1776

July 3, 2011 by paladinipotpie Leave a comment

Richard Henry Lee was the Virginian delegate to the Second Continental Congress. In 1776 he brought forth the motion calling for American independence from Great Britain.

“My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home
My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home
And may my horses be turned to glue if I can’t deliver
Unto you a resolution on independency!”

I don’t remember learning about Richard Henry Lee when I was in school, but his song from the musical, “1776” has probably been sung a couple of hundred times in the Paladini home in the last 10 years.

“For I am FFV, the first family
In the sovereign colony of Virginia
Yes I am FFV, the oldest family
in the oldest colony in America
And may the British burn my land if I can’t deliver
To your hand a resolution on independency!”

The first time we heard of Richard Henry Lee was when David was in the 6th grade and drew Lee’s name in a small home-school co-op drama about the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. David had to write a report, memorize some of his quotes, and put together a costume.

Then we discovered “1776” the musical, and the delightful characterization of Richard Henry Lee.

And then, within the month, we all went to Washington DC for Monica’s eighth grade trip, and it included a stop at Saint John’s Church in Richmond Virginia – and who do you think we met?

“You see it’s here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee
And everywhere-a-Lee-a-Lee
Here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee
And everywhere-a-Lee

Social-Lee, political-Lee, financial-Lee, natural-Lee
Internal-Lee, external-Lee, fraternal-Lee, eternal-Lee

Since then, it has become a tradition for us to watch “1776” every 4th of July! If you haven’t ever seen it you’re in for a treat! You’ll learn all kinds of tidbits of American history and you’ll have great, fun songs stuck in your head forever!

*Lyrics from the Musical: 1776 (Song: Lees of Old Virginia)

Author: paladinipotpie

Welcome! My name is Andrena Paladini and this is a blog about family and love and faith and fun. I call it Paladini Potpie because a potpie is like an adventure in a crust. You never know what might come up, but it’s always going to be good! Think of the best potpie you’ve ever eaten…hot flaky crust holding a rich savory sauce and all kinds of pieces of meat and vegetables…and who knows what? As a family, we’ve chosen to live within the parameters of God’s love and protection. This is the crust of our Paladini Potpie. The crust never changes. Within this crust, the savory sauce of family love binds it all together. That is also fairly constant. But beyond the crust and the sauce we can add just about anything! Good ideas come our way and we’ve adopted and adapted them to add to what John calls our treasure box of memories. These stories and ideas from John’s treasure box of memories are the ingredients I’m putting into our Paladini Potpie. (Okay, so this ridiculous mixing of metaphors about treasure boxes and potpies is exactly what I’m talking about. Silly and ungrammatically correct. But both illustrations work… so we’ll mix them together and it’ll be just fine!) John and I have been married for 30 years. Our children have wonderfully doubled in number since David married Amanda, Monica married Dan, and Matthew married Sarah. And the newest little treats that have been added to our potpie are six adorable grandchildren - Ethan, Angelina, Nathan, Audrey, Maleia and Caleb! I hope you’ll subscribe to my Paladini Potpie blog, and keep up with all the fun new ingredients I add. Hopefully you’ll enjoy our stories and ideas, and find something you’ll want to put into your own potpie! Bon appétit!