Two Hundred Candles

America turning 200 in 1976 was not a normal birthday party. It was a year-long, red-white-and-blue fever dream that somehow doubled as a group therapy session, and we get into why that matters now that the 250th anniversary is here. Along the way, we start exactly where real life starts: surviving a brutal heat wave, watching fireworks from the kitchen window, and taking in a tiny four-week-old kitten who shows up sick, starving, and instantly becomes family. 

We also hit the fun and messy corners of modern culture, from celebrity wedding rumors to the bigger question hiding underneath it all: what do we actually think about billionaire wealth? We are not here to pretend money is evil, but we are here to say the quiet part out loud about taxes, loopholes, and why “pay your fair share” is the baseline for a society that works. That thread ties straight into our history brain this week, including The American Experiment and what it reveals about the founders, democracy, and the contradictions we inherit. 

Then we go deep on the 1976 Bicentennial celebration: the mid-70s mood after Vietnam and Watergate, the merch explosion, the Tall Ships in New York Harbor, the Freedom Train, and the sense that America was performing patriotism as a way to cope. We even detour into modern celebrations, fireworks versus drone shows, and a wild local detail about Delaware declaring cats as wildlife. 

If you love Gen X nostalgia, American history, pop culture commentary, and honest takes on what “celebration” really means, hit play, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave us a review. What’s your strongest Bicentennial memory, or your hottest Fourth of July opinion?

Transcript

Theme Song And Welcome

SPEAKER_04 0:04

Two best friends, we're talking fast. We're missing two arcades, we're having a blast. Seeing these dreams, being on screens, it was all bad. Like you know, it's like whatever. Never, never, never. Laughing, sharing, our story forever. We'll take you back like whatever.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Welcome to Like Whatever, a podcast for, by, and about Gen X. I'm Nicole, and this is my BFFF, Heather.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Hola.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

So we're out of the heat wave. Hallelujah. I didn't melt into a puddle. You didn't. You didn't. Yeah, I'm glad you're still here with us. I'm not.

Heat Wave Fourth And New Kitten

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Oh yeah. How was your fourth? Uh uneventful. I just sat at home. I could see the um fireworks in town from my kitchen window. So yeah, watched a little bit from there. But that was it. But the big event for the weekend, I took in a kitten.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Oh yeah. She needs a kitten like a hole in the head. I do. I do.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

But it was on Friday when it was 100 plus degrees. This poor little thing looked ratty and starving, and it just showed up. And within it being inside for like an hour, I decided to adopt it and had named it and everything. So but she went to that this morning. She did good. They think she's only about four weeks old. Oh, not even weaned. Uh-uh. And uh she was a pound and a half. She's so tiny. And she's got lots of eye boogies and nose boogies and sneezing. So we're on all kinds of medication and all that fun stuff. But she's super duper sweet. Oh my gosh. Like I am her mama for sure. Yeah. Yeah. I prefer boycats. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

I feel like they're they're they're friendlier. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yeah. I think that's true. Yeah. My two boys are friendlier than my two children. Which is weird to me.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

It's because it's typically it's the other way around. Like the female is more like with dogs and stuff. Well, I I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Yeah. I don't know either. But yeah, that was fun. But even more importantly, this weekend. Yeah. I do want to talk about this too.

Celebrity Wedding Rumor Spiral

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Taylor and Travis got married. Taylor and Travis didn't get married. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

I am dying for more details. I can't believe none of them. I can't believe they haven't released it. I can't believe they haven't released her dress. I know. Or her bouquet. I can't believe that.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

I mean, she will. She's all about the fans. So she definitely will.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

But yeah. I hear a lot of people saying that they filmed it as a special and they're gonna.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

I heard that that was a rumor, and that was not true. Not true. Disney Plus. The Kelsey brothers posted it that that was not true. But yeah, I heard they she sang part of her vows and he cried. I'm sure he did. He's a crier. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I can't wait to see more about it. Yeah. Sounds like it was awesome though.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

I'm sure it was. Goody bags. I saw the I saw some of the goodie bags. And uh Chanel bags. Yeah. Yeah. I saw the goody bags. Um here's my take on it. Okay. I do love Taylor and Travis together. Yes. And I do, I will at first I thought Madison Square Garden, that seems like crazy. Like that's It's actually genius. It is. Um, I heard somebody else talking about it and I was like, oh, you know what? Fucking yeah. Because when I thought about it, I was like, well, yeah, I can see it because you can drive your car in there and no one's gonna see you, and you're you're never you're not gonna get you're gonna be able to keep it as much of a secret as possible. But second one, somebody else was talking about it, they were saying New York does this all the time. Like they the Madison Square Garden does this all the time. New York hosts these events all the time. It's nothing so as opposed to trying to do it at her house in Rhode Island, right, where they're not used to putting on something like this. No.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

And the paparazzi know how to get to it.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Yeah. And it made so I was like, you know what, that makes it does make sense. And I'm not saying Madison Square Garden just because it's a sports arena or whatever. I'm just saying that was very big.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Yeah, and completely enclosed. Like nobody was getting in there without any of the things.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Yeah, I mean it does it, it makes total sense. It it does now that I was thinking about it.

Billionaires And The Tax Problem

SPEAKER_00 4:52

But other thing about it is I've been hearing a lot lately this nonsense from the right saying, oh, everybody hates a billionaire until it's Taylor Swift and she can spend billions of dollars on a wedding and da-da-da-da-da. First, this liberal, I'm not speaking for all liberals, but I can tell you this here liberal believes in capitalism. I don't have a problem with you having a billion dollars. If you earned a billion dollars, then you earned your billion dollars and you can do with it how what I don't even think that you have to give that money to charity. I'm not one of those liberals that's like you need to give your money to charity. Right. Do whatever the fuck you want with your billions. I don't have a problem with Elon Musk having a trillion dollars. It's Elon Musk's business. That's billionaires, they can have all the money that they want. That's fine. I don't have that good for you. Like, that's good for you. My issue with it is that billionaires do not pay their fair share in taxes. Exactly. If they did, then we wouldn't have to give their money to charity because there wouldn't need to be charities because the government would be able to take care of everything that they need to take care of. And I'm sure that Taylor Swift's accountants get her the loopholes. I'm sure that Taylor Swift is not paying the the taxes that you and I pay. Yes. I'm sure of it. Yes. Because that's what billionaires do. Yes, they hire people to get them the best deal.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

That's how you keep billions of dollars. I get it. That's my issue with billion. I I think it's great that you made a billion dollars. Any of them. That's good for you. If oil or you get whatever.

