Finally, after visiting Jamestown (the first English settlement in what would become the United States), Williamsburg (the first capital of the colony of Virginia), Washington, D.C. (capital of the United States from November 17, 1800, forward), New York City (first capital under the Constitution), we are now in Philly as it is affectionately known. Philadelphia was the first capital under the Articles of Confederation and a temporary one at that while the District of Columbia was under construction. This historic city is also home to the place where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written and signed. And so it is that early this morning we find ourselves in the very building where these famous documents were adopted – Independence Hall. We were thrilled being here, seeing the chair George Washington sat in, knowing this was the room that lent itself to the founding of this nation. We couldn’t help but be moved by the gravity of its importance.
And that was that. Thirteen years ago, it is now August 2022 as I returned to this post to “enhance” it, that was all I had to say about the entire day. I suppose it captured the most salient point of the day, but it sure left a lot out, including all of these other photos. Barely 150 words, only 1 photo, kind of sad, but for one reason or other, it seemed enough back then. In any case, here I am, pulling a few more of the photos that lend to the visual narrative while I try to express something of a dialog that I believe might contribute to fleshing out the day for my wife and me.
You see, on one hand, it seems weird to be embellishing history, but well, I’m still me, and if today I might write differently than I would have a dozen years ago, so be it; these are still my thoughts. And maybe they’ve matured, although today, we hear all too often that words must be taken literally and must not evolve with the times. I’m speaking of the very documents that were written right here and shaped a nation. I’m not one to argue that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are not perfect documents, as they were for the time, but come on, Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he tackled the Declaration of Independence, while James Madison was 36 when drafting the first part of the Constitution. I feel that the wisdom shared between these two men and those around them was greater than any collective of political leaders who’ve been trying to navigate and guide a country forward for the past 50 years.
The day was gray and wet, but that didn’t detract from the sense of magnitude of being here at Independence National Historical Park. Back when Caroline and I first embarked on these adventures into America’s history and breadth of its lands, I don’t think we were able to anticipate the immensity of the love of America that would grow within us. We have walked in constant surprise at the incredible fortune of finding ourselves able to immerse our imaginations, memories, and appreciation at what the United States can mean to people able to find it.
Strangely enough, I’m sharing this photo for reasons that were not apparent when I took the shot. I’ve cropped away the top of the image, not because of the name John Hancock but because as I was scanning these old photos, my eye caught the name Charles Thomson in the bottom left. There’s some history in my head regarding his name: back in the 1980s, my mother here in Phoenix had her own picture-framing business, and one of her clients was a photographer who was also a bit of an adventurer, or at least in my eyes, he was. His images were taken on the slopes of faraway places in Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and in secret places found in nature that blew my mind.
Fast forward to 1995, Caroline and I moved from Frankfurt, Germany, to Phoenix, and I would run into this photographer from time to time; his name was James Thomson. One day, he and I met in Prescott, Arizona, to discuss things as we would do on occasion. He told me an interesting story about a distant relative, Charles Thomson, who had his hand in the design of the Great Seal and the founding of the country. At this point, the original photographs my mother would frame that found their way into politicians’ homes started making greater sense. We should all be so lucky to listen to stories that stay with us for years; his could have been doozies.
Even if you could go everywhere, is it worth it to you? Do you have the stamina? Do you know what you’d do with what you collected? Two hundred years ago, the honorable thing for people who traveled within themselves, in their religion, and upon new lands was to cultivate a broad potential of possibilities found when investing in knowledge used for creating great works that often endured well beyond their years. Today, we squander our lives on nonsense, trivia, TV, celebrity, and banality, a fast food mentality for the “live fast” crowd that will leave nothing behind.
You must live for your time – not that everyone can find their place in history, but where do we place our personal efforts of growth? There’s nothing wrong with being one of the 157 million people who visit a Disney property somewhere on earth, but compare that to the 1.5 million that will visit Independence National Historical Park here in Philadelphia per year. Then again, on the good news side of things, more than 300 million people per year find their way into a National Park or Monument, so there’s that.
Come on, John, you’ve posted better selfies, but I have to whine that this was all I had with my fat head somewhat out of the frame and the Liberty Bell so out of focus that maybe some will not even recognize it. But just below…
…is a better-focused photo of the famous bell.
Declaration House, also known as the Graff House, is where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Actually, it’s a recreation that was rebuilt in 1975 for America’s Bicentennial as some small diner called Tom Thumb had replaced the old building because back then, the thought must have been, “Who needs history?”
Way back in the early days of the United States, things required a certain fluidity of the founding fathers as seats of government were moving around as needed. Take those founding documents written between 1776 and 1787 that were landmarks but as bulletproof as they proved to be; by 1789, we needed a Bill of Rights to get more of the details into proper working order. These were people who got things done.
We in America enjoy a profound amount of freedom, opportunity, and access to everything under the sun, and all that’s required to take advantage of those luxuries is to have the ambition to get out and a bit of discipline to budget one’s self while living within certain means commensurate with income. This, though, requires moving beyond the childlike desire to indulge ourselves at the moment it feels good; collectively, we have given in to the emotions of the here and now. Compare this to the rational minds at work when our country was being formed and the men who orchestrated things, not looking at their short-term gains but at what would benefit people for generations to come. We are no longer those Americans.
The Second Bank of the United States now acts as a portrait gallery of our revolutionary founding fathers.
Alas, we do not exist on ideals alone, nor lament, I can hear my wife say under her breath, and so after our exquisite dining opportunities in Colonial Williamsburg, we jumped at the opportunity to enjoy another meal in a historic setting. Today, we’ll be taking lunch at the City Tavern, which was founded in 1773 and maintains a traditional menu dating back to the period.
You can’t go wrong with a smoked pork chop on sauerkraut topped with an egg, and we even had a basket of traditional German bread to go with it.
As a side note, City Tavern closed in 2020 due to COVID-19, and as of November 2023, it has not reopened.
Heading to the Benjamin Franklin Museum.
Benjamin Franklin Museum.
Won’t be stopping into the Betsy Ross House today as poor planning isn’t allowing the time required.
The historic city center of Philadelphia is just this beautiful.
While we did go beyond the door of the Edgar Allan Poe home, which is a National Historic Site, and even took photos there, not one of them was worthy of sharing. We made time for Poe’s home as he was one of my favorite authors back in the mid-70s, just before I entered high school.
This was the reason we didn’t have more time in Philadelphia; we were headed to New York City.
We love nature, we love history, and we love the printed word on the page, but when the time is right, we love the ecstatic lights on Broadway too.
If the buzz on Times Square doesn’t pull you in and put a smile on your face, you must be a local.
Sure, it’s more of the same, but if you’ve ever visited this part of New York City in the middle of the night as a tourist, all you want to do is go from vantage point to vantage point and see things from all angles with the hope that some part of the Big Apple leaves with you.
Having wedding photos shot among the throngs of people on the streets would certainly make for memorable images of your big day. While our “big day” saw us in Las Vegas at midnight in the Little White Chapel, we never dreamt of much fanfare or a parade down the strip. Maybe a failure of planning, but on the other hand, we are still happily married forever.