Friday, April 18, 2014

Hoof-beats in the Darkness!


So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
 To every Middlesex village and farm,
— A cry of defiance and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"Paul Revere's Ride"

Two-hundred and thirty nine years ago tonight an express rider named Paul Revere raced to Lexington, MA, to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that British "Redcoats" were on the way to arrest them. Along the way, he "alarmed" the countryside, stopping at each house with the warning. Upon arriving at the house Adams and Hancock were using, a sentry warned him not to make so much noise.

"Noise?" said Revere. "You'll have noise enough before long. The regulars are coming out!"

These are the stories of America that we once all learned and honored. I still feel a shiver when I read Longfellow. The stories are no longer taught, although through groups like Appleseed they are passed along through an oral tradition as old as time.

I greatly fear we have have once again arrived on the eve of April 19, 1775. I hope I'm wrong, but tonight, when you close your eyes, listen for hoof-beats.

6 comments:

DamDoc said...

It is the worst of times, it is the "ok" of times... hopefully better times are coming before us old domestic terrorists pass from the scene..... i a listening for the hoof beats, but i fear for our children.. use that for strength to bring the fight!

Obat Diabetes said...

hopefully better times are coming before us old domestic terrorists Obat Diabetes

John Fletcher Kilgour said...

I’ve read many books about the events leading up to our fight for freedom, but the very best is called The Minute Men: The First Fight: Myths and Realities of the American Revolution. The book is written by John Galvin. He started his military career as an enlisted man in the Massachusetts National Guard in 1947. By the time he retired, he had risen through the ranks and had served as NATO Commanding General. He researched this book by going through the archives of the small towns in Massachusetts, reading the minutes of town council meetings from the 1600’s and 1700’s. He explains a lot about how the first 150+ years of American settlement led to the events that occurred on that fateful day, April 19, 1775. The details presented is copious and informing, but the book is very readable. http://www.amazon.com/The-Minute-Men-Realities-Revolution/dp/1597970700

Bubblehead Les. said...

Always Listening, Always Ready.

There's a Special Closet in my Home that has all my "Minute Man Gear" available.

I take my Unorganized Militia Duties Seriously.

But to be Lawful, I remind everyone that THEY need to fire First.

Anonymous said...

I'm old enough to remember when history was actually taught in school. I've never been so fearful for the future of my country as I am as we head to the next election. The comparison I like to use is that it feels like it's 1859 and another civil war is coming.
Gerard

JohninMd.(too late?!??) said...

239 years ago today in Massachusetts, and last week in Nevada. The Alarm has been sounded. As Mike Vanderbough has said, there will be no more free Wacos, or Ruby Ridges. Somewhere, there are officers and agents who, unbeknownst to their colleague s, are Oath keepers who will make a late-night phone call - "Get out, their coming!" We were lucky in Nevada last week. A Federal Judge has said BLM has deliberately tried to ruin western ranchers, and Justice under Holder will do NOTHING, Cuz they WANT agencies going feral for some reason. This has to STOP.