George Washington and Coltons Point - George and his Great Great Grandfather Slept here!!!

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Happy 283rd Birthday President Washington

I was sitting here on my front porch last February 22 in Coltons Point, Maryland looking out on the vast Potomac River flowing past on it's way to the Chesapeake Bay.  Imagine that right here 381 years ago a couple of ships full of English pilgrims arrived to settle the area.

It is late February and the temperature is 60 degrees.

Within eyesight across the river in Virginia you can see the birthplace of our most beloved President and Father of the Country, George Washington.  He was born there 283 years ago today.

Perhaps our most least understood president, against all odds he led the nation into declaring freedom in 1776 and fighting the powerful English during the Revolution.  Then this advocate of freedom and commander in chief of our military promptly retired.  He fought for the creation of a republic, not a parliament and a king like many wanted.

So he quit the military.  Then the people drafted him to be president and he presided over the birth of the strongest democracy in history.  After serving two terms, he again retired. There was no term limit and with his popularity George could have been president until his death but that wasn't the republic he sought.

One final act by the mysterious Founding Father was in his will of 1799 when he died.  It freed all the slaves on his plantation.  This was 64 years before our next most beloved President Abraham Lincoln enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and freed all slaves.

Long before George was born two of the daughters of Dr. Thomas Gerrard, the patriarch of St. Clements Manor (located in what is now Coltons Point), the original territory given by King Charles I to Lord Baltimore, were married to George Washington's great grandfather, John Washington, who lived just across the river.

In the old days if a married woman died and she had an unmarried sister, the sister married the widower.  Thus when George's great grandpa's first wife, Anne Pope died, he married Anne Gerrard. The second Anne also died before him so he married her unmarried sister Frances Gerrard.

Because George grew up across the river and the Washington and Gerrard families were on both sides of the river it is only logical to say George Washington Slept Here and mean it.

Happy birthday Mr.President.

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George Washington Slept Here!

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Happy 280th Birthday President Washington

I'm sitting here on my front porch on February 22 in Coltons Point, Maryland looking out on the vast Potomac River flowing past on it's way to the Chesapeake Bay.  Imagine that right here 378 years ago a couple of ships full of English pilgrims arrived to settle the area.

It is late February and the temperature is 60 degrees.

Within eyesight across the river in Virginia you can see the birthplace of our most beloved President and Father of the Country, George Washington.  He was born there 280 years ago today.

Perhaps our most least understood president, against all odds he led the nation into declaring freedom in 1776 and fighting the powerful English during the Revolution.  Then this advocate of freedom and commander in chief of our military promptly retired.  He fought for the creation of a republic, not a parliament and a king like many wanted.

So he quit the military.  Then the people drafted him to be president and he presided over the birth of the strongest democracy in history.  After serving two terms, he again retired.  There was no term limit and with his popularity George could have been president until his death but that wasn't the republic he sought.

One final act by the mysterious Founding Father was in his will of 1799 when he died.  It freed all the slaves on his plantation.  This was 64 years before our next most beloved President Abraham Lincoln enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and freed all slaves.

Long before George was born two of the daughters of Dr. Thomas Gerrard, the patriarch of St. Clements Manor (located in what is now Coltons Point), the original territory given by King Charles I to Lord Baltimore, were married to George Washington's great grandfather, John Washington, who lived just across the river.

In the old days if a married woman died and she had an unmarried sister, the sister married the widower.  Thus when George's great grandpa's first wife, Anne Pope died, he married Anne Gerrard. The second Anne also died before him so he married her unmarried sister Frances Gerrard.

Because George grew up across the river and the Washington and Gerrard families were on both sides of the river it is only logical to say George Washington Slept Here and mean it.

Happy birthday Mr.President.

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Elvis - The King of Rock and Roll

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January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977

Today is the 75th anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley, husband of Priscilla Presley, father of Lisa Marie Presley and one time father-in-law to Michael Jackson. As I have written before, 32 years after his death Elvis continues to make far more money than he ever did during his 42 years of life, topping $55 million in 2009 alone with an international tour of his music scheduled for 2010.



In his early years the only way we could hear Elvis records in the Bible belt was when friends in the military were stationed in the south and would bring back Elvis recordings. Over time I got to see him twice in concert including during his last tour in 1977. It was June 19 in Omaha, Nebraska and RCA was recording the concert for a new Elvis project. One week later, June 26, he performed his last concert in Indianapolis and died three weeks later.



This much I can tell you. His voice was as powerful as ever that June in 1977 though he appeared to be physically exhausted. There was a certain melancholy in his voice as if he wanted one last time to give his fans what they expected. When he performed his ballets and gospel songs like My Way and The Impossible Dream there was not a dry eye in the auditorium.

Presley almost single-handedly created the genre of rockabilly and rock and roll and he was the first white person to merge the Black blues and gospel with country rock. In 1973 Elvis performed the first global concert via satellite and 1.5 billion people tuned in making it the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in history, including to this day.



The dance sequence from his movie Jailhouse Rock has been considered one of the best motion picture dance sequences ever recorded which he choreographed himself and I hope you will take a look at the number on the YouTube video I added. This is the Elvis we will always remember, the shy kid from Tupelo, Mississippi who grew up to become King of the world.