Philly and Gettysburg

Well, I have been home for a week from Philly and Gettysburg and I leave tomorrow to go to Ashland University in Ohio to begin my master's classes. It remains to be seen how well this old brain can function. I had a great time in Pennsylvania and learned a lot. If you are ever in Philly make sure you go to the National Constitution Center and go through the permanent exhibit. It is just awesome. Here are some pictures of me in Gettysburg. The one at the right is with Dr. Gabor Boritt, who is the nation's leading scholar on Abraham Lincoln. The other one is me at Little Round Top - "Meade held the high ground"

Gettysburg was full of reenactors because it was the anniversary of the battle. It was really neat to walk down historic downtown and see all of these people in period clothing.

In Philly, we stayed in the historic district. I have lots of pictures from that one too, so I will show a few.

This is a nice picture - the liberty bell with Independence Hall in the background. We asked the guide if Nicholas Cage actually got to go up into the bell tower and he said no.

This is the memorial in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier in Washington square. I really liked the quote "Freedom is a light for which many men have died in dark."

And this one is the Graff house, sometimes called the Declaration House. This is where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. The houses are so narrow becaused they were taxed on how much frontage they had.

In Philly and Gettysburg I was again impressed with what a blessed country we live in. The liberties and freedoms, first expressed in the Declaration of Independence, then guaranteed by the Constitution, are what made the sacrifice at Gettysburg so important.

"...It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "

God bless us and God bless America.