Old Glory...................

Happy 4th y’all

The model ships in churches are an old tradition in many European countries, also in Finland, especially in coastal area and even more so around the Archipelago. Most of the time they were made and gifted by sailors or merchantsmen. They’re called ”votive ships”, apparently. Had to look it up

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votive_ship

Fun fact … John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died July 4th 1826

Hi All,
Happy July 4th everyone...
Canada Day was three days ago here...
I remember a sailboat race, decades ago.
Somehow, I was able to,
Do a great tour of the 'USS Constitution'. ( Old Iron Sides )
It is still floating.
I recommend a tour of it.
Perspective wise...
Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

Bob, I walk by Independence Hall or drive by it almost every day. I don't occasionally work in Phila, I work in it every day. If you blow up the picture, just outside of the front door on the right side in the picture you see a copper ball on top of a wood structure. It's actually in the sidewalk. That's a water pump that my dad built which was for the Bicentennial, still there today. The pump handle, spout, and the brackets. I have a picture of us somewhere standing next to it when that celebration took place in the 70's. All cosmetic but neat to look at it.

     The USS Constitution was designed by Joshua Humphreys. His house still stands today which was a stones throw from where I grew up and about 10 minutes from me currently. Humphreys was hired by congress to design and build the six ships which became the US Navy.

May we continue on a Independences for USA !!

Happy 4th of July!

https://archive.org/details/usa_felix_slatkin_concert_arts_symphonic




Rain was forecast for tonight so much of the neighborhood did their fireworks last night (and I'm sure they'll be doing them this weekend), I hear a few going off in the distance. The city did their fireworks last weekend...because they thought it would be better to merge them with a little festival they do and because they could do them on a weekend instead of in the middle of the week.

As of right now, no rain.

Hi Ken,
Thanks for the Joshua Humphreys' link. Awesome.
History is learning.
When I visited, 'Old Iron Sides', there was no iron on the hull.
Just 2ft thick Oak, that resisted a King's cannon balls.
Every gun port had 2 crew. Slept and lived with the cannon and ammo.
When ordered to fire,
They lighted the wick...
The cannon recoiled, and they reloaded for another shot.
This is why I like fireworks,
And, the smell of sulphur...
Having a nice Life,
Is an option.
The USS Constitution, is not just a ship.
It is why,
There is a Constitution.

Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

Hi All,
Lighting a wick, and running away...
Smells of sulphur, bangs/booms and flashing lights...
It is second to,
Tweaking a Cox engine needle valve...
And letting it go...
Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

Bob, more importantly is what I should've mentioned in regards to the Independence Hall picture. The tulips in the picture are surrounding the Liberty Bell directly behind it in a pavilion. It's visible via the walkway prior to crossing the street. Years ago, you could visit the bell and touch it. Unfortunately, some idiot decided he would have at it with a hammer. Now you can only stand in the pavilion and the number of people are limited because of security which has been present since early 2000. I hope he got a good old fashioned blanket party when taken into custody.

When I think of the bell and it's weight it's amazing. Once hanging in the steeple of Independence Hall. It was removed for fear of being stolen and melted down. It was then hidden more than 60 miles away in a church. The mere feat of removing that bell and taking it to this remote place is such a undertaking at the time it occurred. Truly incredible.

Happy Independence Day All…. A beautiful painting depicting the draft of the Declaration….. The model ship and Independence Hall noted, I also noticed the almanac pinned by the window….I thought it might be Poor Richard’s but I looked it up and saw that his ran from 1732 to 1758….Nevertheless the almanac marks the date well in the painting…

I'm quite amazed at what all have seen from a small picture. My wife took me to school on this one. I asked her about the church and she promptly responded as to it's whereabouts. I said there's no steeple there now and I looked it up and sure enough the church was renovated in 1863 and also later in the early 1900's. The church is still there and it was very important to many of those associated with Independence Hall.

Directly behind Independence Hall is a park. It's a beautiful park and I've eaten lunch there many many times. What makes this area so cool is the shade trees provided by the locust trees. They surround the park and are also planted within the core of the park. These trees are known as "Moon " trees. The seeds were taken into space during the Apollo 14 mission and germinated. They were transplanted into the park in the 70's and have identifiers indicating as to which ones. We had a bad storm a few years back and lost one of those trees which was blocking the rear street parallel to the park. So many things that are just neat to know and many have no idea.