Back in Time

I'm a day late, thanks to life.  But without life, we wouldn't have history or events that make up history.

When the topic of this month's blogging was introduced, I couldn't immediately think of a time or event in history that I would want to go back and experience.  Friday, I gave it more thought and settled on three different ones.  Hear me out.  I did come up with something minutes ago, something completely different, and it's history I and many others experienced, who are still kicking around, experienced.



POMPEII
I remember hearing about Pompeii back in grade school and then reading books on it.  Living in Kansas doesn't raise a lot of fear of volcanoes, so maybe that's why I was drawn to Pompeii.  It was different.  It was horrendous.  Imagine living in a modern-for-that-time civilization that was there one minute, then hours later covered completely in the ash from a volcano.  Of course that would mean I, too, would be one of the 20,000 who were buried within minutes.  But I found so many things about it fascinating, including the ways the remains of people were found, going about their daily habits in a city with an amphitheater, two theaters, a community swimming pool, a gymnasium, and a hotel.  The aqueduct supplied water to the city and the many fountains. It must have been beautiful.


ATLANTIS
 Another time, although not necessarily history, has to be Atlantis.  Yes, Atlantis is fictional, so naturally I couldn't go back in time to visit, but the idea always sparked my imagination.  There are many theories about Atlantis, one being that island was inhabited by aliens with advanced knowledge and powered by crystals brought from beyond.  The tale continues that the aliens mated with humans to create Atlanteans and shared knowledge that made Atlantis a paradise.  If, indeed, Atlantis had existed, it might have been found in many locations.  The Mediterranean, the Caribbean, near India, and in what's known as the Bermuda Triangle.  My choice is the Mediterranean, near Crete.  Back in the 60s, folk singer Donovan sang a song about Atlantis, inspiring my imagination even more.

Knowing her fate, Atlantis sent out ships

To all corners of the Earth, on board were the

Twelve, 'The poet, the physician, the farmer, the scientist

The magician and the other so-called Gods of our legends'

ATHENS, GREECE
I've already blogged here about Athens being my dream vacation. For me, this is history.  Along with Pompeii and the Atlantis myth, I must be drawn to those places known best for the arts and mythology.  And let's not forget that it's considered the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy.  It has been inhabited for at least 7000 years.  Imagine what it must have been like to be the center of nearly everything. Imagine how long it would take to study that one in school!

But, no.  As I sat in front of the television for a few minutes tonight, I know what time I would choose and event I would have liked to have experienced.  Because I did.  I grew up in an age where so many things happened.  Black and white television became color television, changes in civil rights, the space race, and too many things to list.  We had the assassination of President Kennedy to mourn and remember for always.  In the year I graduated alone, Sesame Street premiered, Charles Manson's band of hippies murdered Sharon Tate and friends, and a man walked on the moon for the very first time.  And there was Woodstock.  But one of the most important things happened in 1964.  The Beatles made their first visit to the Ed Sullivan show.  My choice for an event would have to be that moment, when teen girls screamed and cried at the four mop-tops who performed on stage.

Silly?  Maybe, and maybe not.  It was one of the biggest--if not THE biggest--moments in music history.  The Beatles not only changed music, they changed the way we thought and acted.  They changed the world.

Sure, a visit to Athens or the site of Pompeii are something I would love to experience, but I did get to experience something, via the magic of television, that will stay with me forever.

Yes, I was (and still am) a Beatles fan. ;)

Battles? Weddings? Which Event? by J Vincent

After ruminating a week over which historical event I would want to see I finally found one.  Why so long?  It turns out I have a rather bloodthirsty sort of mind.  My first thoughts went to battles--Talavera, Salamanca, Waterloo to name a few.  Then I turned to things like Cromwell taking over England--with the beheading of Charles I.  Or the fall of the Bastille and the Terror in France in 1789 with knitters using the guillotine loping of heads to count stitches.  I decided I had to look at happier or at least less bloody events.  I passed on weddings; the signing of peace treaties came next but held little appeal.  “Grand ceremonies?” I wondered.  “The cardinal enclave electing a pope?  The coronation of Napoleon--by himself?” I was at a loss.

 And then it came to me.  The event I WANTED to see.  If only I was the star of the old series Quantum Leap and could “leap” into the middle of the meetings of the Continental Congress in 1776.  But it isn’t the adopting of the Declaration of Independence, which we celebrate on July 4th every year, I’d like to see.  No, I’d like to see the signing of it which took place on August 2, 1776.

On that day fifty-six intrepid souls took quill in hand, dipped it in ink and put their “John Hancock” to the Declaration.  It was a treasonous act punishable by death.  In fact, at that time John Hancock already had a reward of 500 British pounds offered for his capture.  Benjamin Franklin was the only old man among the signers, most were under forty.  All were rather well to do which meant they had a lot to loss rather than gain by declaring their independence from George III.  Some of them lost their lives during the Revolutionary War.  Most lost their homes and members of their families.  They realized the danger ahead.  They knew the British fleet full of soldiers was in New York Harbor and yet they signed below this last sentence of the Declaration:  “For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Lives.  Fortune.  Honor.  Not a play on words.  Not a prosy promise to be ignored if inconvenient.  A mutual pledge that was honored to the fullest by each and every one no matter the cost, dreadful though it was for some of them. This is who I want to believe I can be.  This is who I write my heroes and heroines to be.  Free.  Independent, but relying on each other.  Honor above all.  These men made it possible for us to be all of these things today.  I do wish I could see them, study their faces, hear their words on the day they committed all they had with no idea whether their fledgling nation would survive or not, let alone what it would become as the years passed.  If you are curious, or want to give a brief “thank you” by reading their names go to ushistory.org.