Mother Ukraine, the most iconic statue in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, bathed in the colors of the American Flag, red, white and blue, in celebration of the Fourth of July and 250th Anniversary of the United States.
Residents lined the streets of Grand Junction, Colorado today as firefighters from the Forest Service, USWFS, and state resources escorted the fallen firefighters Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson, and Sydney Watson in a procession.
A moving show of support by the community.
The Honor Guard led the procession today to return the fallen firefighters to their family and friends at the mortuary. They will not be forgotten.
USA. A Mexican restaurant. We had not yet ordered anything, and the food was already arriving.
Chips. Salsa. Unrequested. Free.
I stopped the waiter. "We have not earned these."
"They just come with the table, man."
They come with the TABLE. In my land, hospitality is a debt. Every gift creates an obligation, weighed carefully, returned in the proper season with interest of feeling. Here, the gift arrives before you have even proven you can pay for dinner.
This is not an appetizer. This is a declaration: we trust you. Eat.
I ate with the gravity the moment deserved. And then — I must report this calmly — the basket emptied, and a new one appeared.
"Did we…?"
"Refill," the waiter said. "It's bottomless."
Bottomless. They have wells of salsa. The supply lines of this nation are beyond anything my ancestors imagined.
My friend warned me. "Don't fill up on chips, dude."
Too late. I had accepted three baskets. Honor demanded each one be finished — an unfinished gift is an insult. By the time my actual food arrived, I was a ruined man.
I was not hungry. I was not comfortable. I had been defeated by a courtesy.
Generosity that arrives before the request cannot be repaid. It can only be survived.
I know the rule now. I have made my peace with the basket. One basket. Two at the most.
Who am I deceiving. There is no number of baskets I would refuse. The trust of a nation is in that salsa, and I intend to honor all of it.
One of my former research assistants was killed by ICE in Minneapolis today😢
Alex was the kindest, sweetest human and a ICU nurse with a bright future ahead of him
May his soul rest in peace and this senseless carnage stop💔
DEVELOPING: Hostage situation at the Nakatomi Corporation building in Los Angeles, California
Terrorists have reportedly opened fire on an LAPD unit
The FBI is on site. More details to follow
Kelly: When Trump was driving the Taj Mahal Casino into bankruptcy, I was being shot at over Iraq…. When Trump was writing birthday greetings to Epstein, I was the first on the scene to recover the bodies of my fellow astronauts… When Trump was peddling conspiracy theories against President Obama, I was sitting next to my wife’s hospital bed… I’ve been through a lot worse in service to my country. The President and Pete Hegseth are not going to silence me.
343-The number of Firefighters whose lives we honor today.
We will Never Forget their courage & dedication to protect others faced with danger.
24 years later, we remain committed to the same legacy of service, sacrifice, & resilience.
#NeverForget #343 #CALFIRE#PatriotDay