JULY 4, 2006
Hello Friends:
I hope you are enjoying the long holiday week-end. Two quick messages, both having to do with independence, neither too profound.
Thanks to my friend Shayla Ross for the Fourth of July Note. She remind us that what we sometimes take for granted was not free to those who felt compelled to fight for what they believed.
And thanks to the Poetry God's who gave me the gift of rhyme. Something about 60 does feel like independence.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday!
Peace,
Stewart
Stewart Levine, Resolutionary
Counselor, Mediator, Facilitator, Trainer
Author: Getting To Resolution
The Book of Agreement
www.ResolutionWorks.com
510-777-1166 510-814-1010cell
FOURTH OF JULY NOTE
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who
signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers
were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured
before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and
burned. Two lost their sons who were serving in the
Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or
hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed, and they pledged their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men
were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large
plantation owners; men of means, well educated, yet
they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing
full well that the penalty would be death if they were
captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and
trader, saw his ships sunk into the seas by the
British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay
his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so
hounded by the British that he was forced to move his
family almost constantly. He served in the Congress
without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His
possessions were taken from him,and poverty was his
reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery,
Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge,
and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas
Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis
had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters.
He quietly urged General George Washington to open
fire. The home was destroyed,and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.
The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few
months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside
as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their
lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to
waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and
caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his
children vanished.
Some of us take these liberties so much for granted,
but we shouldn't.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July
holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not
much to ask for the price they paid.
Remember: Freedom is never free! It's time we get the
word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth
of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and
baseball games.
SIXTY
Sixty seems a sobering age
Pretense lost, not quite sage
Lessons learned, people loved
Some cherished light from high above
By now you’ve learned to care for self
And sampled many forms of wealth
Tasted wine, shared many songs
Decided your own rights and wrongs
It is a time of quickening
For getting done important things
The says best accelerate
What’s critical that’s on your plate
No time like now to take a bow
For what’s been done by you somehow
It’s not the time to fold your tent
And wonder where your life has went
I’ll take this time to focus vision
Use my minds eyes laser precision
Look around at what needs doing
No wasting time for idle stewing
For in the end I want to say
I did my best and came to play
I seized my cards and played my hands
And always moved when things got bland
I won’t accept some lesser fate
When I approach that final gate
I want to know that sacred script
That’s only found in my deep crypt
That private compass is the guide
That maps my unique “E” ticket ride
The highs, the lows, the ups and downs
The laughs, the cries, the smiles and frowns
It’s all a gift, lesson and blessing
Don’t let your mind do too much messing
And on my face, a smile so nifty
I have arrived, I am Sixty
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