Bonus! This chapter takes place on the Fourth of July, seeing as how it is almost is that date, and I managed to include a little extra Phineabella. You have my permission to be duly impressed.

The 1995 Ford Bronco

It was just an old worn out jeep
Rusty old floor boards hot on my feet

Marsh Creek, Ohio. July 4, 2031
The Flynn Residence

"Happy two hundred and fifty-fifth birthday, America." Phineas said, tying an American flag onto the radio antenna of his 1995 Ford Bronco. Even in the shadow of the two car garage, the old SUV's blue and white paint glistened, at least as shiny as the paint on a rusty old car can be.

Phineas had bought the old Ford in a used car lot on his nineteenth birthday, and though the gas mileage was terrible and it took three tries to turn the engine over, he just could not bear to part with it. It wasn't his daily driver. That was a fully electric car he had designed and built himself, currently sitting in the driveway out front. But, when you live on forty acres of land, having an old off road vehicle comes in handy for getting around. He had modified it, removing the roof and window frames. A sturdy roll bar protected the vehicle's occupants from being crushed if the SUV were to flip over.

The florescent overhead lights flickered on. Phineas turned to the doorway and found four women staring back at him.

"Are you ready, Phineas?" Isabella asked. Phineas's wife was carrying a large wicker basket filled to the brim with food.

"Sure am."

Three young girls of no more than five clustered around their mother. The sight of his beautiful wife was enough to bring a smile to Phineas's face, but the sight of his three daughters made the young man's cheeks hurt.

Isabella dropped her burden on the rear seat of the truck and then gave her husband a kiss. Phineas dragged it out for a moment before Isabella pulled away. "Phineas!"

"What?"

Isabella pointed behind her husband. Phineas turned to find his three daughters staring at him, mouths agape. He smiled nervously for a moment, then crouched down to their height.

"How are my three lovely ladies doing this morning?" he asked. They all wrapped their arms around him, laughing. "Are you all ready to go?"

"Yup!" Gracie answered. The other two just nodded.

"Alright, then," Phineas said, standing up. "Everybody in!"

He slid into the driver's seat. Isabella started to climb in the passenger door to sit next to him, but the three girls pushed past their mother, cramming three abreast next to their father on the bench seat. Isabella laughed at their eagerness. "Looks like I'm still taking a backseat to your creations," she joked. "Literally, in this case."

"Hey, you helped with these," Phineas shot back playfully.

"What? What do you mean, Daddy?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Don't worry about it. I'll tell you when you're older."

Phineas put the key in the ignition and turned it forward. It cranked a few times and then turned over, but almost immediately stalled out. Phineas tried again with the same result. Finally, on the third try, the engine started.

Phineas shifted into drive and pulled out of the garage, the sun beating down on the exposed interior.

"Whew! It's hot!" Isabella exclaimed, even though it was brutally obvious to everyone in the Bronco.

Phineas did not head down the driveway toward the road. Instead, he drove into the backyard. There was only two acres of well-manicured grass behind the house before the lawn gave way to bumpy and uneven ground, covered with weeds and rocks.

The family had traveled this way before. They had their own little picnic spot down by Marsh Creek, the little town's namesake, which ran through their property.

As they drove on, Phineas's mind started to wander. He actually stopped paying attention to where he was driving. Fortunately, there was nothing for him to hit out here.

He suddenly brought the old Ford to a stop.

"Phineas, what's wrong?" Isabella asked.

Phineas didn't answer. He turned to his daughters. "Would any of you like to drive?"

"Really, Daddy?" Emma asked.

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, really Phineas?"

"Sure. There isn't anything they can hit out here."

"I want to drive!" Kaitlyn said excitedly.

"Me too!" Gracie added.

"You can all take a turn," Phineas said.

"I want to go first!" Kaitlyn said. She was sitting in-between her two sisters, and she was practically climbing over Gracie to get closer to the driver's seat.

"Okay, okay, don't hurt your sister," Phineas laughed. He lifted Kaitlyn up and pulled her onto his lap. It was just as well. Kaitlyn couldn't reach the pedals anyway.

"Ready, Kaitlyn?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Okay, just point the steering wheel where you want the car to go."

Phineas took his foot off the brake and gave it just a little gas.

"Wheee!" Kaitlyn yelled. She held the wheel tight, the Bronco drifting slowly to the right.

