Today at the editor’s glance: All government offices and banks are closed today in observance of Independence day. You could start the day’s observance with a recitation of Langston Hughes’s great “Let America Be America Again,” at the foot of this Briefing. Palm Coast’s Choral Arts Society Presents “Celebrate America” in a resumption of the society’s live concerts, this one at 1 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church (5400 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast, FL 32137). If you’re in hangover-recovery mode and you need to get ready for the concert, here’s a palliative: Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum” from his “Vesperae solennes de confessore,” K. 339 (Solemn Vespers for a Confessor), which became insanely popular in the 19th century. It’s sung by the great Māori soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, on whom I had a crush in my 17th year, partially requited with her autograph on this very album, back when vinyl wasn’t yet the snobbish pleasure it’s become since. Her voice is as seductive as ever, and if one piece isn’t enough, there’s always the Ave verum corpus–or the Exultate jubilate, which–she tells us herself–“I enjoyed singing the most.”
Keep an eye on Tropical Storm Elsa, which may have a wallop or two reserved for this region if its track remains set on Northeast Florida. Its winds aren’t expected here until Tuesday. The Tour de France: Finally, a day of rest for the cyclists after all those miles in the Alps, in preparation for an endless trek on July 6, starting from Albertville. Euro 2020: No matches until Tuesday’s semi-final between Italy and Spain.
Vaccinations: Appointments for the Pfizer-only clinic at the health department are preferred, but walk-ins will be accepted. Please call 386-437-7350 ext. 0 for scheduling or questions. June 25, 2021. Eighteen pharmacies in Flagler County offer COVID-19 vaccinations, and 12 of these offer Pfizer, which is approved for individuals ages 12 and over. The health department will offer COVID-19 testing on Friday, July 2 between 2:30 and 3:30PM at its main office, 301 Dr. Carter Blvd.in Bunnell. For more information about COVID-19 vaccination and testing efforts, please visit https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/.
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“Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)
[…]
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!”
–Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America Again.”
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