Flares Of Freedom ...

 

“With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

    ~ from the inspiring Inaugural Address of

          President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

              ~ 1917 ~1963

 ~ 35th President of the United States of America

               ~ 1960 ~1963

             & U.S. Navy veteran

The birth of America & its freedom is celebrated with vivid flares of purple & gold flashing across the summer night sky by the Fourth of July fireworks set off from J. Birney Crum Stadium, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Happy Birthday, America! Bravo!

How wonderful it would be to have fireworks ~ and the fire of patriotism ~ in our hearts every day!

Sunfire ...

 “… Goodness gracious, great balls of fire …”

    ~ “Great Balls Of Fire”

   ~ 1957 popular song recorded by

     Jerry Lee Lewis

         ~ 1935 ~ 2022

     at Sun Records, Memphis, Tennessee

Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record the great Elvis Presley as well as Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash.

Great Balls Of Fire it’s a sunset Jerry Lee Lewis would love as a red sun sets amidst the trees in the surreal.

I created this image by blending my shot of the hazy red sunset of June 6, 2023 in the West End of Allentown, Pennsylvania with background texture by Jai Johnson for artistic effect.

The wildfire smoke from Canadian wildfires moving through the area caused the hot milky skies and orange haze in the evening sky that caused sunsets such as this.

 

Fly Me To The Moon ...

“Fly me to the moon

Let me play among the stars

Let me see what spring is like

On a-Jupiter and Mars

 

In other words: hold my hand

In other words: baby, kiss me …

 

… In other words: please be true

In other words: I love you”

      ~ “Fly Me to the Moon”

  ~ song written by Bart Howard & made famous by the wonderful Frank Sinatra

 

     ~originally titled “In Other Words,” the song was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra’s 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions to the Moon.

 

Love can fly you to the moon, and in this case, the flight takes wing in the surreal!

 

I created this image by blending my shot of a Finnair plane soaring through the skies over Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania on February 18, 2023, with my capture of the Supermoon over Cedar Creek Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania on December 3, 2017.

Finnair is the flag carrier & largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helinski Airport, its hub. Finnair flies between Europe, Asia & North America via Helsinki.

 

Retro Rail ...

“I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past.”

                ~ Walt Disney

                  ~ 1901 ~ 1966

The Brass Rail sign beckons people to stop in for a cocktail at the Lehigh Street location of the iconic restaurant that has been a longtime staple of the culinary landscape in Allentown, Pennsylvania on a June evening in 2013.

Sadly, The Brass Rail, which opened on Lehigh Street in 1961, shut its doors in June 2022. An Allentown tradition for 91 years, the eatery’s original location on Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown opened in 1931 and closed in 2001.

Founded by Phil Sorrentino, The Brass Rail, known especially for its cheesesteaks, was run by generations of the Sorrentino family and will be missed.