SPEAKER_03 6:40

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

I I don't fault Trump for having all the money that Trump has.

SPEAKER_03 6:44

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

I think he fucked a lot of people to do it. Yeah. And he my issue with him is how many bankruptcies he's had and how many little companies he screwed over. Yes. In that. Yes, exactly. But hey, it's your money. If you don't want to give it to charity, you don't have to. There's I only give to one charity to I give to two charities. That's it. And if you come calling about something else, I'm not gonna give you my money.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Yep. That's my thing on it. I just I I know that everybody, well, liberals say they hate billion. I I don't hate billionaires. Go for you. Yeah, exactly. Just pay your fair share in taxes. That's all.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

That's it. Like that just makes no sense to me whatsoever that they don't have to pay taxes. No. Like, why? I guess we could talk all day about that.

American Experiment And The Founders

SPEAKER_01 7:33

I watched um on Netflix this weekend. This is what I did for it to celebrate the 4th of July. I haven't gotten through all of it, but um, Tom Hanks produced a show called The American Experiment. And I think it's six parts, and I've watched two or three. Um, and it's narrated by Martin Sheen, and it really digs into how we became a country, like all the little battles and how we ended up where we were a lot about George Washington. Right. And he was a racist and a and a slave owner. Yes. He was also a very I don't I don't know if I want to say smart, strong, like if you watch the show, you'll understand what I'm saying. Like he came from nothing, he wasn't really anybody, and he just worked his way up, and they wanted him to be king, and he refused to refuse. And then when he felt like he had done his fair share, he said, peace, guys, I'm out. Yeah. And they were like, no, wait. And he's like, uh no, this is how this country is supposed to work. I've done my part. Now it moves on to the next guy to do this. So, but I'm not I've never been real big on American history because I think it's boring. I like European history better when I was in school anyway.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

But there's so much more, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Um, and it's so much older. But um it, yeah, it was very educational, very, very cool to watch. Yeah. Um, a lot about Ben Franklin. He basically had every job there ever was on the planet. Like, so I think I might do a uh podcast on him one day. I know he's not Gen X, but we all learned about how that counts, right? And I also decided from that show dying from bayonet would be pretty painful. Yes. They were talking about a battle where they like snuck in in the middle of the night and all they had were bayonets, and that's just how they were killing each other. Yeah, just stabbing the shit out of each other.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

It doesn't sound pleasant, it would be so painful.

Milford Tragedies And Weekend Check In

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Probably a long speaking of death, how about that murder suicide in Milford?

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Yeah, I know. Man, she was a nurse practitioner by health.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

I know that's really sad. It was. I really hope those two kids weren't home. I know, I know because that's it was yeah, it was crazy.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

It was definitely one of those, like, you know, I watch those kinds of shows all the time, and this doesn't happen in my town. Like, it was definitely one of those kinds of things. Yeah. We also, um, this week in Milford, there was about a car accident that caught on fire. And Caitlin was telling me because she either knew the girl or knew someone that knew the girl, but on Facebook they were searching for her. She was missing for a day or two, and then they saw pictures of the wreck, and the car was completely burned, but they were like, that looks like hers. And it burned so hot there weren't any really remains left. But it turned out it was a shame. Her, yeah. It's been really sad in Milford lately. It's pretty sad in Milford. I hope things pick up for them. I was just in Milford before I came here.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

My my meeting. That's why it didn't take you as long to get here.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

My meeting and my meeting fell a little uh ended a little early.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

So I went and ate um Alfresca at the Dairy Queen. Oh, when I got back to the office, I saw you were in harvesting and I was like, what the fuck? Now I have to hurry.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

I thought I was gonna time it perfect. Yeah, I got cheeseburger and fries and sat outside.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Man, I love Dairy Queen food. God damn, it's good.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

I wanted to get a cherry misty afterward, but the line had gotten long, so I was like, oh, forget it. Just forget it. Just forget it. Um, I don't have anything else. Yeah, I that's pretty much my weekend is we're unpacking and kitten rearing.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

I went to my nephew's birthday party, but that's about it. He's 21. Crazy. Yes. Did he have a good time? He seemed to be. Okay. That's good. Mm-hmm.

Teen Freedom Versus Strict Parenting

SPEAKER_00 11:45

His mom. His mom. My sister. Uh I guess my niece's not that any of you care, but I'm gonna spill the tea. My niece's boyfriend, his mom, who may or may not listen to this, I don't know. Uh is very strict with him. And my sister is not. No. No. Because as she said Saturday night, I did my job. It's time for her to handle it. Like I did it, all I could do. Like at this point, it's done. What I've done is done. There's no more parenting to happen. So I she's because she's 17. So I guess she got her boyfriend a gift card to uh a Bath Pro Shop, which we don't have any here. So they had to go across the bridge. And they told my sister, and she was like, I I'm not going. I don't care. And apparently he was not allowed to cross the bridge. Oh. Or leave the state. But I was like, but the line is right there. Like it's hard to avoid leaving the state. Does he have a warrant? No. I think his mom she tracks him and he's just not allowed to leave the state. And I said the state because like the state, like literally, I can't go. You can't go nowhere. Like Walmart. You can't even go to Walmarts in West Ocean City. Mm-hmm. Anyway. So he got grounded.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

No.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Yeah. And I was laughing, and I was like, You were going to Boca Ratan at her age. And she was like, Yeah.

unknown 13:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

By myself with a bunch of, you know, her friends. They were driving to Florida. And my dad was like, here's a C B. See ya.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Your mom's probably like, I'm not going. I don't care.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

I don't care what you do. Bye. See you when you get back. Yeah. Call us when you get there. That was it. So yeah. So I said, Oh, that mom's probably like my niece's name and her mom are bad influences, and you better not be hanging out with them, which is hilarious that my sister and her child would be a bad influence. True. Like they Yes. Yeah. They are. She follows the rules. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Except I guess when it comes to children. And she's like, get out. I don't care. Sayanara. And then she was like, they have to learn to drive in it somehow sometime. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Whatever.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

Sorry. Yeah. Well. Poor kid. All right. All right. Do the thing. Oh. Um.

