Sam the Minuteman

Good Morning!

Yesterday was a lovely New England "mud season" day...the sun was shining, and it was well above 50 degrees. Most of the ice that has been hanging around since Valentine's Day finally started to soften, and there were big puddles everywhere.

So, what could be more fun than taking your child out in the woods to hike through the mud? (Mrs. TriSec would disagree...) Anyway, we saddled up and drove a few miles to our favorite local treasure, Minuteman National Historical Park. We parked by the Minuteman Statue, walked across the Old North Bridge, and climbed the hill to the visitor center in the old Buttrick Mansion.

In the visitor's center, there is a small shop, and Javi picked out a couple of tin soldiers. I made sure we had a book to take home, an innocent-sounding volume called "Sam the Minuteman". It's been around a while; it was written in 1969, probably during the runup to the Bicentennial.

Unfortunately...I was horrified by it. The story goes like this....

Sam lived with his parents near Lexington, MA. On the evening of April 17th, they're awoken by Paul Revere and they head to the Green to meet the column of British regulars. Sam and a young friend disperse, but not in time. The British open fire, and Sam's friend is wounded. They retreat to Sam's house, but he vows revenge if the regulars return.

Sure enough, after meeting the Rebel militia at the North Bridge, the regulars march back through Lexington. This time, Sam gets his gun and goes with his father to take revenge. Later, we see him by his friend's bedside, only concerned about him.

Does that sound a wee bit familiar?

Where else can you think that there is an unwelcome imperialist power, marching around destroying things and shooting people, and doing nothing except fostering hatred and a lust for revenge?

I probably don't need to tell you how the story of Sam the Minuteman wound up....but we still celebrate April 18th in these parts as "Patriot's Day"...and the Shot Heard 'Round the World.