“Listen my children and you shall hear
of the midnight ride of Paul Revere”
So begins the classic story-telling verse by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I always believed, as I am sure many others did that this was history in verse form. But it turns out it was not an accurate report of the events that led to the battle at Lexington. The first surprise is that Paul never made it to Concord and to Sam Adams leader of the Sons of Liberty. He was captured by a British patrol but fortunately a Dr. Prescott was also aware of what was happening did make it and warned Adams. In addition there were other riders that night beside Paul and Doctor Prescott. The information about the lights from the church tower were not as reported. They were signals given by Paul Revere not to him. All of this does not in any way, and never has, diminished the poem the ‘Midnight Ride of Paul Revere’. “While it is true that Revere was not the only rider that night, that does not refute the fact that Revere was riding and successfully completed the first phase of his mission to warn Adams and Hancock.”
Incidentally, there were two other historic rides during that period of history that were successfully and bravely completed. One now has been commemorated with is his figure on the newly minted 1999 Quarter. He is Caesar Rodney who rode through the night some eighty miles, from New Castle, Delaware in July 1776 to reach Philadelphia in time to cast a vote on July 2, for Delaware at the Continental Congress in favor of the motion to declare our independence from the Crown. Caesar was an outstanding citizen of Delaware and served as the Speaker of their Legislature, was Governor, and a Justice on their Supreme Court.
In the early 70’s I ran a race from Caesar Rodney Square in Wilmington. There was a statue of Caesar on a horse in the middle of the square. The race was a half a marathon and was held early in April as I recall. It was usually a warm up for those guys who would be running Boston later in the month. The run went through the Dupont Estates and was not too hilly. I never learned of Caesar Rodney and his feats when I ran these races. I never read what the plaque under the guy on the horse said. I guess I first learned about his deeds when he was pictured on the quarter. When I first read the material about how the poem, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” was not historical fact it referred to the single men rides at the same historical time which were not recorded in verse. One of those was Caesar Rodney’s. Apparently he had to ride all night to get the signed agreement of the Delaware legislature re the independence declaration before the Continental Congress that day, July 2,1776. It is probable that if he hadn’t, that the motion to declare such independence would have been tabled again and we would needed to have wait for a third attempt. So his ride and arrival made possible the Declaration on that date (even though we celebrate it on July 4th).
Another significant ride in that period was one by Jack Jouett. He did a forty-mile dash through woods and wilds to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Legislature. At that time Jefferson was the Governor of Virginia. He wanted to warn them that British troops were heading their way. They had been chased out of Richmond by the British earlier and were in Charlottesville. But then the British decided to attack them there. Jouett made the ride first to Monticello; Jefferson’s home, and then over to Charlottesville to warn the legislature. Someone wrote a poem to honor his ride and it appeared in Charlottesville Daily Press in 1909. It started in these words:
“Hearken good people: a while abide
And hear of stout Jack Jouett’s ride;”
The poem is nowhere near the rhythm and lyricism of Longfellow’s and it is probably one of the reasons why most never heard of him or his ride.
Arlen Specter is back in the news. He changed his party designation from Republican to Democrat. He did it for the usual reasons Arlen does things, namely to take care of Arlen. A party designation was and is necessary to run for office, but it never meant a thing to Arlen. The number of registered Democrats in Pennsylvania jumped to 600,000 against 200,000 Republicans. This result came about due to the work of the Obama volunteers and the failure, I think, of President George Bush to acknowledge that the Iraq war was a mistake.
Arlen and I are contemporaries. He has been in politics since 1965 when he was Democrat appointed Assistant D. A. In 1965 he ran for D. A. on the Republican ticket even though he was still a registered Democrat! He changed his party designation when he won – this changing was continued right up to 2009. He has been an U. S. Senator since 1980. So the ‘big’ news is really not ‘big’ at all since it something Arlen has done many times in the past. In the year 2000 he published a memoir or biography entitled “Passion for Truth”. Its sub titles were “From Finding JFK Single Bullet to Questioning Anita Hill to Impeaching Clinton”. In a review of the book by Tom Ferrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer, said the book title was misnamed since the ‘search or journey’ of the Senator had been for “self-aggrandizement fueled by unbridled ambition’ Another review said that the book was an “ … unflattering autobiography. Only someone with the egotistic talents of Arlen could have achieved such a goal.”
In looking up information on Arlen I found something out I never knew, nor recall it been noted by the press, i.e., he has two sons. I don’t recall that their names and what they were or are doing have ever come to light. I suppose that is not unusual for a public official but it was surprising news to me. In an earlier Jottings I mentioned running into Arlen at a bar in Chestnut Hill. I was there after running some races at Ursinus College track. It was in 1974. He was at the end of the bar with Hillel Levison, the then City Manager under Mayor Frank Rizzo. I said hello and then got a comment from Specter to the effect that “there was McSorley still waiting in the wings”. He was referring to my failed attempt to win the Legislative seat in 1966. I assured him I wasn’t waiting… I was then a Commissioner on the Jury Commission and enjoying practicing law. It occurred to me that something might be going on between Arlen and Hillel since Hillel was a Democrat and his boss Frank Rizzo was running for second term on the Democratic ticket. My thoughts were that they were cooking up something re the campaign but then that was just a bad habit I had when thinking about Arlen and his politics. He was after all at that time the elected U. S. Senator from Pennsylvania and had a legitimate interest in the campaign for Mayor in its major city.
My breathing has not improved. I am on oxygen all the time. My diagnosis now is “pulmonary hypertension”. It is an increase in the blood pressure in one or more of the pulmonary blood vessels. Though they did not need to tell me, it leads to ‘shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, and “other symptoms all of which are exacerbated by exertion”. “Pulmonary hypertension can be a severe disease with markedly decreased exercise tolerance and heart failure.”
We were prescribed a medication called “Letairis”. We then learned that a medical assistance group called “Caring Voice Coalition” was agreeing to pay for the part of the price of the prescription that we would have needed to pay. We had been advised it was very expensive- but nearly had heart failure when the organization disclosed to June that a month’s supply could cost five-thousand dollars! It stunned me. I wondered when we learned this news how people with the disease could handle it without the aid of such a coalition! The drug is new having been approved by FDA only in 2007. I pray it works in a very short time!
The good news is that it is not the aortic valve or the work of the heart that is causing the oxygen loss. Now if this drug works we may even be walking around the block again!
Until next time keep us in your prayers and Pax Tecum!