Where was America on July 5th? By that I mean, we declared independence, but were we 13 separate "nations" or one country? Were we collectively independent? What authority or government did we have?
We have wrestled with these types of questions in order to better understand the thought process of the Founding Fathers. So why bring it up today and not wait until Thursday? As we celebrate our declaring independence 236 years ago, keep in mind that the vote to formally (and unanimously) approve Virginia's resolution on independence and the subsequent signing of the document was a frightening first step for our new country. These men sacrificed a lot, and put their lives on the line as "traitors" to Great Britain, without something more than our rag-tag military being held together by Gen. Washington. While the 4th is a grand day, we need to remember the 5th, the 6th, and so on, and the continuous work done by these great men to secure the blessings we have today.
On a lighter note, tonight I went with a bunch of the others to Nationals Park to see the Nats take on the Giants. It was a great game until the rain delay, with the Nats roughing up Lincecum to the tune of 8 earned runs. But as any baseball fan knows, the experience is not in just watching the game, its in the people watching too. I'm all for freedom to choose your own style, but I don't understand the style of wearing the baseball caps with the flat bills turned at a 45 degree angle. First of all, it's not practical because it doesn't block the sun out of your eyes, and second, it looks ridiculous. (Insert old man joke here.) There were several kids wearing that style about four rows in front of us, but to top it off, there was a kid with them with a well manicured mullet. I will let you form your own opinion here.
MEET THE FELLOWS PART I: I have to give a shout out to the random Georgetown student who was stuck on the GUTS bus with all of us and had to put up with our loudness, and Yociel's stories of what his grandmother used to say to us. When we finally made it back to campus, he took off out of the bus like a speeding bullet (or like Brian Johnson, whichever one is faster).
MEET THE FELLOWS PART II: Christine Chu is from Massachusetts. She was the mysterious Fellow who just showed up one day after we started classes. Her school didn't get out until the first Monday we were here, so she worked on the Monday, flew into DC Monday night, and started with us on Tuesday. Then the next weekend, she went back to Boston to be in a friend's wedding. She had planned to fly out Friday night, but since we got back from Montpelier late, she pushed her flight to Saturday morning, early enough to arrive and start the pre-wedding festivities. Her first week was a crazier travel schedule than most of us had in our first couple of weeks.
TOMORROW: Morning lecture only, playing some basketball, then 4th of July festivities. Everyone enjoy the holiday, and please be safe!
No comments:
Post a Comment