Follow The Pod And Get In Touch

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Like chair rate review. Um. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts. Find us on all the socials at Lake Whatever Pod. Email us at likewhateverpod at gmail.com. And check out our website, likewhateverpod.com.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

All right.

Bicentennial Origins And 1970s Vibe

SPEAKER_00 14:54

So we're going to fuck around and find out about the bicentennial.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Since I neglected to last week.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

I said I was going to do it. And then I was like, I'm going to do it. There are moments in American history where the country collectively decides to go a little feral. The bicentennial, July 4th, 1976, was one of those moments. It was the year America turned 200, looked around at itself and said, we should probably throw a party so big it distracts everyone from literally everything else happening right now. I'm glad we've changed. The bicentennial wasn't just a holiday. It wasn't just a parade. It wasn't even a patriotic milestone. It was a full-blown cultural event. A year-long nationwide star-spangled therapy session where Americans try to make sense of their past, their present, and whatever the hell the future was supposed to be. Um, where'd it go again? Oh. To understand the bicentennial, you have to understand the vibe of the mid-70s. America was not exactly thriving. The country was exhausted, suspicious, sweaty, broke, and trying to figure out what the hell it meant to be American anymore. Weird. The Vietnam War, Vietnam War had ended, leaving behind grief and anger and a generation of veterans who deserved better. Watergate had shattered trust in government. The economy was a mess. Inflation, unemployment, gas shortages.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

Anything sound familiar?

SPEAKER_00 16:23

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The environmental movement was rising because we'd finally noticed that the rivers were catching fire. The Cold War was still humming in the background. And culturally, America was in a weird limbo between Hippie's disco and the early seeds of punk. It was a country in transition, not quite sure who it was, but very sure it needed a makeover. So when the bicentennial rolled around, America grabbed the opportunity. Uh, they got a new care haircut, new wardrobe, new attitude, new narrative, new year, new me. The bicentennial became a chance to say, okay, yes, things are rough, but look, we're 200. It was a national reset button disguised as a birthday party. The bicentennial wasn't just July 4th, it was the entire year. 1976 was basically one long patriotic fever dream. If you were alive, or if your parents were, you've seen the photos, red, white, and blue, everything. Cars painted like flags, a bicentennial toilet paper, beer cans, cereal boxes, bicentennial fashion that like Bestie Ross had joined a glam rock band. Souvenir plates. I'm sure we know somebody who had souvenir plates. Oh, hell yeah. Mugs. I'm sure my nanan did. Posters, stamps, coins, patches, lunchboxes, and commemorative spoons. Oh yeah. My nanan had those too. America turned into a gift shop. Capitalism. Oh the bicentennial gave people something simple, a reason to celebrate. The bicentennial gets fun because America didn't just celebrate, America performed. The bicentennial was a year-long talent show, parade circuit, parade circuit, marketing campaign, historical reenactment festival, and national block party rolled into one.

Tall Ships Freedom Train And Merch Madness

SPEAKER_00 18:23

So the big national events. This was the crown jewel. Dozens of historic sailing ships from around the world sailed into New York Harbor. Millions watched it. It was majestic, cinematic, and probably the last time America collectively agreed on anything. People cried, people fainted, people waved flags. Then there was the Freedom Train, a literal train, red, white, and blue, toured the entire country carrying historical documents, artifacts, and patriotic displays. People lined up for hours to walk through it. Kids were dragged along, parents pretended to be excited, grandparents were genuinely excited. It was like a mobile museum meets a carnival, meets a historic history class you couldn't skip. And that kind of sounds like I think I probably would go. Look, I guess it would depend on how close it came.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

To the train.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

To the train.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

There so there was a train that was in Philly like all last week. The big boy. It's still it's the largest, still locomotive, still functioning, um, fully operational. And he's torn the country for the 250. And he was up yeah, near Philly or somewhere up there. But somebody I know went up there and saw it. I had pictures on Facebook.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

I think it because it had like uh historical documents, artifacts, and patriotic display. I don't care about the patriotic display, but I'd like I do enjoy seeing the historical documents. Like I like looking at the new the Declaration of Independence. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

I like old stuff.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

It it's it's it is. It's very cool to think about 250 years ago. Our forefathers sat down and they were the ones writing on that. Now you're sitting there looking at it like it's pretty neat.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

It is. And like I I actually enjoy um the Smithsonian American history pavilion, or I don't know what it's called. Building. They have its that has its own building.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

I would have to go there again. I think the older I get, the more I appreciate American history. I think that's where the ruby slippers are.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

American history.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Maybe I've been there then because I've seen the colour. Oh, I'm sure I've been there. We used to go on field trips there all the time.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Yeah, the Muppets are there. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I want to say that was pop culture, but I'm pretty sure that was America. Anyway, Smithsonian. Yeah. It's good stuff. It's free. It is. It is. It's one of my favorite places to go. I like natural history and American history and the art museum. The art museum has a great cafe in it. And the air in space. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. But the one at Dulles is way better. Oh. Okay. Yeah. Nice. I mean, it's huge. Really? Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Well, I mean the one in DC is huge.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Yeah, but this has like so many more planes in it. And it has a space shuttle, and it has it's it's it is way cooler. It's it's not as um I don't want to say user-friendly. It's not as m informational. Right, right. But it's the plane, like it's more like if you like looking at planes.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

