Earl and I are sitting in a café charging our various electronic devices and using the free WiFi, since we are still without power at home.
I’m feeling a kinship to those who signed the Declaration of Independence 240 years ago. Maybe they didn’t charge cellphones, but I bet they filled lanterns in anticipation of their day’s needs. Maybe they didn’t have electric stoves and dishwashers, but I bet the women behind those men were figuring out how to prepare a meal and clean up afterwards. Maybe there was no instant communication, but “One if by land, two if by sea” got the job done.
Due to our lack of modern conveniences, Earl and I have more in common with them than usual today. It heightens my appreciation of what those men and women did in a pre-technology world.
A wonderful little book titled Signing Their Lives Away by Denise Kiernan and Joseph chronicles what eventually happened to the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence. It should be mandatory reading on this day.
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