"Turn it just a little bit to the left, Kate," Phineas told her. "The picnic spot is the other way."

She turned the wheel to the right.

"Kaitlyn," Isabella said from the backseat, "Don't you remember which way is left and which way is right?"

"I am going left!"

"Make 'L's' with your fingers."

Kaitlyn took her hands off the steering wheel. Phineas quickly grabbed the wheel with one hand. Kaitlyn held up her hands, her thumbs extended at right angles in relation to her extended index fingers.

"Oh. Sorry." She took the wheel again and steered the other way.

They drove on a little ways at ten miles per hour, bouncing over the uneven ground. Finally, as they reached where the river cut through the Flynn's property, Phineas stepped on the brake. The picnic area was a little ways down the river.

"Okay, Kaitlyn, give one of your sisters a turn."

"Aw."

"Come on, Gracie, your turn."

Kaitlyn slid to the middle and Gracie sat on Phineas's lap. Phineas took his foot off the brake. "Alright, Gracie, turn right and just follow the river bank."

Gracie turned the wheel. "Other way, Gracie," Isabella said.

"Oh. Oops." She turned the other way. Phineas stepped on the gas a little.

"Dad, my feet are really hot," Emma said.

"Mine are too, honey," Isabella said.

"Yeah, I think the floor boards are so rusted out that they're getting hot from the engine and the transmission," Phineas said. "I should do something about that one of these days. Fix all the rust and- Gracie, turn left!"

The Bronco was skirting the edge of the river bank, having slowly drifted to the right. Gracie yanked on the wheel and brought the SUV, rather roughly, back to safety. Phineas lowered his head down to his daughter's level.

"Can you see over the dash, Gracie?" Phineas asked.

"Um…not really."

"Well, here, then." Phineas put an arm under Gracie's shoulder and pulled her up higher so she could see. "Sit up a little straighter."

"Sorry, Daddy."

"You're doing fine, Gracie. But if you can't see, let me know."

"Okay, Emma. Your turn."

Emma climbed onto her father's lap. She drove the rest of the way to the picnic spot, where Phineas had built a sturdy picnic table and hung a tire swing from a large dogwood tree that had grown out over the river.

Phineas pushed the brake as they neared. "Here we are!" Phineas called out. "Nicely done, Emma."

But Emma almost didn't hear her father. She was no longer just driving along a little creek in Ohio. She was off-roading up a mountain, barreling over rocks and cresting ridges, the American flag on the antenna flapping heroically in the breeze as she fought her way over the bumpy ground.

"Do we have to stop?"

"Yes, we have to stop."

"Awwwwwww."

They climbed out of the old Ford, Isabella carrying the picnic basket. "You girls did very well driving," she said. "You could use a little practice, though." She put the basket on one of the benches and from it drew a table cloth. She unfurled it over the wooden table.

"Well," Phineas said, "It is the perfect vehicle to practice with."

"And the perfect spot to practice in," Isabella added.

Phineas took the American flag from the antenna and tied it to a small sapling. The stars and stripes fluttered in the light breeze.

He turned and looked at his family. Isabella, his beautiful wife of six years, was setting out their Independence Day lunch. His three beautiful daughters were chasing each other playfully through the trees by the water. And there was his faithful old Ford, sitting in the shade of a large oak tree. He smiled to himself.

"This is why I love America."

The End

I hope you all enjoyed this patriotic final chapter of this songfic. I shall be returning to writing P&F Industries #8 tomorrow. I think I know now where I want to go with it next, and writing should be easier.

Thank you, Alan Jackson, for this wonderful song. As much as I love country music, and as great as songs about beer and women are, it's nice to have a song like this that nearly everyone can relate to.

As for the Ford Bronco: Yes, the lyrics say "jeep," but if you watch the music video for the song, it's a Ford Bronco. I'm a Ford guy, therefore, I kept the Ford Bronco. I made it more "jeep-like" but removing the roof.

I'm sorry I didn't give the Flynn children much personality. I'm not good at developing new characters, especially when I only have one chapter in which to do it. I couldn't even think of names for the kids, so I used the names of NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth's two daughters (Kaitlyn and Grace Kenseth) and NASCAR driver Greg Biffle's daughter (Emma Biffle). I acutally think the names fit pretty well.