Dr. Josiah Bartlett and Mr. John Hancock. Two leaders, two chairs, and a scene you won't want to miss. WATCH HERE … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: February 26, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776
February 26, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Americanism Redux February 26, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1776 There are times in our lives when we join something and then must disjoin something else. Hope and pain. Construction and destruction. Living and the unlivable. Your life is right now, today, 250 years ago. * * * * * * * (it was greased then) It's almost … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–February 12, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776
February 12, 2026 by
Americanism Redux February 12, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1776 One person says, "I'm right now, in the present." The other person says, "I'm looking ahead, toward the future." Today, this two-person dialogue is about different sides of the same thing. A person is in the war-happening, the war of right now. And a person is in the … [Read more...]
On The 250 River With Dr Dan: Episode 60, The Week Ending January 29, 1776
January 30, 2026 by
Grab a mug at The Drum Head and let's go Top 5-ing. WATCH HERE … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: January 29, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776
January 29, 2026 by
Americanism Redux January 29, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776 Some of us see it. First, the change facing us is getting bigger, a lot bigger... ...and then, second, to keep doing what we've been doing isn't enough—do we continue with the same but do it more? Nope, we've got to match big change to big change. Today and this week, 250 years ago, it looks like we're going … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: January 22, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776
January 22, 2026 by
Americanism Redux January 22, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776 Sheesh, this is hard, everything is hard. It's cold, and nothing works smoothly in the cold. It's dark longer and even when the sun's out, the light is dim, thin, and weirdly unwarming. It's colorless, nothing but browns and tans. Dawn to dusk and moonlight to blacked-out stars, it's an uphill slog and a downcast mood. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: January 15, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776
January 15, 2026 by
Americanism Redux January 15, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776 Sometimes a thing is so big, so vast, it needs an extra word. A "The-Thing". A "The-Thing" consumes the life around it. People, groups, issues, resources, and maybe most of all, focus. You, in mid-January of 2026, might know the The-Thing. The economy? The The-Thing. Or the environment? The The-Thing. Or the border? … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: January 8, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776
January 8, 2026 by
Americanism Redux January 8, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1776 A new year dawns and raw energy flows at a furious pace. * * * * * * * The ice broke apart in a loud CRACK! Heavy cannon plunged into the frigid water of the Hudson River. Men started shouting and cursing, oxen bellowed and horses shorted and whinnied. Colonel Henry Knox heard the noise and rushed to the site, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: December 18, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1775
December 18, 2025 by
Americanism Redux December 18, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1775 It's that time of year. At certain points on the calendar, you say that for yourself, your family, your community, your nation, your whatever. Another word for it? Ritual. Now is the time of this ritual. * * * * * * * Outside the wooden house and wooden church … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–December 11, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1775
December 11, 2025 by
Americanism Redux December 11, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1775 On many days, the best you can do is get an impression. This kind of impression is a short-term understanding drawn from a quick moment, a fast observation. That's often all you're in a position to do. That's frequently all you have the opportunity to do. Today, 250 years … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: November 20, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1775
November 21, 2025 by
Americanism Redux November 20, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1775 The basics can get hard to see when so much is flying through the air. But that doesn't mean they aren't there. The basics never go away. They're often the reason things are as they are. Basics. Today, 250 years ago. * * * * * * * A basic is getting people to do … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: November 13, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1775
November 14, 2025 by
Americanism Redux November 13, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1775 You won't go very far in any direction before you bump into it. A few miles? Okay. A few days? Sure. However you want to slice your life up, though, whether in space or in time, you can't avoid coming face-to-face and eye-to-eye with... War. As a topic of conversation. As an … [Read more...]
On The 250 River With Dr Dan: The Top 5 of Nov 6 1775–Episode 50
November 11, 2025 by
Episode 50 baby, believe it or not! And believe this--it takes four months, yes FOUR MONTHS, for a document to go from Philadelphia to London and back again. But don't draw the wrong lesson...! Enjoy the Top 5 and find out how to keep it right for you. From Guy Fawkes to four months, and more... WATCH HERE … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: November 6, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1775
November 7, 2025 by
Americanism Redux November 6, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1775 You've got today, right now, the actual minute you're reading this. Then you've got four months ago. Since we're in early November, that would put it around the time of early July. Today, now. Early July, then. A gap of four months between now and then. Does anything … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 16, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1775
October 16, 2025 by
Americanism Redux October 16, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1775 "Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink..." Samuel Coleridge will write these words in one of his poems in 1798. That was then, and this is now, 250 years ago today, in 1775, a generation before "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Water, water everywhere... * * * … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: December 5, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
December 5, 2024 by
Americanism Redux December 5, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 If you'd told me last year at this time that you, me, and all of us would be where we are now... ...I never would have believed you... ...nope, never would have believed it. * * * * * * * (the logo they will adopt) It's never happened this way before in the colony … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Your Today, October 31, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
October 31, 2024 by
Americanism Redux October 31, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Standing in the place we could not have imagined, thinking the thought we vowed would never be known. Halloween, 250 years ago, today. * * * * * * * (where this Word was spoken) Eyes wide open, then blinking hard. Lump in the throat, then swallowing hard. Sitting … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 24, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
October 24, 2024 by
Americanism Redux October 24, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Such a big day. I know it is. Big, big day. Amazing. But I wonder: is this how I'll always think of this day? * * * * * * * (Carpenters' Hall) Today, 250 years ago, a month-and-a-half has gone by and the colonial delegates at the special Congress are wrapping up their … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: September 12, Your Today, In 1774
September 12, 2024 by
Americanism Redux September 12, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 The land and the ground are so basic you're seldom aware of them. You assume them. They're always there. Always. But the unthinkable can happen. And when it does, the land sways like the surface of the ocean. The ground shakes and cracks and roars. Earth quakes. I feel an … [Read more...]
Serious Beginnings
June 8, 2016 by
So it began. Today (June 8) was the first full day of debate in the Continental Congress in 1776 whereby the delegates took up a specific question of American independence. The day before a resolution was introduced which proposed American independence. And now comes the discussion, the arguments, the back-and-forth, the insults offered and those held back, the shifting of opinion from one side to … [Read more...]
