The LuLac Edition #2980, July 3rd, 2015

MAYBE I’M AMAZED

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FOURTH OF JULY EDITION

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that only one member of the Continental Congress signed the Declaration on July 4th. It was Thomas Jefferson.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that not many people know the Declaration was signed on August 9th. The New York State Legislature had not yet given permission to their delegation, others were coming in from the other colonies after the majority votes were taken to sign. Plus the Declaration needed to be embossed. That all took time.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED….that after the document was approved, a committee of five was appointed to oversee the copying. This was the same committee who drafted the document. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston were charged with the task of dotting the “I’s” and crossing the proverbial “t's”.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED….that a majority of the delegates were native born. But eight were from Great Britain and Scotland. As examples, Button Gwinnett was from England and Pennsylvanian James Wilson was from Scotland.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that after Adams and his committee approved the printing, less than fifty documents were sent out to the colonies. The printer was John Dunlop and these reproductions were known as Dunlop broadsides. These predate the day in August when the others signed the document and are worth millions.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…that well into the 20th century one was still around. A Philadelphia Investment banker was at a flea market and found a frame that he liked. Hated the photo though. When he went to rid himself of the painting he found an original Dunlop behind the frame and it was worth at least a million.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that in Georgia you can shoot fireworks on the Fourth of July from 10AM in the morning to 2AM in the morning. Presumably there is an 8 hour time period to reload or to read the instructions in their entirety.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that in the United States more than 160 million hot dogs will be consumed by Americans. The world hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut will do his part to put a dent into that number as well as Luzerne County Arena Board member Alex Milanes. No word on how many Alex will down but Jimmy O’Meara and I, in a bi partisan effort will help him out any day at Abe’s on South Main to bolster the July numbers. Here’s Alex (below) with the Champ, Joey Chestnut. 

 MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that the movie “1776” just keeps getting more poignant every year for me. Here’s a clip.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that even years after its publication, the most definitive book on the life of Thomas Jefferson is from Jon Meacham. The title is “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power>” By today’s standards it is a tome but to me it was one of the best political books I ever read.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED.........that Derek Jeter’s girlfriend Hannah Davis is back in the news. Davis was on the cover of The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. This Fourth of July she wishes America Happy Birthday. Since we are partially a pop culture blog, we feel it is our duty and responsibility to show this to the LuLac audience.