Posted by Bill R on October 15, 1999 at 10:08:27:
In Reply to: Re: Gayle! Have you found anything?..AFranklin Fan? posted by Dana S. on October 15, 1999 at 09:11:00:
:
: It took Ben Franklin a long time to come around to thinking of himself as an American.
: : Billy Gnome
: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
: Aha! A Ben Franklin fan! Did Ben's Auto. influence your life in any way? I was inspired by how he taught himself to think. "What one man can do ,another man can do." (from 'The Edge'?) I'm trying to teach myself to think. Ben Franklin had better material to start with though.
: Dana
Hi Dana,
I haven't read his autobiography. Wasnt even aware he had done one. But you can't grow up 45 minutes from Philadelphia without knowing about good old Ben. He established the first fire department in Philly (previously competing groups would beat each other senseless while the fire burned down the house!) and I believe he also started the first water works and pipes. He was of course the postmaster general, which led to his rift with the Crown and the government. Some letters to and from Governor Hutchinson in Mass passed through his hands and he allowed them to become public due to the anti-Mass sentiment expressed in them. For that he was humiliated by the Peers and never forgave them.
His son was Governor of New Jersey and stayed loyal to the crown throughout the war. Some thought old Ben was a spy in their midst due to that.
He was a really fascinating man. A self made man.
Alas, I don't have much time for reading these days! Working on Killdeers for good folks keeps me busy. Old Rich is a hard taskmaster. Daily he cracks the whip. Wants to know am I done yet! *crack crack* I think he graduated from the Simon Legree
Management College. hehe
Bill R