This day was a great day to end the trip! It was inspirational and happy and full of fun times. The first thing we did was go to Boston Commons. It's a park where they have the Swan Boats. The kids had been wanting to go on these boats the whole trip. We would have gone earlier, but we went earlier and they were closed, plus we wanted to wait so the kids could go with their friends from the group. The Swan Boats are pretty cool. Very relaxing. They fill up each boat and then there's a "driver." I guess you could call him that, but the driver dude basically pedals for the whole boat (more than 10 people). Yeah, all the drivers had nice legs. I'd like that job.
After that we headed to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower. It was cool to see all of that, but the best part of the day was the Celebration U.S.A. performance. I don't know if you could really call it a performance. They all lined up in a shady spot in the grass near the Mayflower to sing their songs. They didn't put their costumes on because of the heat (and I think partly because they figured nobody would watch except for all of us family members that were around). Lots of the parents were upset because it wasn't a real performance. They paid all this money to have some guys come set up a big speaker system, but really just were just singing for the passerby.
Well, as the parents clapped loudly and tried to be a good audience, the kids sang and danced and did their thing. Then, something quite amazing happened. The group was singing their medley of all the songs of each branch of the military. And within their medley, they have words of thanks that they give to all of the men and women serving this country. Whenever I hear them sing this particular song, I always feel goosebumps, but this time was especially special (can I say that?). First of all, because during the song, our audience became larger and larger, and second, because after the song was over, a young man came over to our group to ask about them. Paula (the leader) told him about who we are and he said, with tears, that he had been down the road, looking at Plymouth Rock, when he heard a group of children thanking him for his service to this country. So he came over and saw the group singing. It made him so happy to know that people actually appreciate what he does. He is a member of the Marines and was so pleased to see us performing (even if it was just for a small audience). It may have been small, but if it made a difference for just one man, then I think it was worth the effort.
After that, Paula decided to tell her story to our small audience about how and why she started this Celebration group. She grew up in Holland during World War II and in the midst of this awful war, the Americans came and dropped food to the people in Holland, to Paula's family. From then on, Paula felt great love for America and all that it stands for. Her family moved to the United States. Paula eventually became a substitute teacher. One day, as the kids were saying the Pledge of Allegiance, she asked them, "What does indivisible mean?" Most of the kids said that it means you can't see it. And that is when Paula decided to help American children understand the meaning of freedom, unity, and all of the things that this country stands for.
After that we headed to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower. It was cool to see all of that, but the best part of the day was the Celebration U.S.A. performance. I don't know if you could really call it a performance. They all lined up in a shady spot in the grass near the Mayflower to sing their songs. They didn't put their costumes on because of the heat (and I think partly because they figured nobody would watch except for all of us family members that were around). Lots of the parents were upset because it wasn't a real performance. They paid all this money to have some guys come set up a big speaker system, but really just were just singing for the passerby.
Well, as the parents clapped loudly and tried to be a good audience, the kids sang and danced and did their thing. Then, something quite amazing happened. The group was singing their medley of all the songs of each branch of the military. And within their medley, they have words of thanks that they give to all of the men and women serving this country. Whenever I hear them sing this particular song, I always feel goosebumps, but this time was especially special (can I say that?). First of all, because during the song, our audience became larger and larger, and second, because after the song was over, a young man came over to our group to ask about them. Paula (the leader) told him about who we are and he said, with tears, that he had been down the road, looking at Plymouth Rock, when he heard a group of children thanking him for his service to this country. So he came over and saw the group singing. It made him so happy to know that people actually appreciate what he does. He is a member of the Marines and was so pleased to see us performing (even if it was just for a small audience). It may have been small, but if it made a difference for just one man, then I think it was worth the effort.
After that, Paula decided to tell her story to our small audience about how and why she started this Celebration group. She grew up in Holland during World War II and in the midst of this awful war, the Americans came and dropped food to the people in Holland, to Paula's family. From then on, Paula felt great love for America and all that it stands for. Her family moved to the United States. Paula eventually became a substitute teacher. One day, as the kids were saying the Pledge of Allegiance, she asked them, "What does indivisible mean?" Most of the kids said that it means you can't see it. And that is when Paula decided to help American children understand the meaning of freedom, unity, and all of the things that this country stands for.
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