Red, White & Verse: Our Myths, Legends & Stories

Ballast Books, LLC

www.ballastbooks.com

Copyright © 2024 by Greg McNeilly

Illustrations by Rupert Van Wyk, represented by Beehive Illustration

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

ISBN: 978-1-962202-46-6

Published by Ballast Books

www.ballastbooks.com

For more information, bulk orders, appearances,

or speaking requests, please email: info@ballastbooks.com

FOR

Conor, Lochlin & Vivian

CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

VERSES

POCAHONTAS (1596 1617)

Between Worlds Wide

THANKSGIVING (1621)

United in Gratitude

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1706 1790)

We Shaped Our World

ROBERT MORRIS (1734 1806)

The Revolution’s Purse

DANIEL BOONE (1734 1820)

The Wild Untamed

GEORGE WASHINGTON (1737 1799)

A Humble Servant

WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE (1765 1783)

Almost a Miracle

INDEPENDENCE DAY (1776)

An Ideal

DAVID DAVY CROCKETT (1786 1836)

Untamed, Unconfined

SACAGAWEA (1788 1812)

Quiet Strength

LETTER TO A RHODE ISLAND SYNAGOGUE (1790)

Vine & Fig

CORNELIUS VANDERBILT (1794 1877)

The Will to Risk

JIM BOWIE (1796 1836)

A Symbol of Defiance

KIT CARSON (1809 1868)

A Wild Crucible

JOHN C. FRÉMONT (1813 1881)

Grit & Grace

FREDERICK DOUGLASS (1818 1895)

From Chains to Change

SUSAN B. ANTHONY (1820 1906)

Against a Roaring Tide

CLARA BARTON (1821 1912)

A Song of Service

HARRIET TUBMAN (1822 1933)

A Clarion Call

OLIVER HOWARD (1830 1909)

Each Mind Unshackled

ANDREW CARNEGIE (1835 1919)

Grit, His Guide

MARK TWAIN (1835 1910)

Spirit of a Nation

J.P. MORGAN (1837 1913)

A Market Symphony

JOHN MUIR (1838 1914)

Spaces We Hold Dear

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER (1839 1937)

Risk the Favored Trade

BASEBALL (1846)

A Summer Odyssey

THOMAS EDISON (1847 1931)

By Our Own Hands

NIKOLA TESLA (1856 1943)

Wherever Currents Roam

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (1858 1919)

Pursuit of the Strenuous

HENRY FORD (1863 1947)

Veins of Industry

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS (1863)

A Call to the Living

MEMORIAL DAY (1871)

Remember the Brave

WRIGHT BROTHERS (1871)

Right to Flight

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (1872)

Spaces of Awe

H.L. MENCKEN (1880 1956)

The Contrarian’s Song

JEANNETTE RANKIN (1880 1973)

Shattered Ceilings

STATUE OF LIBERTY (1886)

On Liberty’s Rock

HOLLYWOOD (1902)

Unite, Heal & Disarm

CLARE BOOTHE LUCE (1903 1987)

Reflecting & Refracting

PROHIBITION (1920)

From Folly

MALCOLM X (1925 1965)

Strife & Pain

HARPER LEE (1926 2016)

A Powerful Diction

TRANSATLANTIC SOLO FLIGHT (1927)

One Man, One Plane

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (1929 1968)

A Nation Just & Kind

NEIL ARMSTRONG (1930 2012)

Unswerving Verve

SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR (1930 2023)

Trailblazer for Justice

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK (1934)

Misty Mountains

PEARL HARBOR (1941)

Harbor of Heroes

MARSHALL PLAN (1947)

Our Helping Hand

SALLY RIDE (1951 2012)

A Generation Inspired

I-75 | US INTERSTATE AND ROADS (1956)

A Road of Stories

JFK’S ASSASSINATION (1963)

A Legacy Starred & Scarred

DISNEY WORLD (1971)

Imagination’s Playground

SEPTEMBER 11 (2001)

In Unity & Resolve

MISSISSIPPI RIVER

America’s River

GRAND CANYON

Canyon’s Call

GREAT LAKES

The Five Sisters

EPILOGUE

Red, White & Verse

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PREFACE

America is complex. We have always been. Fewer than 30 percent of people supported our Declaration of Independence at adoption. At our first Fourth of July, most delegates opposed slavery, but outlawing the practice would have required unanimity.

We’ve welcomed the huddled masses only in verse; in reality, each new wave of immigration has met with resistance.

Today, we remain embattled, estranged, and embittered, yet also energetic. Among our many American attributes, these are quintessential.

A common theme to American complexity is that we strive imperfectly, moving forward with flaws but always toward betterment. As a foreign observer once quipped, Americans always do the right thing after we have tried all else.

Red, White & Verse aims to reclaim the unity represented by our American story—as evidenced by our people, places, and events.

Both the notes and odes engage with imaginative language. This is with purpose. No doubt these expressions might sound trite, hackneyed, or platitudinous to the cynic and the scoffer.

Myths that unite, teach, and instruct are vital for group cohesion. Their power draws upon the clarity of the message and ubiquitous reception. Historical inaccuracy does not weaken their focus or value.

Myths speak to us not only because we are hardwired to tell stories but also because the good ones convey everlasting truths. Our natures are unchanging. This is one of the many reasons that experience, or the past, will forever be instructive.