Yeah, there's a uh museum on Dover Air Force Base that I used to take the kids to when they were small that um has a bunch of planes old and new. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

They have the cool C5 at Dover. Dover's got that big ass. Mm-hmm. That's a big ass.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

That's what my dad loaded until he loaded them with uh forklift and they flew off to wherever. They're huge.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Watching them, we used to watch them like When we were up there, watch 'em because they practice landing and they it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Yeah, it's neat when you're driving down the highway there and they come 'cause I drive past there quite a bit and they come pretty close. One the other day, I mean it looked like it was gonna land on the car in front of me. I was like, ooh.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

They're loud. Yeah. They don't let you we used to stop. When you see one coming, you they don't let you stop anymore. They move you along. Yeah. Like they come out of nowhere, like it's Area 51. They do. It's not Area 51. I don't think there's any aliens there. Maybe ask your dad. Oh. His NDA has to be up by now.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Yeah. And he did work in the morgue, so there you go. Maybe a dead alien came through. Oh, you know it did.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Now we know. Mm-hmm. Um, the Liberty Bell did a replica tour. They made 56 replica Liberty Bells and sent them to every state and territory. No. Um the Liberty. I've seen the Liberty Bell.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:05

I only needed to see that once.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Speaking of the Liberty Bell, while I'm thinking of it, did you hear that they moved the Rocky statue?

unknown 23:13

No.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

Okay. So they moved it into the museum. This has been happening for months. And they just recently unveiled um a statue of Joe Frazier instead. And Rocky himself said that's who it should be out there because he's from Philly and he's who Rick Rocky was kind of loosely based on. Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

So yeah, but still kind of disappointing. They'll move they'll they'll be because they moved him before.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Yeah. They moved him from the art museum to the stadium. Okay. And people got all bent out of shape about it. So they moved him back. So I imagine people will get why can't you put them both up there? Exactly. I mean they're the Rocky. Everyone calls them the Rocky steps.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Where are uh opposing teams supposed to jinx themselves? Exactly putting their jerseys on there. Yeah. I read somewhere, it was a few weeks ago, so I'll never remember the match, but I think it was Mexico wanted to jinx their team, so they went and put the jersey of the opposing soccer team on the Rocky statue.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

The Netherlands team put guards up around the Rocky statue the day before their so no one could. So no one could put their jersey on. It was funny. I love it. Um, so they'll move, they'll they'll end up moving him back. Because I mean, those are the Rocky steps. Like literally, that's exactly I no shade to Fraser, but right. Uh uh. There were fireworks everywhere.

Fireworks Fatigue And Drone Shows

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Of course. Cities competed to see who could blow up the most stuff in the sky. Philadelphia, Boston, New York, DC, all trying to out America each other. It was loud, chaotic, and perfect. So I know we I can see the Ocean City fireworks from my window. They also put off uh fireworks every Sunday that I can see from my window. I have never been a fan of fireworks. Once you've seen them once, they're pretty much the same.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

It's not worth all the effort.

SPEAKER_00 25:20

It is not.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

No, no, it is not worth the standing in lines and walking and then sitting in your car for hours afterward to try to get out of town.

SPEAKER_00 25:29

In the heat and the miserability, and no.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Yeah. But um, my house, um, my backyard, there's an alley that runs between me and the backyards behind me. And the guy diagonally to the left had his own fireworks. He set off all well, actually, every night since the fourth, even I hear fireworks out there. So I got to see his up close.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

I don't understand why we still do it, especially with drones. First of all, it's very triggering for veterans who have PTSD involving loud sounds. And animals, and the animals that live in your home and the animals that live in the land. Yes. It is very disruptive to them. Drones are way cooler. It's a fire hazard. It's set shit on fire all the time. Drones, way cooler. You can do all kinds of things with drones. Yeah. Because I saw the Philadelphia drone show. Yeah. And that was way cool. I watched that on TV.

SPEAKER_01 26:30

Did you see the Waymo car that drove over exploding? Somebody was setting off fireworks in the street, and it was a self-driving Waymo with two passengers in it, and it just drove right over top of what this guy had just lit, and the women in the car screaming. I was like, oh my God.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

Yeah, I don't know about those Waymo's.

Delaware Feral Cats Become Wildlife

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Oh, speaking of what animals in the wild, though, I learned something today. I'm ready for it. It stuns me. So I took the kitten to the vet today. Yeah. And she just popped up in my yard, like, there are stray cats in my neighborhood, but she's not one that we recognized from any of the cats that are out there or any litters that have been had. Um, so while I was I went to not the SPCA, but first a animal, whatever it is. Um, it was supposed to be a discount, but um so anyway. Uh so as I was um paying at the end, I asked the receptionist, I was like, look, there's a lot of strays in my neighborhood. I'm willing to help if we can catch them, get them fixed. Like, what advice do you have for that? So she's like, Well, she gave me this little business card thing and said it was some kind of thing where you can scan the code and if you qualify, you can get free spay or neuter. I was like, so I'd have to catch these uber feral tomcats and bring them in. She was like, Yeah. And I was like, oh, I was like, no, like catch and release. She's like, well, she's like, actually, cats were recently declared as wildlife in the state of Delaware. Yeah. So if you call animal control on a cat, they won't come. It's wildlife. Yeah. And basically the state sees it. If you're pay feeding these cats, they're yours, they're your cats.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Yep. I just thought I did I did see that. I was like, whoa. I mean, they're the most invasive species other than us that that is true. We have on the planet. It's crazy that wild cats are wildlife. That show that life after people that I watched, they said dogs and mice would be the first things, animals to go because they depend on humans so much. And cats would be fine because the that feralness has not been bred out of cats. No. They still want to catch mice, even your little house cat.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Yeah, and the ferals that are around my neighborhood, they do not want any. I mean, if you open the door and there's one there, phew, you barely see it. It is gone. I mean, these are wild cats.

