America: Celebrating 250 Years

Last evening, we went to Sterling Community Theatre's production of the musical, Come From Away. It tells the true story of how the people in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, opened their homes and community to strangers when American airspace closed during the 9/11 attacks. Ultimately, 38 international planes carrying 6,579 passengers and crew were diverted to an old air base in Gander.

The airline passengers were from all over the world, speaking different languages and practicing different religions. But local residents opened their homes, schools, churches, community buildings and hearts to thousands of travelers they had never met. While the musical acknowledges some misunderstandings when the various cultures collide, the overriding message celebrates how ordinary people can find common ground and care for one another with hospitality, compassion, and human connection during difficult times. 

 

Photo from the Theatre Kansas Facebook page

 

I'd never seen the musical, but I read the book on which it was based, The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, by Jim DeFede. The Sterling Theatre Troupe is chock full of talented singers and actors. The musical has a 12-member cast who portray more than 150 characters. There aren't elaborate sets. Only a few chairs and tables are shifted to create the illusion of being inside an airplane, at a local pub or finding shelter at a school gym. (If you're near Sterling, there are still two opportunities to see the musical at Sterling High School: 7:30 Friday, July 3, and at 2 PM on Sunday, July 5. There is no July 4th performance. Tickets are available at the door.) The production also includes a talented nine-member band that almost made you believe you were in a pub in Newfoundland with their whistles, mandolins, fiddles, accordion and more.

 

The musical's central message is this: Despite our differences, we are all connected. And isn't that a good message to remember as we celebrate our nation's 250th birthday?

 

Display along Highway 50 in Stafford, KS

 

It may be hard to remember that, if we're only relying on news programs or scrolling through our social media feeds with the plethora of contrasting opinions and points of view ... and the viotrol that often accompanies those sources. 

 

This morning, I picked up a little book that has been decorating my mantle from Flag Day to the 4th of July. It was one of the "treasures" from my Grandma and Grandpa Neelly's house. It's called We Love America: Simple Stores of American Living. The back cover says it is part of the Patriot's Series. I don't remember my Grandma reading this particular book to us, but I loved the illustrations so I brought it home anyway. 

The book's copyright is "MCMXLI." I'll save you a Google search. That's 1941.

On the inside cover, it says: Janis Neelly from Your Sunday School Teacher. It's Grandma Neelly's handwriting, so it was really to my mom from her mom masquerading as her Sunday School teacher. (We moms are always wearing multiple hats, aren't we?)

It had been awhile since I'd looked inside. But this morning, I picked it up and looked through it. 

The book "visits" different children and tells about their homes - everything from the "big city" to an "Indian pueblo." I've shared a few of the pages on the blog before.

 

Some of those children live on a farm: I couldn't help but contrast the hay found in the book with some photos I took a couple of weeks ago in a neighbor's hay field.

  

I liked the patriotic wrap against a dramatic sky.

 

But, back to the book. Other American children live on a ranch:

It's not surprising that the farm and ranch pages appealed to me. But this time, I noticed some other pages. In one, three little boys watch a parade. But they don't all look the same. 

  

  

"They do not all have the same ways. But they all like parades." 

 

The same is true for three little girls at a circus:

 

"Do you know something? American girls do not all look the same. They do not all have the same ways. But they all like to go to the circus."

 

A little boy discovers he can go to school, even though he doesn't have any money. 

 

Sammie learns that American libraries are free. 
 

One of the pages reminded me of the message of Come From Away: "It's fun to be friendly, wherever you go."

 

Perhaps those are messages worth remembering as we celebrate our 250th birthday. May we - like those Newfoundlanders - find common ground in our differences and respond with compassion and understanding.

 

Happy Independence Day weekend everyone!
 

Simple Stories of American Living

I thought it was time for a rerun of this blog post from 2011. A wrap-up of our 2015 wheat harvest, which we finished on Wednesday afternoon (YAY!) is coming next week. Happy 4th to all!

One of the treasures I found at my Grandma and Grandpa Neelly's house was a little book called We Love America: Simple Stories of American Living.

This isn't a book I remember my Grandma reading to us, but I loved the illustrations so I brought it home anyway.
On the inside cover, it says:

Janis Neelly from Your Sunday School Teacher

It's Grandma Neelly's handwriting, so it was really to my mom from her mom masquerading as her Sunday School teacher. (We moms are always wearing multiple hats, aren't we?)

This book has joined my other patriotic decorations from Flag Day to the 4th of July (and probably beyond, since there's not another holiday coming up right away).

Instead of it just sitting there and looking pretty, I picked it up the other day. And it truly does reflect simpler times, a time when it was cool to be patriotic.
The book "visits" different children and tells about their homes - everything from the "big city" to an "Indian pueblo."

It tells about life on the farm (you can click on the photos and they'll come up bigger so you can read the text):
And life on a ranch:

Things on the farm and the ranch are a little different these days. Hayrack rides are something we do at fall celebrations, not to bring the hay in. Around here, the cattle are rounded up with 4-wheelers, not horses.

Leisure time is spent differently also:
Kids today are much more likely to listen to their ipods instead of a radio or "watch" their music on MTV or CMT or youtube. Having a taffy pull or making candy from scratch is something a few of us may do at Christmas time, but it's not on most people's radar for "family fun."

And while the illustrations and the words make me nostalgic and cause me to reflect on days gone by, I love the ability to type the book's copyright "MCMXLI" into a search engine on the internet and discover it was 1941. (Yes, I could have searched the inner recesses of my mind for the Roman numeral knowledge I had in elementary school, but this was easier - and faster.)

As we celebrate the 4th of July today, it wouldn't hurt to take this sentiment to heart:

Happy 4th of July everyone!