1776, JOHN ADAMS, AND NEW AMSTERDAM

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
I hope everyone had a great weekend with absolutely no DWI problems. Did anyone go to their local St. Patrick's Day parade? We missed the one in Albany on Saturday. I think it's because I didn't want to bring the kids to some Irish bar and have a few drinks and then have to drive home.

1776
Last weekend, I took the family to see 1776 at the New York State Theater Institute in Troy. This has been our (me and She Who Wishes Not To Be Mentioned By Name) favorite musical for years. We both first saw it when we were in 7th Grade. Our Jr. High School sent all the classes over to the High School to watch the movie. Really great show, great songs, and fairly accurate. If you ever get the chance to rent the movie or see a live production of the show, I think you'll enjoy it. Which leads me to last night....

JOHN ADAMS ON HBO
Last night HBO started running their mini-series of John Adams, adapted from the recent biography that was in the bookstores. It stars Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams, and although a tad slow, I really enjoyed the first 2 parts. The Revolutionary War is my favorite section of history and this mini-series paints, I believe, an unflinching, uncompromising picture of what life was like in the late 18th century. It is amazing to me what our Founding Fathers accomplished when trying to break free of England's rule. The scenes of people fighting small-pox is enough to know how difficult times were back then.

It got us to thinking about how lucky we are in today's world, in America, with our shopping malls and iPods, our coffee shops on every corner, our ability to get clothing and food and any other form of good, service, or entertainment we can think of, whenever we want it, especially here in the USA. We are truly lucky. Many of these things may not have been possible without the sacrifices that were made in the 1770's by people who were willing to put their heads in the hangman's noose because of what they believed in. Men like Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, and George Washington truly were heroes greater than any sports star we could ever hope to admire. To think about what it would take, in today's society, to do the things they did, boggles my mind. I don't think anyone today has that kind of staying power to see through their plans to make a better world. Today if that kind of stuff was tried, some secret government agency would kill the people and their families.

I have a T-shirt with a quote made by Benjamin Franklin in the 1770's. It reads," Those that are willing to sacrifice essential liberties in order to obtain temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Read that quote again and think about if it applies to today's world. Think about what it's like going to the airport and what you have to go through to get on a plane. Or, think about what the Bush administration wanted to do in regards to monitoring emails and phone calls in order to "protect" us from terrorists. We have turned our country into a State of Paranoia in order to make sure NOTHING can happen to us. And we, as a Nation, let the goverment do what they wanted. Obviously, these are just 2 examples of what I mean. But think about it....have we given up essential liberties we enjoyed, just to obtain a little temporary safety? Now, because of that, we lose out on many of our freedoms because of paranoia. When it comes to terrorists, you just can't stop them all can you?

What color does Homeland Securtiy have us under today? Orange, green, pink? (Pink is to protect us from Gay terrorists who want to color-coordinate our neighborhoods.....FABULOUS!!)
I rant on, but what I'm saying is, just once in a while, try to remember how lucky you all are to live in this country. Remember that while you're playing golf 3 times a week, while you're gossiping about the neighbors, while you're enjoying the 4th set of repeats of Rachael Ray on the Food Network, that there are thousands of troops all over the world trying to protect our way of life. Remember that there was a group of citizens who fought and died, or lost their families, homes and all they owned, just to make for us a new Nation. I doubt anyone in the USA would be willing to lay it all out there for the same kind of cause today. The best chance we have to conduct a revolution nowdays is to go to the voting booths and exercise your right to vote. And not just every 4 years for the Presidential election, but every year. We have a chance every year to voice our opinion. We may not always be heard, but enough people speaking usually gets someone's attention. Have the guts to throw people out of office. It's your right. Don't let down your Forefathers.

NEW AMSTERDAM
A new TV show started on FOX about 3 weeks ago, called New Amsterdam. It's a show about a guy who is a detective in present day America. The guy was born in 1642 and has been alive ever since. He saved a Native American back in the day, from a brutal attack. The woman laid a spell on him that would allow him to NOT age (past 35), or die until he finds his "One True Love." In the ensuing years, he has had many families (wives and kids), and has had to watch them all die from old age, all while he never aged or died. In the show there is an older (65 yrs. old) man who he hangs out with, who turned out to be his son. In any event, he solves crimes now, using his past experiences (in flashbacks) to help him with cases, all while still searching for "The One." I think it's a pretty cool show. Check it out if you get the chance.

LEN IS RIGHT about all of these things written today. Take it to the bank. I will be back this week with more. We have to discuss several things. Among them, the NCAA hoop tourney and some recent movies I've seen. Until then, be well. By the way, Jackson rolled a 203-519 this week at bowling. Dance Lesson #3 starts in 2 1/2 hours. See ya.

I am,
Len Tollerton