Love of Country

By Amy Baranski

Cookout Coordinator Impulse-buy.

Upon waking and before I lumber off to bed I've been silently uttering the parts of the Declaration of Independence that I've memorized. I hope you didn't think I was kidding in my last post.

Originally I spent 2-3 hours working on it out loud and now I'm rehearsing all in my head. My approach to memorization, so far, is thus:

• I read the whole piece through for meaning.
• Then, I construct an outline of the work in my mind--a mental road map drawn with my own symbols.
• After I'm familiar with the movement of the content I put it in my own words.
• Finally, I start a rote memorization technique a high school performing arts teacher once taught me. For example I'd read the words in bold starting with one in red.

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

So far this method seems to be working. I've found that with Jefferson's heightened language it's harder to memorize one word at a time, and so I've started taking to phrases. For example, "and accordingly all experience hath shown" then "that mankind is more disposed to suffering" followed by "while evils are sufferable" and so on.

That's actually an interesting part of the Declaration--you know, the notion that we're more likely to take our current circumstances (those to which we are accustomed) than to change them in our favor. This may sound trite given what this document is really about, but how long have you stayed in a job that disparages you? Or, how long have you stuck around in destructive relationship? Well, the good and bad news is that Mr. Jefferson goes on to say that it's not only your right to alter or abolish such engagements but it's your duty.

Great. Now I gotta go quit my job.

Tea Party People Let Me Hear Some Noise!

By Amy Baranski

Somebody named me cookout coordinator. Maybe it was Mike or Carol Oliver...or Mike from down the block, or Mona...

I sloughed off the title for a few days. Figuring that we're just a rag-tag team of neighbors anyway.

Then I remembered my red cowboy hat.

And I was suddenly struck with the good sense to buy two American flags on sticks at the local Quality Food Center!

I just love parties with a theme. Get yerself a gettup and get on with it girrl. So after spending a good deal of time mentally assembling my Fourth of July outfit which went from star-spangled sexy, to country cute, to tomboy (and real quick), I thought about making a potato salad.

This cookout coordination is hard work.

Of course there had to be a moment to show off this hardworkin cookout coordinatin. What better than a good old soapbox to recite a classical piece from memory? And so it was the Declaration of Independence. But of course, after spending 4 hours in the morning dedicated to rote memorization of a few choice paragraphs I could barely recite the piece to Al (my congressman neighbor). He seemed amused though. "That's good stuff," he said.

It's still a mystery how I ended up half naked in bed with the overhead light on. Some things we'll never know. But, I did discover a gem of a text message exchange with my brother in which I thought he was reciting the Declaration of Independence to me. In fact, he said Happy Fourth. Same thing?

I was affirmed to see another Baranski had a line tucked away in memory.

Maybe I will join the damn Tea Party, for when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce [you] under absolute despotism it is [your] right, it is [your] duty to throw off your clothes and provide new guards to protect [your] future security.

Happy Birthday America!