Faith Can Move Mountains... But Dynamite Works Better

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

George Washington Versus The Cherry Tree Of Doom

Before getting started today, some links! First, head on over to Lyn Fuchs' blog Sacred Ground, where I wrote a guest blog on the Battle of Gettysburg, which is being marked in Pennslyvania for the 150th anniversary of the battle.

Second, Authors For Oklahoma has a third blog up, with three sets of books and ebooks to be raffled off for the American Red Cross. We've got two pages set, at Wordpress and over at Blogger. We have three more blogs like that to come.

Third, my partner in crime Norma has a blog set today, having alphabetical fun with movies. Take a look there and leave her a comment. Particularly if you take the challenge!

And over at our joint blog, just in time for the Fourth of July, we've got a musical interludes blog about Mel Gibson's hatred for the English. Come on over, give the music a listen, and tell us if you've ever seen the movie in question...

Now then, to the mayhem before us....


"I cannot tell a lie. I never cared for the taste of broccoli." ~ George Washington, 1775

"Dear Martha, just a word to let you know I am well. Achieved astonishing victory over Hessians at Trenton the day after Christmas. Timing was impeccable. Most of them were hung over. Marched away with arms, provisions, and liquor. Jebediah Cooper broke into the liquor supply. Much annoyance from the men about the depleted liquor, but fortunately the hostilities are directed where they belong. At old Jebediah. I don't believe he'll last the night." ~ George Washington, December 27th, 1776


"The British aren't coming! The British aren't coming!" ~ Paul Revere's forgotten brother Ezekiel "Bubba" Revere on his forgotten ride from Albany, 1775

"Now, Adams, I know he can be a pain in the neck, but we're trying to form a country here, a shining example for the world. Sometimes that even means we have to put up with colossal dullards like John Dickinson." ~ Benjamin Franklin, June 30th, 1776

"Dickinson, you're an idiot!" ~ John Adams, five minutes later, June 30th, 1776


Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, when Americans rise up and celebrate throwing off the (apparent) oppression of the British by setting off fireworks, decorating the land in the Stars and Stripes, and having a drink. Then they go downtown and throw tea in the harbour. If there's not a harbour, they throw tea in the aquifer. If there's not an aquifer, they're in Death Valley, and they've got problems of their own.

Since most of my weekly readers are Americans, I must therefore mark the day with a salute to my southern neighbours.

Last year I did a blog for the Fourth of July consisting of locales in half of the states, some I've been to, and others I'd like to see for myself. I'll pick that up again this year, and continue on with the theme, trading off from year to year between the two halves (this is going to pose a problem the next time I have to pick places from Delaware or Rhode Island)...

A happy Independence Day, my American readers and friends. Up the colonies! Down the British!

Home of General Nathanael Greene, Coventry, Rhode Island
Mount Mansfield, Vermont
Mark Twain House, Hartford, Connecticut

Fort Ticonderoga, New York
Princeton  Battlefield Memorial, New Jersey
Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland
Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, West Virginia
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Cowpens Battlefield, South Carolina
Mount LeConte, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi
French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
Zane-Shawnee Caverns, Ohio
The Devil's Backbone, Indiana
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
Lake Itasca, Source Of The Mississippi River, Minnesota
Sgt. Floyd Monument, Sioux City, Iowa
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas
Mount Scott, Wichita Mountains, Oklahoma
Bandera Volcano, New Mexico

Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Mount Rushmore, Black Hills, South Dakota
Craters Of The Moon National Monument, Idaho
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon





20 comments:

  1. Wow! Thanks for showing me places in my own country that I've never seen!

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  2. Thanks, William!
    Fun tribute.
    Beautiful shots of our country...next time, I'll provide you with some of the West Coast... ^,^

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  3. I'm from Coventry UK...nothing like Coventry Rhode Island.
    Jane x
    PS Remember Laura Secord...and I ain't talking chocolates?!

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  4. Beautiful pictures that make me proud to be American but yes I'm near Death Valley and I have problems.

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  5. My state was mentioned! I feel so special :)

    Such peaceful looking scenes. But American Independence Day is nothing but fireworks all night, every night for a week.

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  6. I've been to Wisconsin Dells many times and you can't throw a stick without hitting a water park but thanks for showcasing it!

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  7. I say old chap, 'down with the English' that's a bit harsh haha! Happy 4th of July, have a great day.

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  8. For a Canadian, you sure do get around! The Cowpens shot was great. Not many people realize what an impact that Revolution battle had.

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  9. Beautiful pics from the states. A few in my area!:) I love living here so much. Well, I just played Norma's game, and I'll check out your Gettysburg blog later. More work to do then off to see Despicable Me w/my babies.

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  10. @Norma: You're welcome!

    @Debra: the irony is that states like California or Washington (Oregon too), I'll have no problem with finding places for Fourth of July blogs in the future...

    @Jane and Chris: ah, yes, taking the whole long walk to go tattle tale on the Yankees. That Laura Secord...

    @Eve: I imagine a lot of places in the Southwest have water issues...

    @J.E.: or more than a week. Detroit had some going on last week Monday... on the same night as the last game of the Stanley Cup. The station that was supposed to be broadcasting that game ran fireworks instead, over, and over, and over...

    @Deb: I was surprised looking for details on the Dells about the commercial-tourist side of things. I've never been there, but I'd heard about the river years ago, so that was my first choice for Wisconsin.

    @Grace: well, as a Canadian, I like the Brits!

    @Cheryl: I've read quite a bit about that battle in the Revolution, so somehow it seemed just right to make use of it here. I haven't been there personally.

    @Krisztina: thanks!

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  11. Lots of beautiful locations! That scheme will provide you with much material in years to come. Thanks!

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  12. William, thanks for that fun tribute! Loved all the beautiful pics! Happy Fourth to you:).

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  13. Oh wow, you found some terrific shots! Though I've a soft spot for Americat, haha:) Loved it!

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  14. Tweeted this since I'm the spawn of the devil with regards to Facebook.

    Hugs and chocolate,
    Shelly

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  15. William, now that we have thrown off the yoke of the British monarch, all is forgiven and we love the Brits. And the Canadians. And anyone else who will visit us here and buy some of our real estate.

    Nice photo of the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut.

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  16. Thanks for showcasing our beautiful country, William. At first I thought, "Oh no. I haven't seen any of these places." But then you got into some of the historic battlegrounds and a few of the natural features that I have visited. I could spend the rest of my life traveling in this country and not seeing it all. And now I've added Canada to the list. . .

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  17. Great photos! Makes me realize that I seriously need to get to the Eastern states more!

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  18. You got me there. I don't know that much about American history but those photos a seriously nice.

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  19. @Annette: thank you!

    @Maria: you're most welcome!

    @Kelly: thanks!

    @LondonLulu: isn't Americat cute?

    @Shelly: Facebook is silly.

    @Jack: I've only been in Connecticut once, as a child, so I have little memory of it.

    @Christine: there's plenty to choose from.

    @Meradeth: and I need to get to the southwest!

    @Angelika: thank you!

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