1776

  Last time we ran through Delaware and Pennsylvania we stopped into Philadelphia and checked out the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We happily discovered that the passes to the Hall were free and upon finding them, we followed the long tour into the Historic building. I thought, like many before me probably had, that if I jammed my fingers into the smallest space in the tiniest crack that maybe, just maybe I could touch a part of the wood that hadn't been marred by passer-bys and still had the touch of our great founding fathers. I knew it couldn't be possible, but somewhere deep down inside I still held on to the thought and hope. The architecture was breath taking and amazingly intricate and even though most of the visible furniture in the place were not authentic, the whole thing had me fascinated. We spent most of our time in the front hall, near the front door, and if any body reading this has seen the musical 1776 then you'll probably remember the stairs that the actors in the movie danced down. My dad did. He put Haley on look out for the Ranger, jumped the red rope at the bottom of the stairs and started to sing and dance to the musical. When his look-out announced that the Ranger was coming, he quickly exited the stairs just as the Ranger came over and told us the story about how the movie makers of 1776 wanted to use the stairs for the show. After a long and hard verbal battle they finally got what they wanted, filming the song "But, Mr. Adams" on the actual steps of Independence Hall.  While our little history lesson was going on, my little sister Tabitha had become an instant hit and model for some foreign photographers. She was walking and posing and generally making them laugh and snap their shutters. Walking over to the stair railing she rolled herself into it and smiled causing even more shutters to clatter. Then when she tried to roll back out, she couldn't, her little body caught between the curling banister and stiff spokes. Trying not to laugh at her horrified face it took several moments for Vince and I to push her out. The photographing audience clapped quietly as we left the building, Tabitha saying a sweet good bye to all of them. I will always remember that day, the amazing history and Tabitha's entanglement with the banister.