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With Independence Day around the corner, I thought you might enjoy a few thought-provoking quotes about freedom.

Thomas Jefferson exclaimed, "My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!" The same could be said today.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century essayist wrote, "For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?" Although we are thankful for economic prosperity — and hopeful that it returns — that prosperity is impossible without freedom.

Our 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose term spanned the post-war era of the 1950s, reminded us that "freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed — else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die."

And finally this, from humorist Erma Bombeck: "You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."

July has been named "Recreation and Parks Month" in Howard County by County Executive Ken Ulman. Howard County's Department of Recreation and Parks will celebrate with a full month of activities including the county's 4th of July Festival, Wednesdays' Sunset Serenades and the ever-popular Travelin' Bands series. Jay D. Henley and the Stone Broke Band will be in Savage Park at 7 p.m. on July 10. You can also have fun outside while you collect data for scientific research by joining the county's Annual Butterfly Count on July 18 or the 4th Annual Dragonfly Count on July 25.

If you would like to learn more about Recreation & Parks' volunteer opportunities, call 410-313-4624 or visit the Web site at www.howard

countymd.gov/rap. For a complete list of events and activities taking place during July, check out the website or call 410-313-4700.

One of our patriotic duties is jury duty, and most of us respond when summoned. But not all —and that fact leads to a scam that has appeared over the last few years. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. If you give out this information, you've just had your identity stolen.

The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their Web sites, warning consumers about the fraud. Check it out here: www.snopes

.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp.