Saturday 9: The National Anthem

Sam’s Saturday 9: The National Anthem (2016)
... because it's 4th of July

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) An early handwritten manuscript of "The Star Spangled Banner" (complete with scratch outs) is preserved at the Maryland Historical Society. Today, much of what we write is preserved in The Cloud. Do you often write down your thoughts with pen or pencil? Or do you do everything on your laptop, pad or phone?
No, I do it in my diary which is a word doc.
But… You know by now that I always have a “But.” I have started donating all my memorabilia to a local university, over the years I have attended many conference and I donate the conference guides to their library along with my correspondence as executive director of a non-profit such as the minutes to the coalition that passed the non-discrimination law.
And also donated the pièce de résistance, the actual bill that the governor signed in law. He gave me the signed copy and one of the pens.

2) It's well-known that the lyrics were written by Francis Scott Key. Not so well known is John Stafford Smith, the British composer who gave us the music. He is buried in England's Gloucester Cathedral, under both the US and UK flags. Where is the nearest United States flag waving near you right now?

The post office, just down the street.
Now that the sun is up, I can see the flag at the rental cottages just down the street.

3) This week's video features Lady Gaga singing The National Anthem before the 2016 Super Bowl. She also performed it at President Biden's Inauguration last January. When is the last time you sang it?
Probably back in 1962 when the music director told me to just mouth the words.

4) Our second and third Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on July 4, 1826. OK, it's your turn. Share a Presidential fact.
John Adams defended a crossdresser in 1771 in the case of Gray vs. Pitts. Assault and Battery.

5) John Hancock said his signature on the Declaration of Independence was intentionally large so King George could see it without his glasses. Do you need glasses to read?
Yes and no. I had cataract surgery in one eye so I can read with that eye without glasses but the other eye I need glasses.

6) The Revolutionary War still raged during that summer of 1777. General George Washington allowed his soldiers to celebrate with a double ration of run on July 4. Will you be toasting the United States with an adult beverage this weekend?
Well… a glass of Strawberry Daiquiri and maybe a puff or two on a legal substance now legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

7) Since this year, July 4th falls on a Sunday, banks and post offices will be closed will be closed on Monday. Thanks to email and ATMs, Sam doesn't find this a hardship. How about you? Do you find it inconvenient to go an extra day without regular USPS delivery or access to a teller at the bank?
Naw. I don’t even think that we should get special delivery on Sundays and Amazon shouldn’t have deliveries on Sunday.

Update 8:50... I must confess when I was the boss we did work 7/24 but we paid double time on Sundays and if they worked over 8 hours they got double time and a half.

8) Celebrity chef Rachael Ray says she considers mini-hamburgers, or "sliders," the All-American food. What will you be eating this 4th of July?
Steak and potatoes with a salad. With cheesecake for dessert.

9) The 4th of July is a highlight of the summer season. Have you yet suffered the traditional warm weather maladies: sunburn or bug bites?
HA… Ha… mosquitoes just love my sweet diabetic blood! I could be standing and have a half a dozen mosquitoes buzzing around me while the person right next to me have none.
Sunburn… I learned a long time ago that sunburn is no fun. So when I am on the beach I am under a sun blocking umbrella and I take a bath in suntan lotion.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend.