WHEN I PUT TOGETHER AND DELIVERED THIS, MY FATHER
WAS STILL ALIVE. HE GREW UP DURING THE DEPRESSION IN THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST, AND LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF HIS LIFE IN
THIS LAND. I TRIED TO MOLD THIS TALK THROUGH HIS EYES – A
MAN WITH A BOUNDLESS ZEST FOR LIFE, ITS CHALLENGES, AND A
KEEN SENSE OF FAIR PLAY.
“GREAT IT IS TO DREAM THE DREAM. AS WE STAND IN YOUTH
BY THE STARRY STREAM. BUT GREATER IT IS TO FIGHT LIFE
THROUGH, AND SAY AT THE END THE DREAM IS TRUE!”
HE REACHED HIGH, AND DREAMED DEEP. THOSE DREAMS
BECAME GOALS, THEN ACHIEVEMENTS.
A WONDERFUL ROLE MODEL FOR SISTER MARY, BROTHER JACK
AND ME, THIS MESSAGE IS DEDICATED TO THE EARLIER DOUG
MILNE.
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
THIS LAND IS MY LAND, FROM CALIFORNIA
TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
FROM THE REDWOOD FOREST,
TO THE GULFSTREAM WATERS
THIS LAND WAS MADE FOR YOU AND ME.
THUS RANG WOODIE GUTHRIE’S LYRICS OF THE AMERICAN 40’S
AND BEYOND.
AND THIS SAME SPIRIT OF LOVE AND DEVOTION, PRIDE AND
THANKSGIVING HAS BEEN IN THE HEARTS OF AMERICANS FOR ALL
OUR CENTURIES…
AROUND THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY, A YOUNG, TIRED
AND LONELY SCOTSMAN LANDED AT ELLIS ISLAND, EMBARKING ON
HIS OWN ADVENTURE IN THIS GREAT LAND OF UNMATCHED
OPPORTUNITY. A PLUMBER BY TRADE, HE WOULD MAKE HIS WAY
FROM NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
THERE. THEN MOVING NORTH INTO THE OREGON WILDERNESS, HE
SENT BACK TO SCOTLAND FOR HIS FUTURE INTENDED WHOM HE’D
NOT SEEN IN NEARLY 5 YEARS, SO THEY COULD BUILD THEIR DREAM
TOGETHER…IN AMERICA. AND THAT THEY DID, AND FOR THAT THEY
WERE EVER THANKFUL.
LONG EVEN BEFORE THE PILGRIMS ARRIVED AT PLYMOUTH
ROCK, THIS LAND MADE FOR YOU AND ME WAS THE OBJECT OF
DREAMS, MYSTERY AND CHALLENGE.
IN THE EARLY 1500’S SPANISH EXPLORER JUAN PONCE DE LEON
LANDED JUST SOUTH OF WHAT WE KNOW NOW AS JACKSONVILLE
BEACH, LAYING CLAIM OF THE COUNTRY FOR SPAIN.
NOT MANY YEARS LATER, FRENCH HUGUENOTS SEARCHING
FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM LANDED AT THE MOUTH OF WHAT THEY
CALLED THE RIVER MAY TO ESTABLISH THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT
SETTLEMENT FROM FOREIGN LANDS ANYWHERE IN THE U.S.
TODAY, WHAT THEY CALLED RIVER MAY. WE CALL, ST. JOHNS.
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS THE WORDS OF THE HEBREW
PSALMIST HAD BEEN READ, AND BELIEVED –
“PRAISE THE LORD, FOR IT IS A GOOD THING TO SING PRAISES
UNTO OUR GOD; YES, A JOYFUL AND PLEASANT THING IT IS TO BE
THANKFUL”
PICTURE THOSE STRUGGLING, FREEDOM SEEKING FRENCHMEN
DISCOVERING THE BEAUTY OF THE SAME LAND THAT YOU AND I
LIVE IN AND LOVE TODAY. MY GUESS IS THESE PEOPLE GAVE
THANKS, JUST AS THE HEBREW HAD DONE THOUSANDS OF YEARS
EARLIER.
