Philadelphia flight not free from turbulence

I had the honor of being at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July Fourth. It was a moving experience. Our enthusiastic National Park Service guide gave us all the salient historical details and then threw in interesting tidbits, such as the fact that the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence was 26 and the oldest — acclaimed kite-flier Ben Franklin — was 70. The guide also reminded us of Franklin’s comment as he added his signature and anticipated the Fourth of July barbecues to come: "Give me good potato salad or give me death!”

OK, I made up that last part. Franklin actually reminded his fellow signers that King George III would not be happy with their declaration. "We must all hang together,” Franklin famously said, "or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” Good old Ben, always throwing a wet blanket on the festivities.

Our guide described the turmoil swirling around Philadelphia in July 1776 as the Continental Congress debated the Declaration.

Standing in the hallowed room where that document and the U.S. Constitution were signed, I kept thinking about a boy on our flight into Philadelphia. About 10 years old, he was dressed in patriotic garb. He carried a small American flag and wore a plastic derby festooned with stars and stripes. Before we boarded, everyone was aware of this child because he was loud and boisterous, pointing excitedly at the airplanes, waving his flag and shouting every sentence.

I was tired and cranky, so I was perturbed when this young firecracker sat behind me on the plane. Sure enough, shortly into the flight, he exploded.

"Turbulence!” he yelled happily, making everyone jump in their seats.

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