Of course, I have a friend significantly older than me who said yesterday that he had no interest in Founder's Day. He added: "I never have. It's simply not my cup of tea."
I've known this guy well for over 44 years. We've shared a lot of time and I can truthfully say, “I've never known him to drink tea." As I write these words, the sound of Johnny Horton is ricocheting inside my head. Do you remember the song "Battle of New Orleans?"
Perhaps you remember the lyrics? I'll share a couple of stanzas in case you don't:
In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip'
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We looked down a river and we see'd the British come
And there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
We stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico..."
The song was recorded by Johnny Horton in 1959 and became an overnight sensation. Because of the lyrics, I remember what I learned in school about that part of American history.
Would you believe the song was written by a school principal? Jimmy Driftwood, a school principal in Arkansas, was passionate about history. He wrote the song in hopes it would help students remember history?
I can attest that Driftwood's methodology worked for me. Maybe there is something about scripting things in a song that helps one remember. It was a lot easier to remember the books of the Bible after a song was written that included them. My repertoire of songs that tell a story often comes to mind. Hence - today's blog.
I've remembered the lyrics of The Battle of New Orleans since 1959. There is something about the expression, "bloody British" that seemingly casts an unfavorable light. My friend has no interest in Founders Day in Dripping because it isn't his cup of tea.
I'm more included to think a shot of Wild Turkey would be his choice over a spot of tea. All of that is too British for him. He is proud to be an American, and if the British were worth fighting in 1814, he isn't going to become a tea sip.
After all, decades before three-hundred-forty chests of British East India Company tea, weighing 92,000 pounds were thrown from ships and dumped in the Boston Harbor in protest to a tax on tea. The perpetrators were American patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians.
So, was the Battle of New Orleans really fought in 1814 or did Jimmy Driftwood get it wrong? I've never questioned it before, but my Google search indicates the battle was on January 8, 1815. Of course, the American’s who fought the battle were in boats headed down the Mississippi in 1814.
All My Best!
Don