I didn’t get my invitation!
It must have been delayed in the mail along with my invitation to play in this year’s Masters. Of course, I am referring to the invite for Taylor and Travis’ wedding that is reportedly happening today.
If news stories are to be believed, and if all the signs have not been in place to deceive a celebrity news-starved public, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are to be married today in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Along with the FIFA World Cup, this is one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
Why my invitation did not come is a real mystery. Although I have never purchased one of Taylor Swift’s records, I’ve enjoyed listening to her songs since she first made her appearance on the music scene. And one of my granddaughters sings along to the tunes of the megastar’s most recent albums. I also pull for Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs. Shouldn’t that qualify for a seat in the Garden? Apparently not.
But the idea of this huge wedding coming the day before America’s 250th birthday caused me to think about how the two events coincide. The Declaration of Independence was a call to freedom for the 13 colonies, a signal to break away from Britain’s shackles that kept us from being masters of our own destinies.
Taylor Swift, in her own way, has shown girls and young women everywhere that they can be successful on their own — in a way liberated to follow their dreams and not the expectations of others. Not only a prolific singer-songwriter, she has shown an acumen for business and has an estimated net worth approaching $2 billion.
What’s not to be impressed with a young woman who purchased the master recordings of her first six albums for $360 million and in order to control the rights to her entire catalog of work? Her recent Eras Tour generated something in the neighborhood of $2 billion and was a boon to economies in cities around the globe. She has broken from the music industry’s tyrannical old methods of operating and is doing things her way, giving new meaning to the word “independence.”
The patriots of 250 years ago sought independence from one who they saw as a tyrant. Today the Fourth of July is a celebration of the day 56 brave men boldly signed their names to the document that was sent to King George III, proclaiming that they were creating a new nation of free states no longer obligated to the rule by a nation across the Atlantic Ocean.
Among the signers were four men from the Palmetto State, Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward Jr., Thomas Lynch Jr. and Arthur Middleton. Along with the others, they pledged to one another “our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” They risked everything for the freedoms we enjoy today.
Tomorrow we will eat hamburgers and hot dogs, watch ball games and gather as families to view amazing fireworks displays. We will wave the stars and stripes and wear red, white and blue. We’ll give thanks for the flag, Mom and apple pie. We’ll relish in the freedom that was bequeathed to us by those forefathers two and a half centuries ago.
And there will be Swifties like my granddaughter who will play Taylor Swift songs and sing along, free to pursue their own dreams in the years to come.
Happy birthday .America!
And a happy wedding day to Taylor and Travis, even though I wasn’t invited. I hope they don’t expect to get a gift from me.
