Thank you, Veterans

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns fell silent on the war to end all wars in a war begun nearly a century ago. Armistice Day was a day of remembrance for those who fought and died. Eventually, here in America, Memorial Day became the holiday that we honor those that died and Veterans Day became the day to remember and thank those who served. Actually, I think over the past few years, we've been thanking on Memorial Day and remembering on Veterans Day and there's not a thing wrong with that in my book. What a sacrifice the men and women of the armed forces have made over the years to secure our freedom - to say nothing of their families who go long months, even years without their parent, spouse, sibling or child while they are serving. To give pause twice a year as a nation as well as taking a moment to personally extend our thanks the individuals we encounter in uniform is the smallest way of repaying them for all they've secured for us.

The veterans of this battlefield during the Battle of Princeton in early January 1777 no longer survive to tell their story of sacrifice - but our nation exists as a testimony to their willingness to stick it out and re-up their enlistment four days earlier when General George Washington appealed to them to stay on for just a little bit longer after their successful capture of Trenton on Christmas Day. It would take another four years and on a battlefield in Yorktown, Virginia the British Redcoats would surrender their arms and end the Revolutionary War. Some fifty years later, a century before our nation dedicated a day to honor veterans - this colonnade was erected on the battlefield in Princeton to remember the dead and honor those who fought.

The colonnade overlooks the battlefield which is marked by a few trees. I am sure it looks quite different from the battlefields our veterans have fought and served on in more recent years.

The famous Mercer oak tree that General Mercer used to support himself when he refused to leave the battlefield after being wounded was torn apart by high winds in 2000. Another oak tree was planted along side it and still grows in an enclosed fence that surrounds the root structure of the original and the new one. I guess you might say that to the local inhabitants, the original oak was a beloved veteran of the battle as it incorporated into the insignia for Princeton Township and Mercer County still used today.

The following lines are traditionally read in Canada, Britain and UK countries on November 11th, remembering those that serve and those that paid the ultimate sacrifice;

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Thank you, veterans, we remember you and give you thanks.

Rising with the Phoenix

I've been riveted to the news since last evening. As of this moment, this scene has been repeated 24 times and I've been watching it unfold through BBC News on the internet all day.

I saw the first two miners emerge late last night and have seen miners #12-24 emerge throughout the day and each time I am amazed all over again that these men are returning to the earth's surface after being entombed in the earth for more than two months. Rescued, saved, resurrected or born again, each man has journeyed back to the surface aboard the Phoenix, a capsule named after a mythological bird that is capable of being born again out of its own ashes.

The smiles, the applause, the cheers of "CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE", the loved ones standing by with the Chilean President as the miner is released of the harness so they can be hugged and greeted hasn't been boring once. How could resurrection ever be boring - even when it happens with increasing regularity on my computer screen throughout the day?

So far, its the best of all possible outcomes, and as I finish this blog entry, 25 men have returned to the surface and we wait to know that the remaining eight miners and the six rescue workers are lifted to safety. Miraculous and wonderful, its been an amazing day of celebration. Experiencing resurrection is a joyful thing.

Yeah, he slept here somewhere.

Growing up in New Jersey, you learn a lot of jokes about the state. I'm not going to repeat about 95% of them, because I think my blog testifies to the fact that New Jersey is more than a Turnpike and an airport. We are known as "The Garden State" because back when we were 13 colonies struggling for independence, New Jersey was literally the bread basket of the colonies (and we continue to do well with produce today, thank you very much!) Throughout that struggle, known as the War for Independence, or the American Revolution, New Jersey was turf for more encampments, battles, and sieges than any other colony. The historical markers to where General George Washington slept are nearly everywhere since New Jersey IS the "Crossroads of the Revolution" (check your state quarter on that one). Princeton was the site of a very decisive battle that helped turn the tide for the Continental Army in early January 1777. A little more than a week after crossing the Delaware River and surprising Hessian forces in Trenton on Christmas Day, a very bloody battle was fought at Princeton when British General Cornwallis sent the redcoats from New York City to recapture Trenton. The battle field is down the road a few miles, but this monument stands at the end of Nassau street looking into downtown Princeton. (I didn't go there because traffic is crazy this time of day and I had a tutoring appointment in the other direction.)

The monument depicts General Washington fighting the battle while Liberty exhorts him even as she supports General Mercer who had just been mortally wounded. The defeat of the British was a morale boost for the men of the Continental Army who agreed to stay on for another ten days after they captured Trenton from a bunch of tired and hung over Hessians. The upstart ragtag rebels proved to themselves that they could fight to victory over the world class redcoats. The subsequent re-enlistment of the forces gave the rebels a fighting chance that would later be secured at Yorktown, Virginia.

Behind the monument, sphinx flank the path to Morven,
which used to be the Governor's mansion.
I've always thought them to be a little random here.