Celebrating

I found this fun quote by one of my personal favorites - Erma Bombeck:
"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patrotism!"

We are steeped in traditions about the 4th of July and Revolutiony War Memorials here. After all Rhode Island was number 13 of the original 13 states. Our ward building sits on the Miantonomi Battle site. It was just discoverd that a battle was fought there in the last few years but apparently in the 1800's someone had put up a memorial that had been trampled on and grown over. It wasn't a very big battle and the British won but nonetheless a battle it was.

Newport was held by the British for several years. We have Thames Street (pronounced like 'same' with a long a not like the British 'tems'. I said 'tems' a couple of times when I was first here and people didn't know what I was talking about). In fact many of the streets and alleys match up to some of the streets in London and other port cities of England because of the occupation. For 7 years battles raged for this island. It was an important port because of the Narraganset Bay that protects us from the ocean just enough and is still accessible to the ocean. Newport was a very desirable seaport and so both sides fought hard to keep it. It was one of the last British strongholds.

Bristol, Rhode Island has the distinction of holding the record for most continuous 4th of July parades without a break. This year was the 172nd year. They even paint the road stripes red white and blue in honor of the 4th of July.

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union but it has the longest name. Its real name is Rhode Island Providence Plantation. We actually live on the Rhode Island part. The state capital is on the mainland and that is the 'Providence Plantaiton' part of the state. Rhode Island has over 14 inhabited islands but Aquidneck (the one where we live) is the biggest.

That comes to the end of our history lesson. It is interesting to be in a area so steeped in such early American history. It is quite humbling actually.