It matters little whether it is Kate Smith, Ray Charles or a crowd attending a sporting event, when they lift their voices to sing America the Beautiful, we can't help but get a little misty. From the best singers to the worst, when any voice reaches up to hit those high notes in the Star Spangled Banner, we all cheer! This is our home, a land so beautiful and full of promise that it causes people all through out its vast expanse to give all to protect it and keep it safe from harm.Today and every day we honor those people!

Assume. To take. That's what it means. To take what? Well, just about anything really. To take a position. To take an opinion. To take control. To take responsibility. To take a role.

We all do our fair share of assuming. In fact, that very statement is based on an assumption. It has negative meaning in nearly all of it's guises, yet can be applied to so much of what we do on a daily basis. We all have a position, an opinion, a role and a level of responsibility in our lives, but the negativity associated with the word is based on our own perspectives.

The big day in Loudon has arrived, and as we count down the minutes to the Three Dog Night concert -- oh, as well as the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 -- we welcome you to submit your comments and questions. Starting around 1:30, the Monitor Staff will be leading an interactive live blog, so leave us your thoughts on today's race, and keep on checking in straight through the checkered flag.

Monitor reporters and photographers attended a slew of graduations last weekend, returning with diverse and fascinating stories about the members of the Class of 2009. Like this young woman in Bow who survived homelessness and health troubles or this tale of narrowly-avoided senioritis. And don't forget this crew of students who encountered swine flu, a wayward deer and a flap over water canned by Budweiser.

Only one pitcher ever succeeded in the Big Leagues with just a fastball.  It’s accepted wisdom that, no matter how hard you throw, Major League hitters will time you after they’ve seen you once or twice.  Unless they have to worry about an alternate pitch or two, they will clobber your fast ball.  So the one Hall of Fame pitcher who only had a fastball must have been pretty fast.

I have been crossing the Canadian/American border for 45 years.

As a kid I remember trips to the USA from Canada where standard interviews at border crossings dealt mainly with the subject of where you were going, and how long your visit would be.

“She Squirmed across the sheet, struggled in the darkness, driven by instinct, the last puppy born edged closer to my armpit.  Marveled by her strength, beauty and perfectly formed miniature canine features, I savored this moment.  The puppy nudged in my armpit, it tickled, eventually I picked her up and I plugged her onto a nipple on Theia’s belly.  I liked this little one, seconds old and we already had a soul touching moment.  I pushed the encounter out of my mind.  Sleep over came us all, canines and human.  In the stillness and silence of that early spring morning in May, a new journey began to unfold…”That was how Willow and I first met.              Willow had her 13th birthday yesterday, May 30^th.  We had a quiet little milestone day.  The morning started early with the puppy needing to go out at quarter to five - still a bit dark.  Willow crashed down the stairs for her breakfast, and then we did our little stroll around the backside of the house to get the zoomies out of the Pearl, usually only semi effective.  Then it was back to bed for a digestive nap, movie, snuggle and raw beef bones all around - happy dogs.  Up again for the day at 8:15 AM at which time we went for a thirty minute walk down the Juggernaught trail and ended up sitting in the field.  Bugs chased us home.  Once home the dogs napped while I puttered, then we all went to the dump and visited some friends.