July 4th - Window Cleaners Appreciate

Reasons for Independence Remembered, Freedom Appreciated: As many history teachers have taught their students, July 2, 1776 marked the day that the Continental Congress changed the history of America. On that day, Independence entered into the blood of American culture, the hearts of women and men and furthered possibilities for children. It took 48 hours for that freedom to be declared in writing on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence conscripted by Thomas Jefferson changed the lives of endless generations following his own, giving Americans rights that some countries today still do not have. Today, many Ridgefield residents are taking a moment to think about their freedom and why they have it. 

“I appreciate being able to have opportunities,” Matthew Lambton said. At twenty years old he is beginning the process of grabbing hold of his limitless possibilities. Lambton is applying to Medical School, an opportunity he may not have had if his parents did not decide to become citizens of America. “I was born in England,” he explained. “My family and I got our citizenship ten years ago. We were just talking about this last night. My parents were saying how appreciative they were to have opportunities in America. They were saying how happy they were the day they got their citizenship.”

Thanks to Jefferson’s efforts, people like Lambton who have the opportunity to learn about medicine, may be able to change the lives of women like Dr. Mary Spanos. Spanos is a veterinarian who has been fiercely battling breast cancer for the past five and a half years. “I am grateful because I am a woman in the United States,” Spanos said. “I have my freedom and rights of being a woman in this country compared to others.” Spanos realizes what it took for her ancestors to give her the life she has today. She appreciates the efforts of her descendants from Ireland and Scotland. Spanos acknowledges the hard work they put in to sending their children to the United States in order to give them and their children better lives.

As far as present day America goes, she is thankful for the way that the health care system has treated her during her experience with cancer. “The health care system has been very good to me, has saved me several times and I am very thankful for my life and a good life for my family and my relatives.”

Jonathan Francis, a barista at Starbucks and a business entrepreneur who runs his own window washing business, understands the price of freedom. He also sees the way that people are able to progress and find acceptance among their fellow Americans. “Everything in life comes at a cost,” Francis said. “Various parts of the world find themselves in a pattern of life, living each day in their comfort zone and maintaining an image of what is considered acceptable. America shows its independence through the option of individuality.”

The opportunities that Lambton is pursuing, the freedom Spanos receives as a woman and the diversity that Francis is able to appreciate is possible due to the action that the members of thirteen colonies took, when they decided they wanted to become independent from Great Britain. Freedom is something the citizens of America have worked hard for and continue to fight for today.

Del Valle, of Ormond Beach, has lived in this area since 1987 and has 22 years of service as a Port Orange firefighter/EMT, currently with the rank of lieutenant. He and his wife also own A&A Window Cleaning.

American pride resonates through a life of service by By RAFAEL DEL VALLE: As we celebrate today, I can only reflect on the lifelong pride that I have felt in being an American citizen. That pride was instilled in me at an early age by my grandparents. When I was a child growing up in Puerto Rico, my family always counted itself as part of the United States, and I remember the July Fourth parades near the Capitol building in San Juan. Seeing military members of our family participate in the parade was a great source of pride to our family.

Despite the island's political status being in debate for years, Puerto Ricans are born American citizens. As I grew, I saw many of our family members serve in the military, many of them during the Vietnam War. Like many mainland Americans, some of them came back in flag-draped coffins. Never in those years did we second-guess being members of this great nation, or the citizen responsibilities that were bestowed upon us by that membership.

As years went by, I eventually joined the U.S. Army. I still remember that the tears of sadness in my grandparents' eyes were almost erased by the pride they displayed in seeing their little boy now grown up, becoming the latest member of our family to serve in the armed forces. During my service, my family and I were so very proud of what I was doing. My position was not one of great importance -- just a medic in an artillery unit in Fort Knox, Ky. But still, I was a member of this nation, and a soldier who believed in defending this land, as our oath stated, "against all enemies foreign or domestic." After three years of service, I became a veteran.

The life path brought me to the Daytona Beach area. Longing for staying in some type of service to my nation, I became a firefighter in the Port Orange Department of Fire and Rescue. Little did I know that I was about to join a brotherhood of great Americans, a group of people that fights to protect their citizens at home while our men and women in uniform protect us away from home. As a firefighter, I saw with great pain the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City and the 9/11 attacks.

The words of my oath resonated louder than ever. Those protecting our country at home do face enemies foreign and domestic. Seeing our flag fly in the now-famous picture of the firefighters in New York gave me an immense level of pride. But what followed made me feel very humble.

Our grateful citizens expressed their appreciation to their firefighters with words, cards, visits and waving of the flag. Our flag, the one that represents our great nation, the one that so many have served to protect, the one that flies over the land that I swore to protect and serve so many years ago.

Now, I watch as members of my own family join the military or become firefighters, reminding me of the great pride that my family felt for every member who served in the past. This time, it is my duty to teach the next generations of my family, not only by words but by actions, that serving our country and our communities is a very important part of being a proud American. If I do the job as well as my grandparents did, pride in being an American citizen will remain in our family for generations to come.