OUR NATION, AS INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS OFTEN POINT
OUT, EVEN THOUGH STILL YOUNG WHEN COMPARED TO SO MANY
OTHER LANDS, IS EVERY BIT THE WORLD’S BENCHMARK.
DID THE PILGRIMS FORESEE THIS? DID THOSE AMAZING MEN,
WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO ENDURED THE DREAD WINTERS,
HUNGER AND PAIN, SICKNESS AND DEATH, HAVE ANY IDEA THIS
LAND WOULD BECOME THE GREATEST NATION KNOWN IN THE
HISTORY OF MAN?
I BELIEVE THEY DID.
I BELIEVE THE PLYMOUTH COLONISTS KNEW.
AFTER SURVIVING THOSE SEVERE CONDITIONS, AND THEN
SEEING CORN BREAK THROUGH THE FERTILE SOIL AND GROW – LIKE
OTHER CROPS…AND LIKE HOPE…AS BREATH IS TO THE BODY, HOPE
IS TO THE SPIRIT.
THEY KNEW.
AS THEY ESTABLISHED THEIR FARMS, BUILT THEIR TOWNS AND
BUSINESSES, CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS..
THEY KNEW.
AND THEY STOPPED – THEY TOOK A DAY…A THANKSGIVING
DAY….TO REJOICE AND GIVE THANKS.
PURITANS, CATHOLICS, QUAKERS AND HUGUENOTS, JEWS AND
PROTESTANTS.
THEY KNEW.
LIKE AMERICANS HAVE CONTINUED TO KNOW FOR OVER 350
YEARS. AMERICA MEANS THANKSGIVING AND FREEDOM. LOVE AND
DEVOTION. FAMILY AND GRATITUDE. COURAGE AND PRINCIPALS.
AND THE WILL – TO FIGHT TO PROTECT THOSE THINGS WE SO
DEEPLY CHERISH. AND, YES, TO EVEN DIE FOR THEM.
MY COUNTRY ‘TIS OF THEE, SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY, OF THEE
WE SING.
AS THE YEARS GO BY, THE LOVE AND THANKSGIVING FOR THIS
GREAT NEW LAND GREW STRONGER….AND STRONGER.
THIRTEEN COLONIES – MASSACHUSETTS TO GEORGIA. RICE,
INDIGO, TOBACCO, LIVESTOCK, CORN, WHEAT AND TIMBER.
TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION AND RESTRICTIONS
AGAINST THAT WHICH AMERICANS CRAVE MOST… THEIR FREEDOM!
THE BOSTON TEA PARTY. PAUL REVERE AND BETSY ROSS.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, INCLUDING THE BATTLE OF
THOMAS CREEK, NOW THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN FLORIDA
COUNTIES DUVAL AND NASSAU.
JULY 4, 1776 – THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE PROVIDES
THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, AND ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR
CREATOR WITH RIGHTS TO LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF
HAPPINESS.
ALMOST TWO HUNDRED YEARS LATER, THEN PRESIDENT JOHN
F. KENNEDY, WHEN CONFERRING IN THE WHITE HOUSE WITH A
GROUP OF HIS BRIGHTEST COUNSELORS, REMARKED THAT THERE
HAD NOT BEEN SUCH A CONCENTRATION OF BRAINPOWER IN THAT
BUILDING SINCE THOMAS JEFFERSON, AUTHOR OF THAT
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, DINED THERE…ALONE. WHILE
JEFFERSON MAY NOT AGREE WITH WHAT YOU’D SAY, HE WOULD
DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY.
THE SNOW WAS RED WITH BLOOD…THEIR FAITH WAS
WORN…AT VALLEY FORGE. THEIR FAITH WAS BROTHERHOOD.
WASN’T THAT A TIME TO TRY MEN’S SOULS?
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, AND THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.
