I certainly hope everyone had a wonderful and safe extended weekend celebrating the birthday of our incredible country. The old girl may be 247 years old, but her amber waves of grain are still as beautiful to me as ever. I had every intention to continue my recent trend of writing a column about people and events in the world of sports revolving around the 4th of July, but somehow it doesn't seem right not to acknowledge the importance and gravity of Independence Day.

I don't know of a single person that doesn't look forward to this particular holiday. Who doesn't like getting a day off work? Who doesn't like firing up the barbecue grill? Independence Day has become synonymous with good food, good fellowship and good fireworks. Those are some terrific things that we all should enjoy and savor when we have the opportunity.

Andy Graham is a regular columnist for The Outlook.