Carrot Top

Hello e-friends. I just got back from an awesome cookout at my friend KC’s house. He always throws a smashing gig – even the hotdogs were gourmet! He’s uber-patriotic geek like me, so each hamburger and hotdog was garnished with a tiny little American Flag . Guess we’re just practicing for the big day – July 4^th , our Independence Day - LOL. That’s when we’ll have the real party. In fact, I’ve already found a red, white and blue silk dress that makes me want to belt out ‘The Star Spangled Banner’, so watch out Christina Aguilera - LOL (it’s ok mom – Macy’s was having a sale!).

So those little U.S. flag embellishments lent themselves to some very interesting conversation. It started with a discussion about that new HBO mini-series, John Adams – have you seen it? (so rad!) I just love Paul Giamatti – he was also fabuloso in Sideways. Oh, but I’m digressing. So, anyway, everyone started talking about the episode when they wrote The Declaration of Independence (that one gives me goose bumps!) and that led to a discussion of how our forefathers must have felt – the angst, the toil over every word. Can you imagine?

And that’s when KC said: “Do you think they really were splitting hairs over the word ‘self-evident’”? Hmm. Good question KC! I don’t know the answer to that, but I can give you the skinny on the exciting series of events that lead up to that historical day when The Declaration was written (and, as all my friends at the cookout can attest, I’m happy to do this).

Back in the late 18^th century (when men wore wigs – now that’s funny - LOL!), what is now the United States was made up of 13 colonies. They were: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York (well duh!), New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

The citizens of these colonies weren’t exactly happy at this time. That’s because they were still under the control of the British Crown and King George III, who taxed them but yet they didn’t have any representation in the British Parliament (this is where the phrase ‘Taxation without Representation’ comes from). Yeah, I think I’d be a bit huffy about that too. So even though George was a typical tyrant, he wasn’t stupid, so he increased the number of troops in the colonies in hopes of squashing any rebellion that might come about.

Well, that was lighting a match. In 1774, representatives from the colonies formed the First Continental Congress and although everyone was pretty unsettled, they weren’t ready to declare independence from Britain. Well, as you might imagine, it was the recipe for the perfect storm. Tensions increased and, in 1775, scattered scuffles and fighting gave way to a terrible battle at Lexington and Concord.

In 1775, less than a month after the battle, The Second Continental Congress convened. The battles continued – Fort Ticonderoga , Bunker Hill, and all the while, the Congress acted as the de facto government by organizing troops and dictating strategy. I would just like to interject at this point, that if I could have anything, anything I wanted in the world, it would be a collection of flags from this period of history. To hold the fabric, the evolution of Old Glory in my hands would be beyond compare. I would trade 100 Coach bags and 10 pairs of Manolo Blahnik shoes for this chance.

By 1776, the representatives of the congress were united and the colonies were ready for Independence. And we became the United States and the most important document in our national history was drafted by Thomas Jefferson (who is very cute in the HBO miniseries BTW) – The Declaration of Independence. If you haven’t read it in a while, you should – it really is poetry. Here is a link http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm and a very powerful excerpt.

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The American Revolutionary War did not end until the Treaty of Paris in 1783, when the sovereignty of the United States of America was officially recognized. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Wow, I am wiping away a tear. And I think I need another hot dog (good thing I brought home a doggie bag ). So e-friends, have a great week in the “land of the free and the home of the brave”.

Lexi

Hello again e-friends. Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, but I have good reason. I just finished a visit to the world’s coolest veteran – my grandfather. Since I was old enough to crawl, I’ve loved going to D.C. to visit him. Mostly because he takes me shopping – LOL!

No, seriously, he tells me stories of substance – about corruption and political shifts in Washington, why Americas are so lucky, and sad, fascinating stories about the Wars that have given us our liberties. He was a decorated soldier in World War II and witnessed something on Sunday, December 7, 1941 that most of us can scarcely imagine – the attack on Pearl Harbor.

He often tells me about friends he lost that day, which is why I can’t stop thinking of Memorial Day and how I can best honor the generations of U.S. men and women who have given that ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Want the skinny on it? Well, you’re in luck! You know I love writing about flags and patriotic feeling almost as much as I like rating Oscar fashion – I said ALMOST.

So, Memorial Day didn’t start out with that name. This somber but most awesome patriotic day used to be called Decoration Day (which I think sounds much more feminine- and with good reason ;) ) and its roots go all the way back to just after the American Civil War, when women (told you!) used to decorate the graves of loved ones lost in the War.

Then, in 1868, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic John A. Logan issued a proclamation declaring the first Decoration Day. But the practice of decorating veterans’ graves dates back to at least 1864.

The name Memorial Day came about sometime back in the late 19^th century but it wasn’t widely used until after World War II. And, believe it or not, it wasn’t declared that by federal law until 1967! After that, there was some waffling about the date of observance, but that is not important as the meaning of the holiday…..

The skinny is that on the last Monday of May (this year May 26), Memorial Day will commemorate U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. And that, as my grandfather would say, is what it’s all about.

K – gotta run. All this blogging has made me hungry. Until Next Time.

Lexi

Happy almost-end-of-winter e-friends! Spring starts officially on March 20 and I am so excited to hoist my new stars and stripes as soon as the weather turns a bit warmer. This is an exciting year, after all. Not only is it a Presidential Election Year, it is the Year of the Rat and a Leap Year! Not exactly common stuff - lol.

So, all the anticipation of the approaching season has me thinking about our beautiful flag, Old Glory.Why do I love it so much? Even though I am partial to shades of red and blue this season (did you see the fabulous NY fashion week collections?), it’s not the color….it’s the same reason I get excited every spring and anytime someone starts talking about the United States flag .

Those 13 stripes and 50 stars sewn together in harmony are more than an ever-present American icon. Our U.S. flag and the ideas that made it make everything possible for us today – even this blog.

Did you ever consider that no U.S. flag would mean that we never agreed on a common symbol? It would mean that even after the bloodshed and sacrifice of the American Revolutionary War, there was still no symbolic unity. Alas, that is a dark thought. For us Americans, of course there was. And every time I see her flying (yes her – I’m a modern girl – lol), I am so proud of all that built America – the greatest cultural melting pot in the world.

So, what made her? How exactly did the idea become tangible – fabric cut into 13 perfect stripes and 50 stars? Well,the first thing you should understand is that it took some time. But in this great media age of broadband and M-Commerce, let me give you the skinny:

June 14, 1777 - The Continental Congress passes the first Flag Act: “Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”

January 13, 1794 – adjustments are made for 15 stripes and 15 stars after May 1795.

Act of April 4, 1818 – President Monroe makes accommodations for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state.

June 24, 1912 - President Taft signs an Executive Order to establish proportions of the flag and provide for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.

January 3, 1959 - President Eisenhower signs for an executive order for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.

August 21, 1959 President Eisenhower signs for an executive order for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizon tally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

K – gotta run. All of this patriotic fervor has me hungry for a hot dog. Now I’m thinking of July 4^th and all that it encompasses, but I’ll save that for a later blog.

Until Next Time e-Friends.

Lexi, aka “Ms. Vexi”

PS – if you don’t know what buzzword I’m going for with my “Vexi” alias check out this wiki article on “vexillology” and my alias might make a bit more sense. TTYS!