SPEAKER_00 28:59

Yeah, they don't that they yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Yeah, so it sucks though, because they're just gonna. I get it. The money's not there. If the billionaires paid taxes, we could get the cats fixed and then we wouldn't have an overabundance of cats.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Call Taylor and tell her you need some money to get the cats. She does love cats. She does. She just gave out $26 million to the food banks in New York City. Yeah. She did. Uh uh-uh-uh. The American Freedom Festival was a massive televised event with celebrities, musicians, speeches, and patriotic performances. Um, every town had local events. Parades, pageants, beard growing contests, bicentennial babies, bicentennial weddings, quilts, casseroles, hot dog eating contests, square dance, tractor parades, cow milking contests. If it existed, someone slap bicentennial on it. Joey Chestnut won again this year. Of course he did. 18 years running. I saw he had to get a special exemption to go because he was on house arrest or something. Is he? America turned into a gift shop. Bicentennial beer cans, cereal boxes, toilet paper, cars, lunch boxes, commemorative spoons.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Man, they literally just slapped a shit on everything.

SPEAKER_03 30:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

It's like all of Amer USA became uh Disney World.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

Yeah. Every network had bicentennial programming or documentaries or reenactments, concerts, America, a look back, specials, tributes, retrospectives, and it was wall-to-wall America. NASA released bicentennial patches, posters, and commemorative materials. Astronauts did bicentennial appearances. The National Park Service went hard, which they well, they had funding back then, so look. I don't know. I know you don't follow you don't do the tickety talk, but the National Park Service, TikTok, I don't know if it's the actual one.

SPEAKER_01 31:17

Is it the alt national park?

SPEAKER_00 31:19

No. No. I follow that one on Facebook. That it's different. It's the National Park. I do I think that it it can't be the real one. It can't be. I mean, maybe I don't know, they're pretty mad. Well, uh the it may it it might be simply because I think that well, I don't know, but it's pretty um, it's pretty dirty. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Okay. Yeah. Maybe it's not that good. I know they complain about the one I follow complains about the government a lot.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

No, it's not, it's not like that. It's it shows like it goes through like a video of whatever park it's talking about, like uh it does a lot with Yosemite, I suppose it's and then it'll have um it'll have them competing. So I'll have like Mount Rainier competing with you know whatever Yosemite and they throw shade at each other and but like it'll be like you think you have big peaks, stuff like that. And then it'll be like uh Alaska, Denali or something like that. Yeah. Every band, orchestra, and marching group in America performs something patriotic. Casey Kaysum did bicentennial countdowns. Radio stations played American Pie like it was the national anthem. Red, white, and red, white, blue, and sequence and stars, stripes, bell bottoms, vests, hats, scarves, jumpsuits, all of them. America looked like a disc all disco ball exploded in a flag factory. Um, we had cookouts, uh, bicentennial cakes, jello molds, bicentennial casseroles, bicentennial hot dogs. CBS aired a one-minute history segment every single day for a year. It was the TikTok of 1976.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

For the 250, uh CBS News traveled to like really just showing how beautiful our country is. They had different reporters go to different places and they said they got such great feedback from it, and everyone loved it so much they're gonna continue it through the year. But yeah, it was pretty neat going into depth about some of the some of the beauty that's here.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

It is very pretty here. It is actually let's just do your thing now because I fucked up. Okay, and I have to find my place again, guys. Okay, so listen to Nicole.

A 1985 Diary Memory Break

SPEAKER_01 34:10

All right, so this is July 25th, 1985, in Nicole's diary. 1985. 1985. All right, dear diary. Today I found my old cat I got for my first Christmas. I was just gonna say a bag of bones. Mommy said, when I was five, I walked into her room at night and said, I think I'm too old to sleep with him. My name for him was Kitty. Clever name.

SPEAKER_00 34:44

I know. And you were just like, fuck this shit. I'm too old for this.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

Yeah, five. I was like, psh, I don't need to sleep in their stuffed animals anymore. Meanwhile.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

I still slept with my Winnie the Pooh until I was. You don't have him anymore? He's in storage. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

I cannot have him out to fall apart. Yeah. He was pretty close to falling apart. He was falling apart.

SPEAKER_00 35:05

And he in storage, he may actually be. And he had been repaired a number of times. Numerous times. Space was gone. Yeah, yeah. All right, back to 1976.

Beards Quilts Plates And Time Capsules

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Okay. Lady Liberty got a glow up. She got rest restored, cleaned, uh, and she had some events and ceremonies. The bicentennial was partly a national let's pretend we're okay moment after Watergate. Men grew bicentennial beards. It was a thing. Um, women across America made quilts commemorating the nation's 200 years. Um, all of them were red, white, and blue. Of course. Hospitals gave out certificates, hats, and commemorative blankets to babies born on July 4th, 1976. Oh those babies are 50 now. Ew. Mm-hmm. Uh and they're probably tired. Yeah. The bicentennial license plate. Every state had special plates. They did for the 250 too. I saw Delaware the other day. Um, collectors still fight over them. Um Ford, Chevy, and Dodge all released bicentennial editions. There were souvenirs, plates, coins, stamps. The US Postal Service did put out a 250 um comm uh commemorative stamp, and I believe it's done by it was done by uh Tommy Helfiger. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

