America has always been known as the land of opportunity and a new beginning for many families. It is difficult to know anyone who did not experience some fortunate turnaround at one point in their lives in this country. Perhaps that is why people still want to come here and remain here and eventually call this land home. As we celebrate the most patriotic time of the year tomorrow, July 4^th, put the beer and the hot dog down and take a moment to reflect and be thankful to whoever and whatever you want to for the ability to have another year of relative peace and love and stability in your life with safe food and clean water and brave soldiers and a good government that ultimately protects us all.

The song says, “I got a girl crush” and is a big hit for the country western band Little Big Town. In Nashville, usually girls don’t go around singing those words even if the song is about jealousy of another woman. The song goes on to say, “I want to taste her lips because they taste like you” The song got bad reviews but still somehow climbed to number one on the country charts and crossed over into the top ten on the ITunes Pop Chart. The band of 2 guys and 2 girls have been around since 1998 but wasn’t too successful till now. Only in America can your dreams still someday be realized if you stick with it. It was a long hard road from where it started for the four in Birmingham, Alabama.

The girls met at Sanford University. In Nashville they recruited Jimmy and Philip to join them. Their amazing harmonies quickly got them a record deal. Their debut album in 2002 got bad reviews.  Then in late 2004 their label dropped them. Broke the band had to give up their tour bus and go back to their day jobs. Philip was giving phone dance lessons. Jeesh! and Jimmy was parking cars. Over the next year Karen and Philip got divorced from their spouses. Kimberly’s husband, the band’s lawyer died suddenly of a heart attack. The band mates sang at the funeral and somehow it brought them all back again. It became a tiny bit of healing for all.

Their next song,, Boondocks would be their break out hit. Back out on the road opening for other bands they suddenly realized that crowds were forming to see them again and begging for an encore song. They scored their country number one hit in 2012 with a summer hit and now they did it again with the song called Girl Crush.  Even though the lyrics of the song scared some country music stations and they were playing it less, friends like Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Reba stepped in and started wearing Girl Crush hats in support of the band and things turned around for the better.

What is America without controversy, then cross over? Failure then success? Hope and then prosperity? They are all married now. Jimmy and Karen to each other and working on new music. You can knock Little Big Town Down but they just keep getting up. Just like America!