Hayter article for June 28, 2020
“Our Country’s 244th Anniversary”
I remember nothing about the spectacle that was July 4, 1976, which is sad because it was the day of our Nation’s 200th Anniversary. It’s called a “Bicentennial” in the U.S. and a “Bicentenary” in Great Britain. Of course, the Brits are the people who pronounce “aluminum” as if it were spelled “al-loo-MIN-ee-um”. No wonder we had a revolution.
Concerning July 1776, John Adams, our second president and delegate to the Continental Congress wrote, concerning our declaring independence from Britain as “…the most memorable epoch, in the history of America… I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival.” -- However, he was referring to July 2nd, which was the actual date the delegates voted to declare independence.
Thomas Jefferson’s final draft of the Declaration wasn’t completed until July 4th. Historians are not in agreement as to which of the 56 delegates signed the Declaration on that day. It seems that all signatures were not affixed until August 2nd, 1776. I believe it was in September that a copy was floated to Britain so King George could see it, but it didn’t arrive until November. I bet his shorts were in a knot.
Oddly enough, the first shot fired in the revolution was on April 19, 1775 -- “By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world.” -- That was four lines of a 16 line poem called “The Concord Hymn” written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1837, some 60 years after the first shot was fired. I memorized it in the ninth grade for extra credit, but now, like most of you, I only remember the first four lines.
I realize that none of you asked for a history lesson, but I consider the beginning of our Nation’s birth quite interesting. That being said, there are many discrepancies concerning what all happened during our seven-year struggle for independence. Those involved didn’t agree as to who did what, how, when, and why. Most of our history comes from letters written by those involved. I wasn’t there, but if I were standing on that rude bridge that arched the flood, I might’ve exaggerated my participation a bit. -- “Did you hear what Hayter said in the bar? I’m here to tell you, that guy wasn’t standing anywhere near that rude bridge!”
“While the history of the Revolution may be a bit foggy, there is no doubt as to the results. Yes, 244 years ago this Sunday, our Founding Fathers agreed that we were getting a raw deal concerning our political link to Britain. Not all citizens were in agreement, but they are the ones we neglected to include on our list of Founding Fathers. That’ll teach them! Some of our “Patriots” delivered some great lines. Like, uh, “taxation without representation is tyranny.” That you either “give me liberty or give me death.” That “I only regret I have but one life to lose for my country.” That “all men are created equal...” That “we must all hang together, or assuredly we will all hang separately.” That “these are the times that try men’s souls.” That “I have not yet begun to fight.”
Great words. Not all, completely verified, but each a part of our history. And, as I said at the very beginning, I don’t remember anything about what I did to celebrate on the Sunday of July 4, 1976. I was going to college in Huntsville at the time, and Kay was in prison… I mean working for the Windham School District at the Walls Unit in Huntsville.
Perhaps it rained real bad on the Fourth. Maybe Kay and I were sick. I have no remembrance of the day, nor did I keep a diary. That should’ve been Kay’s job. Of course, they may not have allowed her to have a pencil while she was in prison.
There is one thing I did do as a way of making up for my lack of attention during our Bicentennial Celebration. I wrote a novel about the events that happened in a fictitious town in East Texas, during the entire summer of 1976. It’s called “The Summer of ‘76”. I wrote it in 1986, but kept rewriting it until 2018 when I had Amazon turn it into an ebook. This year I edited the ebook and had Amazon turn it into a paperback. It’s got a different cover than the ebook, but the ebook’s cover isn’t real. It’s just a bunch of pixels.
I only mention it now because the story is timely. After all, this Sunday is our Nation’s 244th Anniversary. The two of you who were not around during our Bicentennial can read the book to see how one fictitious community celebrated the event. My final shameful attempt at self-promotion comes by way of the last lines of the book’s synopsis. --
“Over the years, spectacular occurrences have been known to get magnified in the retelling. The story you’re about to read is the true account of the deeds done and the events witnessed during the Summer of ’76 in a town called ‘Castle’. I recommend you grab a knotted rope and hang on.”
That just makes me want to read it again. (NOT!) No, it makes me want to end this article with the third stanza of “Concord Hymn” written by a true writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.”
end
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