HAPPY 4th OF JULY, FLASHERS!

Yep! This Saturday will be the 4th of July, one of my favorite holidays. If you've been a FLASHER for a while, you know that I am quite patriotic. I was looking forward to my road trip to DC that I mentioned last week.  Plans have changed though and I will not be able to travel at that time. However, the anticipation of my trip had me recalling one of my fondest 'life memories' this past week.  In  1981 I was extremely fortunate to travel to DC with my Mom and sisters  to President Reagan's inauguration. Mom had been a delegate at the convention when Reagan was nominated, so we were included in several of the inaugural special events. Did you know there is more than one inaugural ball? I think that year there were seven. I guess no one place can accommodate all the invited guests, so the Reagans and the Bushes visited each of them. The ball we were to attend was at the hotel across the street from where we were staying, but the front entrance was about a block away. Too close to take a taxi, but too far to walk in the snow in sub zero 'feel-like' temps for this gang of gals from Miami. The bellman at our hotel directed us to the garage entrance which was directly across the street and informed us that there was an elevator we could take from there. We followed his directions and were the only ones waiting for the elevator  when some men in dark suits approached and said, "Ladies, would you mind stepping back, we have some traffic coming through this way." We did as he said as a limo pulled up and out stepped our new President and the First Lady.  He smiled and nodded to us as she gave a little wave and they entered the elevator. You can imagine our excitement! It was like we had a front row seat at this very special event! We took the next elevator up to the ball which was very crowded. Having had our own private up-front and close encounter, we didn't stay too long. Luck hit twice though because on our way out the same sort of thing happened. Again we were waiting on the garage elevator when it opened and two dark-suited men came out and again we were asked to step back. This time it was the Vice President and Mrs. Bush! What a night and what a memory!

Now...join me back to today's reality. The  recent torrential storms of late have cooled the temps just a bit; don't ya think? Undoubtedly we have all felt the summer heat though! The 'Dog Days of Summer' begin tomorrow on July 3rd and continue through August 11th. This stretch of time is considered to be the hottest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. According to the Farmer's Almanac, the highest temperature of the day will be about 4:00 p.m., not at 12:00 noon as you might think and the lowest will occur about sunrise, not at midnight. As we sweat out the coming weeks, I thought I would give you something to smile about.  This 'Summer Dog' my new pup, Gracie, will always make me giggle.  My daughter taught her to sit and as my other daughter and I sat on the couch witnessing this new accomplishment, Lilly said, "Mom, do you see what I see when you look at Gracie?"  Indeed I do!... Do you?  Nature is wonderful and miraculous...isn't it! Love it and its  subtle messages! Now you can chuckle when you think of Gracie and the 'Dog Days of Summer'.  Enjoy your 4th FLASHERS and count your lucky American stars that you call the USA home!

Thank you~

Valerie Watkins

Publisher

FESTIVE FUN IDEAS FOR THE 4th

	You can change out the cheese for white chocolate covered Flipz Pretzels

  TODAY'S CHUCKLE 

  RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Brownie Ice Cream Cup Sundaes

Ice cream sundae bars are the perfect victory dessert. Always fun to create and more fun to eat!  These easy brownie bowls are created by mixing and baking a box of brownies by following directions on the box.  I always undercook my brownies by a few minutes to keep them moist and chewy. When you take them out of the oven use a cupcake pan that is the same size and press it down on top of the warm brownies to create an indention.  When serving a number of guests...Here's a tip. Scoop ice cream before your party and store them in cupcake liners, on cookie sheets in the freezer. You can have several different flavors scooped and ready to offer your guests. Have several toppings to wow your guests such as: chocolate or caramel sauce, sprinkles, bananas, cookie crumbles, nuts, whipped cream and of course a cherry on top! YUM! :)

MISSIONARIES RETURN FROM BELIZE

 

The Rev. Jon Robbins and 13 missionaries from St. Paul's Church, Vero Beach, recently returned from a mission trip to Belize City, Belize, Central America to provide vital health care, construction, and Vacation Bible School to over 3000 school children and their families.  The Vacation Bible School team shared Bible lessons, games, and crafts.  The fully accredited and licensed medical team offered free examinations and treated children with ear infections, colds, fungal infections of the skin, bacterial infections of the skin, and provided checkups for healthy babies as well.  They treated over 1000 patients in five days, and provided free prescription drugs to those in need. The construction team completed an extensive painting project and fully refurbished a non-working restroom.  And at the end of the week, the missionaries delivered over 2,000 new backpacks with school supplies to each student and teacher at the four schools.  

Three local leaders elected to the 

Indian River Community Foundation Board of Directors

Ron Edwards

Phil Coviello

Neil Currie

Signifying a steadfast commitment to building a stronger community through donor-driven philanthropy, the Indian River Community Foundation Board of Directors recently elected three new members to help lead the organization during its next phase of growth and development. Each will serve three-year terms on the IRCF governing board.