Ahhhhh......So That's Why We Act Like We Do.....

Chris & I have gotten absolutely hooked on HBO's "John Adams" - everything is great about this miniseries - particularly Paul Giamatti who plays Mr. Adams. Being a fan of "Sideways", I keep expecting our 2nd President to yell "No !@#$%^& merlot!", but that thankfully never happens. I have noticed that the delegates of the Continental Congress have very distinct personalities that have carried over to present day (ie. the North & South thing). The Southerners (Jefferson, Rutledge, Lee) may as well be back in England - pretty elaborately dressed, heavy emphasis on being a "gentleman", and so formal it's almost funny. The Yanks are plain-spoken and no-nonsense. After witnessing the exchanges between the delegates (and spending time with my awesome Aunt Donna from Maine), I have to say, I've grown quite fond of the New Englanders. Not that I'm dissing the South, but NC is a different animal when it comes to the rest of the South. My mother (a U.S. History teacher) once told me that North Carolina was (and maybe still is) a "mountain of humility between two hills of pretension (Virginia and SC)." We don't have the big family names (Lee, Calhoun, etc.), and life was not like "Gone With the Wind", but more like "Cold Mountain." But back to "John Adams" being a North Carolinian, I'm disappointed that the "good gentleman delegate" from NC has not been given ANY spotlight, except for the few occasional words. The producers probably wanted to show men with pink brocade jackets and silk stockings rather than ones with tar on their heels. Today, that would make a great drag show.

Regardless of the differences, the series really brings out the patriotism in you. For me, that quality has been seriously lacking during the past eight years. Watching this, you feel a surge of pride at everything these guys went through to give us what we have now. It's not perfect, but everything's a work in progress....