FRANKLIN, CONSIDERED OUR FIRST GREAT LITERARY FIGURE AND
ONE OF THE FOREMOST SCIENTISTS OF HIS AGE WHOM UNIVERSITIES
AND LEARNED SOCIETIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC
DELIGHTED TO HONOR, HAD ONLY TWO YEARS OF FORMAL
SCHOOLING. HE BECAME OUR MOST SKILLFUL DIPLOMAT, HELPED
DRAFT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, AND SECURED THE
SUPPORT OF FRANCE FOR THE NEWLY FOUNDED REPUBLIC.
ALL HIS LIFE, FRANKLIN BELIEVED:
“THAT THERE IS ONE GOD, WHO MADE ALL THINGS. THAT HE
GOVERNS THE WORLD BY HIS PROVIDENCE. THAT HE OUGHT TO BE
WORSHIPED BY ADORATION, PRAYER… AND THANKSGIVING. BUT
THAT THE MOST ACCEPTABLE SERVICE TO GOD IS DOING GOOD TO
MAN”.
FRANKLIN TOLD THE CONTINENTAL CONVENTION “I BELIEVE
THAT PROVIDENCE GUIDES THE AFFAIRS OF MEN, AND NEVER A
SPARROW FALLS TO THE GROUND THAT GOD DOES NOT ATTEND HIS
FUNERAL, AND THAT ALL THE HAIRS ON OUR HEADS ARE
NUMBERED. I DON’T BELIEVE AN EMPIRE OR A REPUBLIC CAN BE
LAUNCHED WITHOUT HIS HELP, AND I MOVE YOU, MR. PRESIDENT,
THAT THIS CONVENTION OPEN WITH PRAYER….AND THAT WE
PETITION DIVINE GUIDANCE AND HELP IN THE STEP WE ARE ABOUT
TO TAKE”.
AMERICA ADOPTS ITS CONSTITUTION IN 1787, CREATING A
FLEXIBLE GOVERNMENT SYSTEM WHICH CONTINUES IN ITS BASIC
FORM TO THE PRESENT DAY. OF ALL CONSTITUTIONS EXISTING AT
THE TIME OURS WAS ADOPTED THOSE NOW WELL OVER 230 YEARS
AGO, ONLY THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION STILL SURVIVES.
“WHEN THE PEOPLE FEAR THEIR GOVERNMENT, THERE IS
TYRANNY. WHEN THE GOVERNMENT FEARS. THE PEOPLE, THERE IS
LIBERTY”. THOMAS JEFFERSON.
YEARS GO QUICKLY BY, AND OUR NATION CONTINUES TO
GROW…UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR
ALL.
NEW YORK, BOSTON, BALTIMORE, PHILADELPHIA AND
PITTSBURGH, GREAT AMERICAN CITIES.
AND THAT STAR SPANGLED BANNER, SO PROUDLY SHE WAVED,
O’ER THE LAND OF THE FREE, AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE.
SAVANNAH, CHARLESTON AND NEW ORLEANS.
CHICAGO, ST. LOUIS AND CLEVELAND.
BIG CITIES. BIG HEARTS. BIG DREAMS.
STRONG WILLED AND COURAGEOUS MEN AND WOMEN
ATTRACTED BY VAST FARM LAND, MINERALS AND FOREST
RESOURCES, MOVE OVER THE APPALACHIANS WELL BEYOND OUR
YOUNG COUNTRY’S WESTERN BOUNDARY TO BUILD NEW LIVES AND
RAISE FAMILIES IN UNSETTLED WILDERNESS JUST AS EARLIER
AMERICANS HAD DONE EASTWARD.
THE NATIVE AMERICAN. APACHE, SE
MINOLE, CHEROKEE, THE
TIMUCUA, AND SO MANY MORE.
THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH, AND THE WESTERN
SAGA…WHERE THEY SLEEP OUT EVERY NIGHT, AND THE ONLY LAW
IS RIGHT…
COWBOYS. THOSE STRANGE MEN WHO INVENTED LONESOME,
SING OUT WITH THROATS BURNED DRY, “ALL DAY I FACED THE
BARREN WASTE WITHOUT A TASTE OF WATER”.
