows four nights each week.

And, the clubs aren't the only options, with venues such as Appleton's Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and the Green Bay area's Weidner Center, Resch Center and Oneida Casino bringing in A-list comedians.

People in the area really appreciate humor and tend to have a great sense of humor, in my biased opinion. Thus, I can get away with some of my wacky web pages (e.g., the Wonder Whacker at WonderWhacker.com) and not be driven out of town. Not yet, anyway.

The Granary Bulk Foods on Richmond Street (2125 N Richmond St., Appleton) is a fun place to get bulk foods, spices, dried foods, food storage items, and a variety of treats and specialty items.

You will also find them listed with health food stores in the Valley as well.

Phone: (920) 830-3311. Never open on Sunday - a nice choice, in my opinion.

I took my family to the later afternoon, early evening airshow at EAA on July 30. It was a rainy day, so crowds were down - but the rain stopped for the show and it was spectacular. The sun even broke out at the end. Here are some photos taken with my Nikon D-90 camera, using both regular and zoom lenses. Could never have gotten some of these shots with my old camera, much as I loved it.

You can probably tell that I especially liked the wing walking act of the Dave Darcy Airshow team. Amazing! No safety line was used.

Click to enlarge.