Happy Fourth!

Love it! Happy 4th, Sonia!

Thank you.....a very happy and safe one to you and yours!

Nice job. I hope you have a happy Independence Day.

Thank you for sharing with Gather’s Best Writers & Artists.

Thank you, Len....Happy Independence Day to you also!

I like both the photomontage and what you've done with your altering take on the words. quite pleasing.

Mahalo nui, Wrick.... the words just came to me in that way when I saw the image....

do you know the story of how the words were written for the National Anthem? the way you've ordered the words brings it to mind in a strong way for me. cool. aloha. oh and you're welcome too. ha.

I know a version told to our 6th grade class by Eleanor Burgess, our teacher at the time....I assume it to be correct.... ;-)

there was an account in the Smithsonian a year(??) or so ago that was impressive. i probably dont have the details quite lined up but a british captain and a number of ships, or may be it was an admiral sailed up to one of the east coast cities that was flying the new USA flag and told them to take it down.

the british had the city blocked by sea which was the only real way to get into and out of the city or do business there. to leave or go about normal business the people had to get permission from the british blockade. Key had a reasonable reason to go to another city. so he rowed out to get permission from the admiral, who it turns out liked Key enough to give him permission but wouldnt let Key leave the ship.

in the mean time the british had told the amereicans in the city to take down the flag or they'd shell the city with so much fire power, rockets, bombs, cannon shot etc. that the flag wouldnt be standing by morning. the americans wouldnt take the flag down. the British opened fire.

Key and a few other americans on board the british ships were not allowed to leave the ships which were firiing on their town. all they could do was watch through the night from the ship decks as the british unleashed incredible amounts of rockets and cannon fire and bombed the town without let up.

by dawn the smoke was so heavy they could hardly see the shore. and that's when Key and the other americans gave up a cheer - because what they could see was the American flag flying above the smoke.

that's what Key wrote about in his poem from the deck of a british warship. and that's the poem that became our National Anthem - the Star Spangled Banner.

and that's what your wording brings to mind for me.

That's the story Ms Burgess told us....

....but I also learned that each time the flag was tattered and falling, another soldier in the fort would run up another all night long....

yeah, i've heard other takes on it too. we may know a different version from every source that was there that night - and a few there werent there too.

one humorous version - i dont think it was presented as reality - had it that when it got dark, the americans took the flag down and kept it safe. then just before daylight, they ran it back up again. sneaky those guys.

now they are fun stories, then i'm sure it was intense.

I can just imagine how intense it must have been....