BUT WITH THE SAME STURDY SPIRIT AND HOPE THAT TYPIFIES
AMERICANS, THEY PRESS ON…
“AND WAY UP THERE, HE’LL HEAR
OUR PRAYER, AND SHOW US WHERE…THERE’S WATER”.
LAND GRANTS AND HOMESTEADS. OKLAHOMA AND THE GREAT PLAINS, WHERE OVEREAGER SETTLERS RUSH TO MAKE CLAIMS BEFORE THEY ARE ALLOWED TO,
AND HENCE ARE GIVEN THE NAME “SOONERS”.
LEWIS AND CLARK SPEND THE WINTER WHERE THE OREGON
TRAIL ENDS IN A SMALL OREGON TOWN ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER
CALLED THE DALLES, TO BE FOLLOWED BY THOUSANDS MIGRATING
OVERLAND INTO THAT WONDERFUL PART OF OUR MAJESTIC LAND.
MANY EUROPEANS WOULD FOLLOW LEWIS AND CLARK, AND
FIND THEIR WAY INTO THIS FRONTIER LAND, INCLUDING THAT
PIONEER FROM SCOTLAND.
RAILROADS AND THE STEAMBOAT. THE COTTON GIN,
TELEGRAPH, STEEL PLOW AND REAPER.
FASTER PRINTING PRESSES AND REGULAR NEWSPAPERS.
LITHOGRAPHY – NATHANIEL CURRIER AND JAMES MERRITT
IVES DEPICTING EARLY AMERICA SCENES, CUSTOMS, AND EVENTS,
INCLUDING THANKSGIVING. TIME TO REMEMBER, AND GIVE
THANKS, FOR THIS WONDERFUL NEW LAND OF UNMATCHED
OPPORTUNITY.
“GOD OUR MAKER, DOTH PROVIDE FOR OUR WANTS TO BE
SUPPLIED. COME YE THANKFUL PEOPLE COME, AND RAISE THE
SONG OF HARVEST HOME”.
THE MOST TRAGIC CHAPTER AND HEAVIEST PAIN OF OUR NOT
UNFLAWED HISTORY FINDS AMERICANS BATTLING AMERICANS.
BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER. FRIENDS BECOME ENEMIES. THE
CIVIL WAR WITH MORE AMERICAN LIVES LOST THAN ALL OUR
OTHER WARS COMBINED. MUCH OF THE FORMER CONFEDERACY IS
LEFT IN RUINS, WITH LONG, DEEP CEDED BITTERNESS AND DIVISION
BETWEEN AMERICANS OF THE NORTH AND AMERICANS OF THE
SOUTH.
BUT IT’S BEEN SAID THAT A SENSE OF PROVIDENCE IS A TRUST
OF TOMORROW DRAWN FROM THE POWER OF ALL OUR
YESTERDAYS.
TO LOVE WHERE YOU’VE BEEN IS A READY EMBRACE OF
WHERE YOU HAVE YET TO GO. THAT WAS CLEAR TO ABRAHAM
LINCOLN, WHO ALSO SAID “I CAN SEE HOW IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE
FOR A MAN TO LOOK DOWN UPON THE EARTH AND BE AN
ATHEIST,, BUT I CANNOT CONCEIVE HOW HE COULD LOOK UP INTO
THE HEAVENS AND SAY THERE IS NO GOD”.
ABE LINCOLN – THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. AMERICAN RAILROADS
EXPAND TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS.
AMERICAN INGENUITY. AMERICAN INVENTIONS RESPOND TO
PUBLIC NEEDS, AND AMERICAN BUSINESSMEN AND WOMEN
PRODUCE THE PRODUCTS. INVESTORS AND BANKERS, CAPITAL FOR
EXPANSION.
COAL MINING, OIL AND RAILROAD, MANUFACTURERS AND
SELLERS. STEEL, MACHINERY AND CLOTHING – ALL PRODUCED IN
LARGE QUANTITIES.
AMERICA’S GREAT CITIES GROW GREATER. HUGE FORTUNES
ARE AMASSED FROM THE BUSINESS BOOM, BUT MANY CONTINUE IN
POVERTY. BIG BUSINESS RISES, AS MILLIONS MOVE FROM FARM TO
CITY.
