The boys received a postcard in the mail yesterday.
Jack immediately knew what it was. “Look Daddy, the Statue Delivery Bell!!”
That’s a heartmelter. You might need to hear him say it.
You see, the Statue of Liberty is ‘Statue Delivery’, so obviously the Liberty Bell is the ‘Statue Delivery Bell.’
Naturally, he had a lot of questions. I may know the correct way to pronounce “Liberty Bell” but it turns out that I know nothing about the actual bell. Nothing.
When he fails his US History AP exam in 14 years, we’ll know why.
It went something like this:
“Look Daddy, the Statue Delivery Bell!”
“Actually Jack, it’s just the Liberty Bell.”
“It’s just the Delivery Bell?”
“Yes, just the Liberty Bell.”
“No Daddy, the Statue Delivery Bell.”
“Do you like it?”
“How big is it, Daddy?”
“Well, uh, it’s super duper big.”
“Is it bigger than you, Daddy?”
“No, I think it’s about the same size as me.”
“No Daddy, it’s EVEN bigger than you. It’s bigger than Mountain Ev Rest”
“No, silly, I think it’s about the same size as Daddy.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a big city in Pennsylvania.”
“Oh. Why isn’t it in Connecticut?”
“That is a good question. It’s because when our founding fathers first declared independence from Great Britain, a lot of people lived in Pennsylvania.”
“Why isn’t it in Connecticut?”
“Because Benjamin Franklin lived in Philadelphia.”
“Who’s Benjamee Franwin?”
“A famous man who invented glasses and was very important.”
“Why isn’t it in Connecticut?”
“You know what Jack, I don’t know.”
“Oh.”
Satisfied that he’s gotten to the truth, he continues. “Why is it broken?”
Long pause. Greta takes over. “Because it wasn’t made right. And the first time it rang, it cracked.”
“Why?”
“Because it wasn’t made right.”
“Why wasn’t it made right?”
“It was made in England.”
I couldn’t let that go. “What? You think the Liberty Bell was made in England? You think they sent it as a gift after we declared our independence? Come on.”
Did I really marry someone who believes that England’s response to our Declaration of Independence was to send us a Liberty Bell?*
“Yes, I’m pretty sure it was made in England….” She is already on Wikipedia.
“Why did Granddad send this to me?”
“Because he went to Philadelphia and he thought you might like it. Do you like it?”
“Yes! Yes I do like it!”
*The bell was made in England in 1752. Fuck.