Hello again!
I wanted to send this post along to you because it’s timely and I’m enthusiastic about the contents. All three links will stimulate your thinking and, I hope, bring you some hope and/or inspiration.
I grew up in Canton, MA. Next door to the house my dad grew up in, down the street from the house my grandma grew up in. Early American history has fascinated me, and if you’ve ever lived in New England, you know that local history is front and center.
Paul Revere’s copper mill was situated in Canton. I attended the Gridley School for first and second grade. My dad went there for grades 1-8. I attended the Revere School for 4th grade.
Batman and I were married in a Canton church with a belfry sheltering a bell forged by Paul Revere.
(My dad painted the scene above, with a bit of a chuckle. The bell ringer is standing by the bell rope, ready to call people to worship in our church in the 1700’s. But he’s checking his wrist watch.)
Tonight is the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride. Longfellow’s poem describing the ride can be read here.
Tomorrow is Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts, celebrating Revere’s ride. I can remember, years ago, being in Boston and having a re-enacter fly by me, cape flapping, horse’s hooves pounding on the cobblestones. “The British are coming!”, he hollered. It gave me goosebumps.
Heather Cox Richardson and Angus Cox recently had a wonderful conversation inspired by Revere’s ride. You can find it here.
The dreadful Oklahoma City bombing was carried out on another Patriot’s Day. This Story Corps piece aired this morning on npr, and it is remarkable.
And this piece has been making me think for days. Ezra Klein and Jonathan Haidt talk about smart phone usage. I can’t recommend it highly enough.