Alrighty.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

I don't know why he is the poster boy for America, but he is. He designs all the outfits for the Olympics and you won't talk about America, you talk to Tommy. Yeah. Posters, buttons, patches, mugs, spoons. Every town had a parade. Some had ten. It was parade season for an entire year. A lot of towns didn't have parades for the 250. A lot of parades got canceled because it was like the surface of the sun outside. It was like the surface of the sun outside. Um time capsules. Oh yeah. Schools and towns buried time capsules. Most forgot where they put them. I wish I had known when they were gonna dig up that side yard at my parents' old house. There's a house there now, so it's all been dug up. But I wish I had known that they were gonna do that because I feel certain there was stuff buried in that ground. I know there was dead animals. But I bet. I'm willing to bet. Although I imagine it would have been ruined, because I can't imagine I would have put any although I think I use like bottles, plastic bottles. But you know that I buried something out there. Of course you did. Somebody found it. Yeah, good for them. Yeah, they're probably like, what is this garbage? This is weirdo. What the hell? Actually, I know for a fact I did because I distinctly remember doing one, but I don't remember, I think it was like 1984. I don't know why 1984 sticks out for me, but it does. Okay. So if you bought the lot next to where my parents lived and built that house, would you let me know what was in my time castle? Yes. Reenactments. People dressed up as founding fathers, some were drunk and sweaty, some were historically inaccurate. I'm sure most of them were historically inaccurate. I mean, if you think about it, like how I mean, I guess history is pretty well written, ours anyway. Cause like you don't like I think like how much has changed from 1976 in the scientific world to oh speaking of the scientific world, my sister texts me the other day and asked me, should she be concerned that they shut down CERN, which is the um particle accelerator in Sweden. Oh yeah. She said it's what she sends me. Should I be concerned that they shut CERN down? And I said, No, they're revamping it. Calm down. She said, Okay. It is funny that she knows that. She likes that kind of stuff.

unknown 39:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

Artists created patriotic murals and sculptures and installations. Schools taught extra American history. I don't know what extra American history is. Maybe that's why I hate it so much. Kids were forced to I wasn't in school yet. No, you weren't. I was two. I was three. Kids were forced to memorize dates. That's my always been my issue with history. Yes. Yes. I don't even know what date today is. No, no, no, no. I cannot tell you what day anything else happened. I don't know what year it happened. Yep. Yep. Stop asking me about that. I don't know. Why does it matter? Like if you just give a general time, I don't know, the 1800s.

SPEAKER_01 40:22

Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:23

I don't know, the 1870s. Like that's when, like, the uh what you call it was like the 1860s, right? Mm-hmm. The Civil War. That's what I was thinking. I'm really bad at American history.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

Me too. That's another reason why I love that show. Like, they would show like how originally we were 13 states. Well, we weren't the states.

SPEAKER_00 40:49

Colonies.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

Right. But back then we were almost like 13 countries. I don't even think we were colonies yet. It was just the 13 were all separate, doing their own thing, nobody was combined, and then like Washington's the one who had to figure out how to bring them together and how to do this and how to get an ally, which all these things I just didn't think about, but we ended up with France because France hated England and we were breaking from England and they thought it was funny.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

If they if the French hadn't got involved, we wouldn't have won it. It'd be a very different story. It would be a very different story. We'd all be British. Yes. We would. We'd be singing God Save the King. Yes. We would. Um I saw a meme that was the 13 original colonies with a with a speech bubble that said, You're how many? No, no, we're 250.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

That was another cool thing about the documentary. Delaware laid really low through everything. Like everything was Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts. Um what was the other one? Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts. Maybe Connecticut. Probably Connecticut. Yeah. But Delaware, you didn't hear anything. They were just like, we're just gonna sit over here.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

Well, probably because they didn't know if they were gonna make it Pennsylvania or Maryland. That's true. Like they were fighting over Delaware. That is true. And how Delaware came out on top there and was like, all right, we'll be our own thing. I haven't gotten to that part of the documentary. I don't what I don't understand is why Delmarva isn't all Delaware. Yeah. Like, why don't you just give it all? Yeah. The whole shebang there. Like, why we got three different states? Yes.

unknown 42:29

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 42:30

That's what happened. So maybe I'll learn the documentary and I'll let you know next time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

I mean, Delaware kind of came out and and then they were like, and now we're gonna sign it first. Bitch. That's what they they did. They came, they were like came from behind.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

They did. They just laid low and snuck right in there.

SPEAKER_00 42:44

They're like, now we're a state and we're signing first.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

Yep, yep. Fuck all of y'all.

SPEAKER_00 42:54

There were bicentennial cookbooks, of course, filled with colonial recipes, which is a cookbook I would not want. I don't feel like I'd want to eat anything that they had in the colonies.

SPEAKER_01 43:08

Yeah, I mean, I've eaten at restaurants in Colonial Williamsburg. And of course it's good, but it's modern. Yes, it's modern flour. Yeah, like the Craco cheese with the red sticks is my favorite. And the corn chowder.

SPEAKER_00 43:22

Nobody, no, but nobody is back there churning butter. No, definitely not. It's very difficult to do. I bet. I have I have made my own butter. Yeah. It takes a long time and it's just very bad. Yeah. I'll just buy it. It's easier and cheaper to just buy it.

Evil Knievel And Stunt Culture

SPEAKER_00 43:41

Um, there were carnivals, rides, games, food, music, and chaos. And even evil canival, which is what I think of the bicentennial the most is evil can evil.

SPEAKER_01 43:56

I can see the outfit right now.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

Yep. Um Uh Evil Knievel is Americans patron saint of I Bet I Can Jump That. And he was absolutely part of Bicentennial. He performed Bicentennial themed stunts, including a major jump at the King Dome in Seattle in 1976. He jumped 14 buses. He crashed. He broke things. He got back up. He's Evil Knievil. Mm-hmm. Um he was close to clearing it. He also appeared in bicentennial parades, events, and TV specials, and he was everywhere. So yeah. Was that the one? No. Is Evil keeping evil still alive? I feel like he's not. His son is though. What a weird thing.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

To be the son of evil Kinevil.

SPEAKER_00 44:48

No, to just be evil Kinevil. To just be like, I'm just gonna dump that. Like, why?

SPEAKER_01 44:52

And people are paying you to come do it.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

Exactly. And you know they're not paying for to see you do it. No, they're they're paying to see you.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

They want to see the violence. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:04

Anyway, some other day I will get into Evil Kinevil, but I just wanted to touch on it.

