Why July to Me?

 Sorry, couldn't resist the wordplay!

One year ago today, we were lamenting the loss of Independence Day fireworks to the pandemic, and wondering if we would be out of the woods in time for Labor Day. Well, we know how that turned out. Today, in most communities, we are looking forward to a relatively normal July Fourth--provided we are vaccinated--with socially distanced fireworks displays and even parades in some places. And it looks like things will be even better by Labor Day.

Oddly enough, the places least likely to be able to safely celebrate Independence Day are in the sections of the country who would normally be making the biggest patriotic fuss...and all because their "conservative" mindset has them rejecting the sound advice from medical science about masks and vaccines.

Does demonstrating your "independence" that way make any sense?

Who Tells Your Story

Jill and I watched the streaming version of Hamilton Friday night. As a sometimes director in community theater, I was enthralled by the stagecraft involved. I've never seen a turntable used more effectively, not even in Les Miserables (where it's largely a device to move scenery).

To me, the most moving part of the show is, fittingly, the ending, as Eliza Schuyler Hamilton sings of her devotion to keeping her husband's memory and legacy alive, noting the important thing is "who tells your story".

The next afternoon, we watched the film version of 1776, a more "traditional" musical (though not thought so at the time of its original production), covering much of the same part of history with a more "traditional" focus. But, once more, the real question is "who tells your story". In 1776, the story is told through the eyes of John Adams, a complicated man who, like Hamilton in many ways, was an outsider, difficult to get along with, but adored by his wife.

One of my favorite moments in the script is when Adams complains to Ben Franklin that he will not be remembered by history, but Franklin will be. "Franklin struck his staff on the ground and up sprung George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified Washington with his miraculous lightning rod and the three of them--Franklin, Washington, and the horse--won the revolution." Franklin's response? "I like it."

So, who do you want to tell your story?

Happy Fourth!

Given the political turmoil in our country of late, I wanted to be sure I didn't neglect this day, so here some thoughts:

A few years ago, I got into a somewhat heated discussion with Jill about the story of NBC Sports "editing" the Pledge of Allegiance in a patriotic montage they used in their coverage of the US Open. (They took out the part where the class of kids said "under God".) I argued that we had made a fetish of this piece of much-edited 19th Century doggerel ("under God" was added in the 1950s, "indivisible" sometime before that) and that I would much rather our schoolkids memorized something with real meaning to our nation's values. Asked what that should be, I responded, "How about the Preamble to the Constitution?" I think that is something schoolkids should recite every morning, rather than an oath of allegiance to a piece of cloth.

Well, it's Independence Day, so I went looking for something to celebrate with here. I'd have loved to find the musical version of the Preamble I sang in Junior High School chorus (but all I could find was the Schoolhouse Rock song--it's cute, but doesn't have the drama of the one we sang). Instead, here's a little kitsch...William Shatner as James Kirk, from the Star Trek episode "The Omega Glory". Like anything Shatner does, it's a touch over the top, but....



Happy Fourth to you all!