I have a rule that says you should eat hotdogs on Independence Day. I believed that the glue that holds our great country together would dissolve if I were forced to endure a hotdog free 4th of July.

I did not have a hotdog yesterday. Things got a little out of sync and we had hotdogs earlier in the week. I believe that hotdogs are an excellent source of nutrition and should be eaten as a side to whatever entrée you might choose at each and every meal. DG on the other hand believes that they are to be doled out as a gastronomical treat. I'm sure that her position has to do with the fact that our hotdogs are made up of REAL white bread buns, REAL "complete" fat Nathan's wieners and REAL 100% Habanero sauce. (I know... I know... I should be happy she lets me have them a couple times a month.)

Anyway I already had my allotment of hotdogs so my fear was that the picnics and fireworks and great music would be no more..... and this wonderful day of celebration would be quiet and mundane.

I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

I said all that to say this....

If you find yourself in a situation where you have no hotdogs and it's the 4th of July, try this....

Gather together about 10,000 of your closest friends or for that matter 10,000 perfect strangers. Amass those people, mostly America's finest Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen on a giant polo field and when the sun goes down flip on the giant lights and crank up the amplifiers and let Lynyrd Skynyrd rock your soul for an hour or two.

You won't even think about the hotdog vacuum.

There is something about that many people loving songs in unison.

Lynyrd Skynyrd at night, on the 4th of July, singing a fifteen minute version of Free Bird. It doesn't get any better. It even beats hotdogs.

For anyone that might be to young or too old or those that have lived under a rock for the last 40 years, I include the following video from the 70's. This was prior to the devastating plane crash. The players are different now but the heart is the same. This is the longest and best version I could find.