For FishingMagician.com, I'm Eric Granstrom. Happy Birthday America! I'll have some historians out there upset with the reference because July 4th is not really American's birthday. Although since the Declaration of Independence was adopted on the 4th of July, most Americans consider that the birth of our independence. So, happy 243rd birthday to this great nation. Are we perfect? Nope, no one ever said we were. Could we be better as a nation? Sure! But you have to admit this is a pretty darn good place to live. Where else could you CHOOSE FREELY to load up your truck with fishing gear and drive 3-thousand miles to try for a tarpon off the shores of Florida? You'd have to cross about nine state lines to get from Washington to Florida. NINE! And you know what? You wouldn't be stopped at ANY of the borders to be checked for ID or your citizenry or anything...unless you were speeding. Nowhere else in the world could you freely travel such a distance to do anything, let alone fishing. And most states provide the opportunity to fish there if you're not from there for a few dollars. God Bless America! Until next time, Good Fishing!