THE AMERICAN TELEPHONE, AIRPLANE AND PHONOGRAPH.
AUTOMOBILES IN MASS PRODUCTION, AND IN ANY COLOR, SO LONG
AS IT’S BLACK. RANSOM ELI OLDS AND HENRY FORD. THOMAS
EDISON, THE WRIGHT BROTHERS AND ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL.
AMERICAN’S RICH NATURAL RESOURCES. ABUNDANT WATER
SUPPLY TO POWER MACHINERY. LUMBER FOR CONSTRUCTION AND
PRODUCTS FROM OUR VAST FOREST LANDS. COAL AND IRON FROM
THE GROUND PRODUCING STEEL TO BUILD MACHINES, RAILROAD
TRACKS, CARS AND BRIDGES.
COPPER, SILVER, PETROLEUM. LABOR UNIONS AND SOCIAL
REFORM.
THAT SCOTSMAN WHO SETTLED IN OREGON ARRIVED ONLY
ABOUT 40 YEARS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE WORLD’S FIRST
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD SYSTEM LINKING OUR COUNTRY BY
RAIL FROM EAST TO WEST. WITH THE RAILROAD CAME ECONOMIC
GROWTH. SHIPPING AND TRANSPORTING PEOPLE.
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT AND JAY GOULD. EARLY
MERCHANTS INCLUDING R.H. MACY, AND MARSHALL FIELD, “RIGHT
OR WRONG, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT,” AND JOHN
WANAMAKER, “WHEN A CUSTOMER ENTERS MY STORE, FORGET ME.
HE IS KING.”
NEW MAIL ORDER COMPANIES BEGUN BY MEN NAMED
MONTGOMERY WARD AND RICHARD SEARS.
STRONG POLITICAL MACHINES ARE DEVELOPED BY DEMOCRAT
AND REPUBLICAN PARTIES. MILITARY STRENGTH INCREASES, AND
AMERICA BECOMES A WORLD POWER, AN INTERNATIONAL LEADER.
THE GAY 90’S.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL, AMERICAN BASEBALL, AND AMERICAN
BASKETBALL HAVE ALL BEGUN.
TEDDY ROOSEVELT. “THIS COUNTRY WILL NOT BE A GOOD
PLACE FOR ANYONE TO LIVE, UNLESS IT IS A REASONABLY GOOD
PLACE FOR EVERYONE TO LIVE.”
AMERICA TRIES TO STAY OUT OF WAR, BUT AFTER TOO MANY
GERMAN ACTS OF AGGRESSION, INCLUDING SINKING SHIPS, WE
DECLARE WAR ON GERMANY IN 1917. DOUGHBOYS AND LIBERTY
BONDS. ALLIED VICTORY IN 1918. ARMISTICE. MEMORIAL.
THE ROARING 20’S.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, MOST AMERICANS LIVE IN CITIES.
LINDBERGH CROSSES THE ATLANTIC AND THE CONSTITUTION IS
AMENDED TO ALLOW WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
PROHIBITION. RADIO AND MOVIES. THE CHARLESTON.
WILSON, HARDING, COOLIDGE, HOOVER.
MARGIN BUYING, STOCK MARKET CRASH AND DEPRESSION.
RED GRANGE, JACK DEMPSEY, JOE LEWIS, BOBBY JONES. AND
THE IMMORTAL BABE RUTH.
FDR AND THE NEW DEAL. THE CCC, WPA, AND FARM CREDIT
ADMINISTRATION.
GERMAN TROOPS OVERRUN POLAND AND MUCH OF EUROPE
UNITES IN WAR AGAINST GERMANY. WE STAY OUT. BUT ON
DECEMBER 7, 1941, JAPAN BOMBS PEARL HARBOR, AND WE DECLARE
WAR ON GERMANY, JAPAN AND ITALY. THE WAR LASTS FOUR LONG
AND BITTER YEARS, AND THE SCOTSMAN’S THREE SONS WOULD
SERVE.
HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI.
TRUMAN AND EISENHOWER. AMERICAN MIGHT AND
ENDURANCE – MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, BLACK AND WHITE –
PRESERVE WORLD FREEDOM AND PEACE. MANY WOULD GO WHEN
CALLED, MANY WOULD NOT RETURN. THE GREATEST OF SACRIFICES
FOR THE LAND WHERE MY FATHERS DIED. LAND OF THE PILGRIM’S
PRIDE. FROM EVERY MOUNTAINSIDE, LET FREEDOM RING.
RUSSIA AND CHINA SPREAD THE THREAT OF COMMUNISM. THE
KOREAN WAR. ONE DAY, HIS MINISTER CALLED ON THE
DISCOURAGED SCOTSMAN WHOSE SON HAD LONG BEEN MISSING IN
ACTION AND THOUGHT DEAD. AS THE MINISTER WALKED FROM THE
SMALL PLUMBING SHOP, WORD CAME BY PHONE THAT THE SON HAD
BEEN FOUND – ALIVE AND WELL. FRANTICALLY, THE SCOTSMAN
RACED INTO THE STREET, CAUGHT UP WITH THE MINISTER,
THRUSTING UPON HIM ALL THE MONEY FROM THE SHOP’S CASH
REGISTER. THANKSGIVING.
KENNEDY’S 1000 DAYS. ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN
DO FOR YOU; RATHER, ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY.
JOHNSON, NIXON AND FORD.
VIETNAM AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT…ROSA
PARKS… DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. “I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE
DAY THE SONS OF FORMER SLAVES AND THE SONS OF FORMER
SLAVE OWNERS WILL BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN TOGETHER AT THE
TABLE OF BROTHERHOOD.”
SPACE TRAVEL, SATELLITES. AMERICANS ON THE MOON.
COMPUTERS AND SPREADING DRIVES FOR HUMAN EQUALITY.
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES…. 747’S AND L-1011’S…
WORLD SERIES, SUPERBOWLS, DISNEYWORLD, YOU’VE GOT
MAIL, AND ZOOM MEETINGS.
AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS AND MEDICAL,
LIFESAVING TECHNOLOGY.
CARTER, REAGAN, BUSH…CLINTON, BUSH, OBAMA, TRUMP,
BIDEN AND TRUMP
FROM THE REDWOOD FOREST, TO THE GULFSTREAM WATERS –
AMERICA, THIS LAND MADE FOR YOU AND ME, IS A NATION
WHICH HAS, THROUGH ITS HISTORY, FACED… AND AGGRESSIVELY
OVERCOME…TURMOIL, STRIFE AND STRUGGLE…OF A MAGNITUDE
UNLIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD.
AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO.
AMERICA…FROM WALL STREET, TO BOURBON STREET, TO
HOLLYWOOD AND VINE.
FROM THE BROWARD BRIDGE AT DAMES POINT, TO THE GOLDEN
GATE BRIDGE IN SAN FRANCISCO.
ALASKA TO FLORIDA…MAINE TO HAWAII.
WITH STRONG RESILIENCE, FAITH BASED INGENUITY,
PATRIOTISM, RELIANCE ON OUR SPIRITUAL AND MORAL FIBER, AND
OUR GREAT AMERICAN HUMANITARIAN CREED, WE ARE THE
SYMBOL OF MANKIND’S HOPE FOR FUTURE.
JUST AS THOSE GOING BEFORE US, INCLUDING THAT
SCOTSMAN, WHO WAS JACK’S, MARY’S AND MY GRANDFATHER, AND
WHO LOVED HIS ADOPTIVE COUNTRY, THIS THURSDAY WE STOP.
WE RAISE THE SONG OF HARVEST HOME, AND GIVE THANKS
FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS IN THIS GREAT LAND WHERE OUR FATHERS
DIED, LAND OF THE PILGRIM’S PRIDE – AMERICA.
AMERICA, GOD SHED HIS GRACE ON THEE. GOOD WITH BROTHERHOOD…FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!