Fourth of July Life Lesson

Wherever you roam, be it with the buffalos, the deer and the antelope... as you tool around town in your Tessla or Toyota, your Prius or your Porsche, or maybe shop a little online, here's the SJG's wisdom on this beautiful patriotic day: Make sure all the boxes are checked. Yes or no? A or B or even C? Check the boxes. In this life, they're always asking us to check the boxes. You want to vote? Apply for a loan? Or in the case of the eldest, a fiancee visa? Check the boxes. Check and re-check that you checked the right boxes.

Or hope that the designated checker remembered to check a certain box. "She didn't check the box," the eldest reported in a panic, referencing the immigration attorney hired to make the whole visa thing go smoothly. "Which box?" "The one that asks if there's been a criminal conviction." The empty box prompted the immigration people to send a friendly reminder: "Check the box!" In a last minute rush before departing for France, he made sure the box got checked "no," so that soon, how soon, who knows, he can check another box. The one that says "married."