Mortgage Monday: Home For Independence Day

I have watched or heard the fireworks on Independence Day in a variety of different places throughout my life but, despite the silence filling the night this year, this was the first year that really took on a deeper meaning for me. In addition to being able to trace back my family to that time in United States history, there is a much more basic connection to the 4^th of July that I now carry with me. I now own a piece of that very land over which we fought the British Army.

As far as I know, there weren’t any great battles or notable residents on my land but it was nevertheless, a small piece of the colonies which was liberated from tyranny. The details remain unknown to me but the fact of the matter is that whomever live on this land was set free with the passing of this “radical” declaration of independence. It is with this in mind that I think about all that could have possibly transpired among the trees that fill my property. There is even the possibility that, while unlikely, one or more of my ancestors could have set eyes on this land.

This is one of the interesting aspects of researching this period of time in my family’s history. While the bulk of the research consists of tracing back, generation by generation, to the time of the revolution, there is also the research into where those ancestors lived and, when applicable, where they served. It is in this further reading when we get a much better sense of the lives that our ancestors lived but knowing where they traveled before, during, and after the war.

While I have been able to trace back to the Siege at Yorktown, the Battle of Brandywine, and the Battle of Long Island, there are still other journeys which remain undiscovered and many lines that need to be investigated further. There are also questions that still endure both in the service of individuals and in the subsequent generations many of which, ironically, tracing back to the land in which they lived and the shifting boarders that are prolonging the research process.

In the end, most of the lines in my family came to and/or fought for this country/colony because of land and identity. They needed to find a place where they belonged, somewhere that could provide them with a home, and where they could enjoy the freedom of personal identity. And while much of this history had been lost for decades (sometimes longer) we are now rediscovering this national and family history. For me, it is a great feeling to have somewhere that I belong, a home and land that I own, and an identity which acknowledges both the past and the present.   

Errands, A Dead Fridge, And Meeting The Police!

Our plans for the 4^th of July consisted of approximately nothing. We had a few errands that we had been putting off but other than that we were going to sleep in, relax, and enjoy the rare weekday together without the worries of work and school constantly splitting our attention. Well, we definitely slept in (at least I did), we had a few relaxing moments, and then we headed out the door to pick up a few things. Nothing exciting, just some clothes and groceries and the day was actually going pretty well as we found  just about everything we needed in one stop rather than two giving us some more time to not run errands.

About four hours passed and we were starting to figure out what we wanted for a late dinner when the day took a turn in an unfavorable direction. As my wife was sitting down with a bowl of cereal and I was rummaging around on the top shelf, I noticed an inordinate amount of heat radiating from the sides of the refrigerator. Just as I noticed the lack of cold air, my wife got my attention saying that the new milk tasted sour. Well, crap, I guess the holiday isn’t going to end as smoothly as it began.

So, it was time to repack the groceries and take them to my parents’ house so everything wouldn’t be wasted. With my parents in Pittsburgh for the weekend, it was going to be a very quick trip to unload, put away, and get back to the apartment. However, what would have been an uneventful stop just a few months ago was a bit more complicated this time around. With the roads clear and the fireworks lighting up the newly dark sky in the distance, I was calling and texting trying to figure out the new security code needed to get into the house. Additionally, when we arrived, the key in my pocket that was supposed to work didn’t and I had to scramble to find the spare (which also didn’t work in the right lock).

With all the searching and fumbling around with the locks the alarm was blaring by the time I got in the house and I knew that we would soon be having a couple of visitors. The alarm had long since been turned off and I just finished putting the food away when I saw the bright beams of two flashlights making their way to the back door. It was time to have a brief conversation with the Radnor Police Department. After explaining the situation, showing them my driver’s license, and chatting for a bit we all left the house and drove up the street.

And now we are left with trying to get the fridge repaired (always an interesting conversation with the management and maintenance) and finding the time to be there when the service needs to be done. That is a whole different conversation, issue, and blog post altogether. But, for now, we got everything done and we managed to get back to the apartment before the throngs of people flooded onto the streets. I was just glad that we still had two more days left in the weekend!

Embrace The Change Brought About By A Simple Declaration

Sorry to disappoint but this is not what it is all about.

Today we celebrate a moment in our history that impacts all of us. The signing of the Declaration of Independence is one of the most pivotal moments in history that ha rippled throughout the world and across generations. What began as an act of treason is now celebrated as a moment when the people rose up against an oppressive government. Today is the day when we celebrate the power of a nation fed up with an overreaching nobility taking a stand, reclaiming their rights, and declaring their independence.

On this day we also remember those who have fought for the ideas and ideals embraced those many summers ago in Philadelphia. It has taken the blood of too many good men to ensure the thriving vitality of the tree of liberty and yet those lives lost are too often forgotten during this time of celebration. And it is those lives that we disgrace when we slowly strip the people of the rights that we fought so hard for and sacrificed so much to secure. While history does not change the perspective and lens used to view that which shaped the world can sometimes cast a drunken delirium on the current status of the nation.

Too often people forget that we fought for freedom. We fought to ensure that the people maintain their rights. We were given the ability to pursue happiness not the guarantee of all life’s pleasures. We brought about change that shifted the power from the powerful to the people. We all have rights.

We now find ourselves in a situation when entitlement and an overreaching government are once again trying to dominate our daily lives. The freedoms that we once fought for and cherished are now be questioned and deemed radical and dangerous. The independence and individuality that we once enjoyed is now seen as rebellious and racist. The thing that we once had to work hard for and earn are now preached to be that which everyone should have regardless of the effort and deservingness of the individual.

We cannot be given everything nor expect to be given anything. We are one nation of many people with individual rights. We each have to embrace those rights, decide for ourselves whether we are going to exercise certain rights, and respect the decisions of others as to whether or not they will embrace the freedoms that those rights provide. It took tremendous acts of defiance to secure those rights and found this nation and it took courage to defend those rights. Now we must remember those men who stood before us and let their legacy fuel the bravery we need now to exercise our rights.