Happy 4th of July!
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Posts tagged July 4
Happy 4th of July!
Inuyama Castle fireworks
Happy Declaration of Independence Day
Samuel Adams grave stone in Granary Burial Ground (aka The Old Granary)
My view of American history has changed over the past month. First, I read David G. McCullough’s 1776 which seriously altered my take on the revolution. The year 1776 was actually a very dark period in American history (until the last week) as independence seemed very difficult to come by in July and nearly impossible by mid-December with numerous defeats and retreats.
Seeing the actual places in New York and Boston where some of the events of 1776 occurred after reading 1776 also gave me a new perspective.
July 4 is celebrated as Independence Day even though independence didn’t actually come until the war ended in 1783, and the legal separation from America’s point of view came on July 2. But the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4 so that is the day that stuck.
Today’s photo is of the tombstone of one of the signers of that document, Samuel Adams. His father started the brewery that many know the name Samuel Adams by today. However, the modern Samuel Adams beer of the Boston Beer Company didn’t get started until 1984, despite the commercials which make it look like it has been brewed since the 18th Century.
Congratulations on being an American today!
On the Fourth of July we went to Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world dating back 165 years. It brought back Independence Day memories from when I was a kid as we went to the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California on the 4th a few times when I was young.
My wife was reminded that it was the 4th of July at the grocery store earlier in morning by the clerk. Then, when we were getting ready to board our first ride at Tivoli, Vintage Cars, the ride operator heard us say something in English and he says to us, “Congratulations on being an American today!” I thanked him for his well wishes. What does one say to others on the 4th of July? The Danes don’t know any more than I, but I enjoyed his attempt.
Later in the day we ran into the same ride operator on a different ride. This time he was running the Hans Christian Andersen stories ride (The Flying Trunk). He didn’t remember us from earlier in the day but did take another stab at wishing us a happy 4th. This time he said, “Happy Birthday to America!” I had to smile.
I asked him if he had been to America. He said, “No.” He had been to Canada once though. He went to Montreal so he used his French there–not English. The language ability of these Scandinavians is amazing. Some of my students here can speak four or more languages.
Above is the family on the Galley Ships–a ride in which the pirates in the middle fire on the viking ships spinning around them.
Tomorrow I’ll blog some more about Tivoli.