GOD BLESS AMERICA

JULY 4, 2009

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding.

His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.




NOTE: this entry was not intended to offend our dear friends in the U.K. This event happened 233 years ago. A lot has changed since then and thankfully our countries have been allies for many years.

JULY 3, 2009

A Day Out With My Grand Daughter

From an early age, I started a tradition of taking both my grand kids out for the day, sometime around their birthday.  A day when I have a one on one time with just them. 

My grand daughter’s 17th birthday is Saturday so today we had our day out.  I picked her up and we went to lunch at Steamer’s Fish House which is located on the edge of Puget Sound.  It’s away from the busy waterfront restaurants so has a totally different  atmosphere.  From the parking lot you cross railroad tracks that head in and out of Tacoma.  So in a couple hours time you see Union Pacific & Burlington Northern-Santa Fe freight trains as well as Amtrak.   Across from Steamers there’s a nice paved area with benches & picnic tables in case you want to bring your own food, sit in the sun & enjoy the activity of the trains on one side and the many boats cruising by on the water side.  There’s also a great view of the two Tacoma Narrow’s Bridges off in the distance.The first train was a Union Pacific

 

Then along came the Burlington Northern.  There were also two Amtrak trains but they were too fast for us.

The Narrows Bridge off in the distance

 

After eating and some time on the beach we headed for Point Defiance Park.  My plan was to stop all thru the park so Meghanne could take as many pictures as she wanted. (She never leaves home without her camera)

 

Shortly after we entered the park we came to the Rose Garden.  She wanted to stop there, so I parked and we walked down the hill to the beautiful garden.

 

The picture below is not of roses as you can see.  These flowers were just outside the fenced in rose garden.  The park district fenced the rose garden to keep the deer from eating the hundreds of beautiful roses.

I loved the lines of this big old tree.

After we were thru in the Rose Garden my intent was to drive thru the entire park.  But I made a turn and we headed down toward the Marina.  I parked very near the Vashon Island Ferry ticket booth and as Meghanne was taking pictures of the water & boats.  I said “we should have made plans to take a ride in the ferry.”  Several minutes later she said “will grandma, the ferry hasn’t left, maybe we have time to walk on.”  So I made sure the car was secure and we headed over to buy our tickets.  The trip between Point Defiance and Vashon Island is about 15 minutes, so for Meghanne & myself it was only $5.00 round-trip.   With the sun shining….it was a beautiful day to be out on the water.

 

 

There were several large container ships anchored out, waiting their turn in Tacoma’s port area.  Our Mt Rainier in the background.

 

 Arriving at Vashon Island, the foot traffic gets off first.  (Well, once they get it all fixed so one can walk off safely. )

 

Vehicles loading at Vashon for the trip to Tacoma.  Vashon is a long skinny island.  From the other end of the island you can take a ferry to Seattle.  But, you’d have to do that with your car because it’s absolutely not within walking distance.

The shores of Vashon Island are lined with summer homes as well as permanent homes.  I believe there are approximately 10,000 people that live on the island.

As we neared the Tacoma side, you could see a double line of cars, trucks and motorcycles waiting patiently for the ferry’s return.  They won’t all get aboard, especially during rush hour times.  But those island folks know how to use their time while waiting for their turn on the ferry.

It was 4:30pm by the time we got back to the car and headed home.  I still needed to hit the grocery store for our 4th of July day down on the waterfront….so I took a happy, picture taking girl home. 

 

We had a wonderful day of making another birthday memory.

Have a safe and sane 4th of July

FOOD FRIDAY

I've decided to let the Food Friday posts, rest until after Labor Day. Meanwhile I hope those of you who read my Blog will gather your recipes together and participate in Food Friday this fall.

Bad Day