Musings made real by thinking out loud — history, books, holidays, and whatever I’m learning next.
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July 4th, 1776
250 years ago 56 men committed high treason. They were privileged, wealthy, and owned property. Their families were prosperous. As British subjects, they would have continued to be so. They risked everything, as they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. The penalty was not just death by hanging. They would have been…
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Memorial Day, Dr. Joseph Warren, and the Checks That Were Cashed.
Please take a moment at 3:00 PM on Monday, May 25 to honor all those who sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we often take for granted. Read more to learn about America’s first martyr.
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The First Skirmish
Throughout the early morning of April 19, 1775, a British column marches from the swampy banks of the Charles River, through rain and chill, toward Concord. Their mission is to confiscate arms, munitions, and supplies stored in the town by patriots. After capturing Paul Revere, they realize the mission is no longer covert. The patriots,…
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Paul Revere’s Ride
Longfellow’s drama and the real story!
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Red Lines and Scottish Rebels
The American Revolution day by day. May and June 1775. Red Lines and Scottish Rebels. One of the things becoming apparent is that although the colonies were separately working to form militias and safety committees, it was the Carolinas—North and South—that were among the first to adopt declarations moving toward independence. In May 1775, North…
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Before it was a War
One of the more interesting observations as I read the day to day events leading up to declaring independence is the timing of events in the colonies. By 1775, the Boston massacre (1770) and the Boston tea party (1773) along with other fuses, put the colonies in a revolutionary mood. The first battle was Lexington…
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America 250
In honor of our 250th anniversary, I am reading a day by day account of the revolutionary war. History doesn’t happen linearly but simultaneously. Washington was doing his thing here, Madison there, Jefferson, and Franklin. I’m starting with April 18th, 1775, hopefully reading at least one entry every day. My goal is to read through…
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Kris
First, this is not a sad story. If you’re crying at the end, I haven’t told this story as I intended. It’s my sister Kris’s 59th birthday. The 24th birthday in heaven. For me, losing Kris was like losing a third arm I never knew I had. I still have two, like everyone else, I…
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Christmas Eve
The dark before the light. Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol has long been one of my favorite books. I couldn’t tell you why. I remember sitting upstairs in my room on Christmas Eve when I was about 14, at midnight watching the story on a small television, in black and white. There was probably a…