SPEAKER_01 45:08

Yeah, you should do an episode on him.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

Um remember there was another guy that was on TV like in the 80s that was like Evil Can Evil, but not Houdini? That was before the and Houdini had a beef with um Sir Arthur Cronin Doyle, like heavy beef, which I thought was weird, but I don't know. I don't know either of them. Oh god, man, who was that? Oh, I don't know. There was another guy, but I don't remember if it was like a TV show that I'm thinking of.

unknown 45:47

I don't

The Bicentennial As National Therapy

unknown 45:48

know.

SPEAKER_00 45:48

Uh the thing about bicentennials is it's just not a party, it's a moment of national self-reflection. Uh, we're trying to figure out who are we, what have we done, and what have we survived? What do we want to be? It's exactly what happened in the 250, but you know. What have we done? We have not come very far. The bicentennial gave people permission to ask the questions about without falling apart. It was a chance to celebrate the good while acknowledging the bad. Um, we made mistakes, we had triumphs, we had disasters and breakthroughs, and somehow we're still trying. It was about persistence. Um as Jen Xers, the Bicentennial sits in a weird place in your memory. Some of us were babies, some of us weren't born yet. Some of us remember the outfits, the parades, the flags, the fireworks, the weird commemorative plates. Um, but even if you didn't live through it, the bicentennial shaped the world you grew up in. It influenced how schools taught history, how patriotism was marketed, how nostalgia became a national pastime, how America talked about itself, how the country dealt tried to heal after trauma. The bicentennial was the moment that we celebrated the past so we could survive the future. Um, and we grew up in that future. It didn't fix America, it didn't erase our problems, it did leave behind a few important things: a renewed interest in history. Museums saw record attendance, historic sites were restored, people started caring about preservation. Um, the bicentennial reminded people that America had survival, survived the worst, and could survive again. Every major American milestone since the millennial, the millennium, the 9-11 memorials, the 250th anniversary has borrowed from the bicentennial playbook. It was a cultural reset, helped shift America from the trauma of the early 70s into the cultural explosion of the late 70s and early 80s. Um it taught us that America is complicated, contradictory, flawed, but resilient. And sometimes the best way to understand a country is to look at the moment when it tries to celebrate itself. Not because everything is perfect, but because people need hope. The bicentennial wasn't a victory lab, it was a it was a coping mechanism, a collective exhale, a reminder that history is long and we are small, and somehow that's comforting. Um we've it was uh we made it this far. Let's see what happens next. And honestly, that's still the vibe. If you were alive in 76, you will if if you are alive and going in 76, you would have been complaining about the heat, mocking the outfits, rolling our eyes at the commercials, critiquing the politics, and still showing up for the fireworks. Because that's what we do. Um messy, loud, imperfect celebration of a messy, loud, imperfect country. A reminder that history is not a straight line, it's chaotic water park slide, and we're just all trying not to lose our bathing suits on the way down. Happy birthday, America. You have always done the most.

Democracy As A Work In Progress

SPEAKER_01 49:14

I feel like the vibe has always been let's just throw this out there and see what happens. Like, that's another cool thing about this documentary. Like, and I know I'm dwelling on it, and I know I admitted I'm not a scholar of American history, but it really helped me comprehend democracy and how really democracy and how rare it really is, and they were really trying to create something that had never been done before, yeah, and they didn't know what the hell they were doing. They call it the great American ex um experiment experiment.

SPEAKER_00 49:49

That's what the name of the documentary is. And it's it's not a true democracy. Con it's a constitutional democracy? Yeah. Is that what it is? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:02

Yeah. But it was just it was crazy, like just to think about what that really was actually like. And you're just kind of over here, like, I don't know, and the British are sending in troops, and it it's a lot of the Franklin stuff was really cool. Like, he was the one because he was so charismatic, they decided he'd be the one to go to France and like talk to them. And they have always been so prim and proper and fashion and like all that stuff. And he showed up in like a coonskin hat, dressed like a wilderness man, to show like this is what America is, and everybody loved it. As we all know, the women went crazy for him. And it yeah, it's really, really neat. I'm gonna watch it. I am very I think you'll love it. I'll go watch it. Yeah, I d I actually like pay attention to it and everything. Don't even get bored with it.

Noticing Local History In Delaware

SPEAKER_00 50:56

Um I just think you know, come living here in one of the original 13 colonies and having the first city in the first state. Yeah. The first town in the first state. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, I think that we take for granted the history because it's all around us. Like, if you go further west, I mean they have cool history too, because they have like the 49ers and they have uh, you know, like um what are the towns that are ghost towns and you know, they have that kind of history.

SPEAKER_02 51:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:33

But here we have cobblestones and br we have British stuff. Yes, exactly. Yeah, we're the we're British light. So around here, like you just take for granted cobblestone.

SPEAKER_01 51:47

I do though, because I live in Dover, which is our capital, and uh where a lot of buildings and cobblestone and all that are. And I do actually drive through town sometimes and look and I'm like, you know, because I love to travel. And I'm like, this if I was not from Delaware, this would be so cool. All these old buildings and getting to go into them and walk on these roads, and I mean, there are even there's a few streets left that are still brick in downtown Dover, which I still can't believe that they still are. But yeah, I do I do try to recognize the fact. I was like, I'm like, you know, if I went to Georgia, this is the kind of shit I'd want to go see, like these old buildings and all that kind of stuff. So that's why we go to Williamsburg. Yeah, exactly. And it's right there. I mean, there are state buildings in those old buildings. You're walking into history, yeah, going into file for divorce or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 52:44

Whatever reason I was just in I mean, the post office in Lewis is yeah, is stupid. It's a beautiful building. The one in Rehopa is beautiful, but the one in Lewis is older, and it is a beautiful building, and it looks like an old school post office. Yeah, like it's giant and looming and and then and they also have the cannonball house. Yes. Well, there's still cannonballs stuck in the side of the house. Yep, yep, yep. So we have history here, and you just I think I've been to Philadelphia. I I couldn't even I mean, I would go to Philadelphia just to get a cheesesteak. I had season tickets to the Eagles. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 53:25

I don't even remember going into the I I think I did, but it was school field trips. Yeah. It wasn't on my own. Me just going up there and taking in the history of Philly. And that's where it all started. I did the art museum, but that's a different story.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

Whole different podcast. Um yeah, I just I think that I just I didn't go. I couldn't even tell you how old I was when I went to see the Liberty Bell. It must have been school and Betsy Ross's house. Yep, yep. I've not I've been to that part of the city because that's how you get to Camden. That's where the ferry is for Gamden. Yep. So you have to go there.

