A Recipe for a Great Fourth...

Here are the things that Life Should Be Beautiful prescribes for a perfect Fourth of July...and yes, we take our own advice/medicine.

• A fizzy cocktail. The skies will be exploding...the ingredients in your glass should be too. You can go simple with bubbly. (But you better go American...Schramsberg is the cork to pop.) Or something as all-American as a vodka with sparkling lemonade.
  
• All-American eats. This is not the occasion for dim sum, lasagna or borscht. Obvious menu choices include hot dogs or hamburgers. But how about meat loaf, fried chicken, or a great grilled steak?
• You can't do it alone. Event if it's just that one special someone...a gang of friends...or as extended as your family can get, this is a holiday to share.
• I NEVER get through this day without sitting down and reading the Declaration of Independence. The courage and wisdom that our Founding Fathers showed is the basis for what we celebrate today.
• If you listen to some John Philip Sousa while reading all the better. I'm partial to Stars and Stripes Forever myself.
• And of course, fireworks. See them in person if you can. But if not, I'm betting you can find some great televised "rockets red glare" to catch in HiDef.

Did I miss anything?