Two Half-Lives in Philadelphia: The Bell

Introduction

While I was born in 1951, sometimes I feel like I was born in 1914. My father told me so many stories about growing up in Philadelphia, and occasionally even about his family, that I feel some sense of at least one person's life in those years before I was born. While my mother, of course, wanted a child, I'm not sure that my father did. I think there was a part of it all that scared him, so they waited quite a while to have me. I hope I was "a relief" to my father, and I think I worked hard to be a good son. Looking back, especially at those few older pictures I have of my father, I think the very best part of his life was the first half - back when things were simple, he had good friends, and the burdens of adulthood were not yet upon him. Looking back, I feel like the best part of my life was the first half, largely due to my parents. It was a time when life was simple, controllable, and when I was actually organized! I'm sure my father found many good things in his entire life, as do I, but I believe we had this in common - that there is nothing better than growing up in Philadelphia. So, do not find the title of my new blog in any way depressing, my friends, its just a perspective that I've found interesting to investigate.

I'll start by writing about my family. I realize we are nothing special, but as we've learned from millions of pages of memoirs written and published, there can be much to be learned from those who came before us.

As I get past some family stories, this blog may be of interest to anyone who grew up in the Delaware Valley/Philadelphia/Delaware County in the 1950's and 60's, or to anyone married/partnered to one (if you are, there is much you need to understand before the two of you can communicate!).

Please check out my book, Saturday Night at Sarah Joy's. All proceeds go to the Hurricane Sandy NJ Relief Fund. Information is available at: saturdaynightatsarahjoys.blogspot.com.

Thank you!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The Bell

If you visit the city of brotherly love today, you can get close to the Liberty Bell, housed in its own building, the Liberty Bell Center. You can also take a guided tour of the old Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall. The experience is now a controlled one, with armed guards never far away. (Terrorists could take away our symbols of freedom at any time.)

My friends and I stood out in the pouring rain one night in 1976 and watched them move The Bell from Independence Hall to a glass pavilion. It was moved to its current home more than 20 years later.

But there was a time, in the 1960's when I was in high school, when we would often take a trolley from the 'burbs into town, to roam around. The tour always included a walk down to 5th Street to see Independence Hall and Congress Hall next door.

There were no guards. I remember going into the room where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed. I stood there, in the Assembly Room, looking at a set of tables, all with long green table cloths on them and a few chairs at each one! You could feel what that full room of people must have felt like - debating, arguing, caring. This is where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written! It wasn't just a story, it was a real place where people did a great and brave thing.

But the best part (well, second best, next to the gift shop) was walking in the front door and seeing the Liberty Bell. It was there. We touched it. We sat on the wooden base below it. We would knock on it with a bared knuckle. It was our symbol of liberty. We'd practically climb on it taking pictures of each other with it. We respected it, and wanted to know it. It was always there for us to touch - just part of a larger story, but one that was very real. We could not have appreciated the incredible freedom we had during those days when we ran through the halls of Independence Hall. (I only wished we'd been brave enough to go past the velvet rope, and up the stairs, to explore the second floor!)

Two Half-Lives in Philadelphia

Introduction

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The Bell

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