SPEAKER_01 54:10

Yep. Um the the the Underground Railroad runs all the way through Delaware. Yeah. And there's different points where you can go, and there's history about it there. And yeah. Never go to any of it. Shame on us.

SPEAKER_00 54:24

I tell you, I did not know that that fort in Cape Henlopen State Park was there until I was well older than it. I shouldn't have been. I was like, what? Where is this? Because I've never been the one that goes underground? No.

unknown 54:41

No.

SPEAKER_00 54:42

Just past the towers. Okay. They got all the guns there. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Fort Miles. Fort Miles. Yeah. I didn't know that was there.

SPEAKER_01 54:49

I'm thinking of over where I went there. I did a autism walk there once. So it was over kind of by the bike trails, and there's a parking lot. Anyway, there is there are a couple towers out on the beach there, but up against the back of the dunes, there are these huge metal doors that are locked that go down. Oh, yeah. Okay. You can't get into them though. And I sort of assume there's some sort of that's for the lighthouse under there.

SPEAKER_00 55:15

Oh. Yeah. Okay. The lighthouse fell. Right.

unknown 55:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 55:20

But that was for the lighthouse. Because I I know what you're talking about now. And the lighthouse sat right up on top.

SPEAKER_01 55:25

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 55:26

And then it fell. Okay. Gotcha. Yep. And they built a new one out in the wall.

SPEAKER_01 55:31

And they put a little wooden boardwalk up above it. So you can walk up there now and look out where the lighthouse.

SPEAKER_00 55:36

I have not been in to Cape Henlopen in a while.

SPEAKER_01 55:39

Cape Henlopin is full of history.

SPEAKER_00 55:41

Cape Henlopin's a great thing.

SPEAKER_01 55:43

Yeah. Yeah. I used to love taking my kids there, not only because it was the best beach, because it wasn't crowded and they don't get really bad waves, so when they're little, it's good. But in the middle of the day, when you get hot, you go into the shade into the woods and go look at towers or history or nature or whatever. There's so much to do there.

SPEAKER_00 56:01

There really is. Mm-hmm. They have the I've never been in the um the center that they have there. Oh, yeah. The Biden Nature Center.

SPEAKER_01 56:10

Oh, speaking of presidential centers, I want to go to the Obama one. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 56:15

I can't wait for Biden to put his up. I know. I guess it'll be in Wilmington. Maybe Rehobut. He was in Rehobit this weekend. Mm-hmm. I saw Jill posted a picture of the two of them on the beach. She went to the outlets and my work bestie. Um because we were on the phone and he said, What man, all these government vehicles just came screaming in here. And I was like, Oh, well, Joe must be in town. And he was like, I don't know. But the outlets though, why would he? And I was like, Jill needed a new purse. Jill's at the outlet. So Jill shops at the outlet. Just so you know. And that that one that's on his route is the expensive ones. There's different outlets.

SPEAKER_01 56:59

Yep, I know which ones you mean.

SPEAKER_00 57:00

Yep, the ones all the way.

SPEAKER_01 57:02

The last ones.

SPEAKER_00 57:04

The very fancy ones. Yeah. It's got a Sephora now.

SPEAKER_01 57:09

Yeah. Those are the ones I shop at for Christmas time for my daughters.

SPEAKER_00 57:12

Yeah. It's got a coach. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Anyway. I didn't watch too much about the the 250. It's pretty cool. I don't think I'm going to see the 300. Hopefully I'll be dead. Very angry if I'm still alive at another.

SPEAKER_01 57:32

I would like to see the 300.

SPEAKER_00 57:33

If I'm still alive at 102, I'm going to be pissed. You will be. I know. Just because you want to. I know. Not be alive. I know. I don't know how I don't have cancer yet. I don't I think that's unfair.

SPEAKER_02 57:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:47

Anyhow. Oh, I think so. Happy birthday, America. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. USA. I didn't see very much commemorative stuff though. No. Mm-mm. Maybe it's because I don't go anywhere. Maybe there was stuffed places and I just didn't see it.

SPEAKER_01 58:05

That's true. I didn't. I mean, I don't remember. I don't I don't I don't even feel like that many people had their flags out and stuff. No. I saw a few people that stuck a couple of the little ones in the ground.

SPEAKER_00 58:14

Yeah, that said 250 on it.

SPEAKER_01 58:16

Yeah, yeah, but usually for I mean on a typical 4th of July, everybody's got their American flags out.

SPEAKER_00 58:21

I don't know if it's because it was so freaking hot.

SPEAKER_01 58:23

It was so hot. That's probably a lot to do.

SPEAKER_00 58:25

Three days of over a hundred degrees, and we are not built for that nonsense. No, we are not. Roads melted. It was terrible. It was. Murder suicides happened. It was all everybody went crazy. It was.

Final Thanks And Sign Off

SPEAKER_00 58:38

Yeah. Anyway, thanks for listening. Yeah, thank you. You can like share rate review. Please. Um, you can find us where all you all the podcasts live. You can tell a friend to listen to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 58:52

I love that idea.

SPEAKER_00 58:53

Whatever, whatever episode is your favorite. Um, you can go to our website, www.likewhateverpod.com. Yes. You can find us on all the socials, like whatever pod. I'm dragging it out because I can't think of anything. I know I can tell. You can send us an email about what America 250 merch you bought. America, not America, to like whatever pod at gmail.com or don't like whatever. Whatever. Bye.