When widely shared, myths play a powerful role in crafting, creating, and curating a people’s cohesion. They provide connectivity and commonality of communication and understanding. All Americans have a shared experience sprouting from the Declaration of Independence, regardless of the manner or method of their arrival. More on this later.

This work aims to enliven our common benefits anew.

As a people, we have both the power of our myths and the reality of our human history. Two different things can be true. Educated minds make the inclusive choice of the proverbial and over the exclusion of or.

This collection was written with my three children in mind.

My goal is to pass on to them an unflinching love and passion for the ideal of the American spirit. I intend to convey that love of country is important, and adherence to our founding principles even more so. At the same time, challenging orthodoxy is an essential American quality. Red, White & Verse celebrates the people, places, and events that America shares. It seeks to recapture the heroic as our myth with a nod to our imperfection. Like all verse, if it holds any impact, it is best heard rather than read. Please read aloud!

INTRODUCTION

It is okay to praise America.

It is okay to criticize America.

Red, White & Verse does both.

However, this book unapologetically embraces America—faults and all. This tome is the labor of a father imparting to his children a love of country, inculcated through the power of lyrical verse. If it hits, the mark is for the reader and listener to judge.

Verse hits apex impact when heard.

America’s faults—and they are not few—are part of its power. We are the best nation our species has seen, in part because we obsessively grow, expand, and move toward betterment. Like the pioneers, founders, inventors, artists, civic leaders, and everyday citizens, we are wired to try, fail, and try again. America has made this cycle of improvement habit.

America’s refusal to stay knocked down is what creates an opportunity for everyone.

In the following pages, we can juxtapose odes to George Washington and Malcolm X and note there are stanzas reflecting their shortcomings, yet both have contributed to our American story. Each has something to teach and represents something we can celebrate. Yet, like each of us, they were imperfect. Only a mind submerged in the thick ooze of bigotry fails to grasp this reality.

Our American story can be told in so many ways. Red, White & Verse concentrates on three threads of myth in the rich tapestry of our American tale: people, places, and events.

Our People

Since the rise of the nation-state, no other country but America has been built upon generations of immigrants coming to its shores, each enriching our experience. It is also true that some people were brought here—enslaved—against their will, and others were forcibly displaced. Yet it remains true that immigrants came to this continent in search of a better life and often, by brawn and brain, empowered by common values, created that life for themselves.

Despite our complex nature, we can see four themes consistently running through our stories:

wanderlust, exploration, or restlessness

commitment to self-sufficiency fueled by a free market

service to others—an outgrowth of a free market

creativity or inventiveness

The American soul is restless. A boundless spirit, a yearning for the far horizon, the promise of a road untraveled, and a story untold animates this nation’s soul. Wanderlust has roots in the nation’s infancy and has become part of our shared identity. It animated the pioneers’ push westward and the Apollo missions to the moon, and it drives millions of enterprises to this day.

Let’s start at the frontier, the birthplace of American exploration. Tempted by virgin territories and boundless opportunities, the pioneers tore into the wilderness, driven by an unyielding sense of purpose. Not only did they move to the West, but they were also drawn to it like it was their manifest destiny. It wasn’t just about moving westward—it was also about pushing human potential, resilience, and grit.

Earthly boundaries could not limit the thirst for exploration. Our planet couldn’t contain it. The wandering stretched upward and outward—first to the sky, then into space. The Wright brothers started an era that’s still expanding. NASA, SpaceX and Blue Horizon are testaments to our inherent wanderlust.

Interstate highways brought this ethos of exploration and joy of the journey into everyday life. Thousands of miles of well-paved roads crisscrossing the nation extended an invitation to every American. It said, Go, explore. Discover not just the vastness of your country but also yourself along the way. Millions took to the road with the same spirit as their pioneering ancestors. Their motivation wasn’t gold or new land, but rather curiosity and discovery.

Road warriors, first armed with little more than a map—and now GPS—seek a sense of adventure and embrace the uncertainty of the road not taken. As they travel, they discover unplanned stops, hidden diners with great pie, and landscapes changing subtly yet magically. The open road continues to reaffirm the individual’s relationship with the nation’s vast expanse and the freedom to traverse it.

America is more than a nation—it’s an idea—equally profound as it is a provocative dream. It’s a dream that empowers individuals, fosters innovation, and champions free enterprise. This quintessential American ethos, forged by hard work, grit, and effort, is the nation’s foundation.

This tenet is at the heart of service to one another. It is a rather simplistic yet profound belief that in providing goods and services, in participating in the free exchange of commodities and ideas, individuals do not merely transact—they contribute to the well-being of their communities and society. The market is simply one person meeting the needs of another. This understanding reframes work as an organized means of service, a manifestation of an ideal that values the inherent dignity of every profession and person.

America’s history is rooted in this code. This nation has nurtured innovation and entrepreneurship. From Benjamin Franklin’s lightning rod, to Thomas Edison’s electric light bulb, to Henry Ford’s assembly line—American history is punctuated with stories of individuals who, driven by a sense of service and a vision for betterment, shaped our world. Consider the entrepreneurial spirit that spurred the creation of the great American corporations. Companies like General Electric, Ford, and Standard Oil were born out of a belief that providing goods and services is not merely a business venture—it’s a commitment to enhancing people’s lives. These companies have been more than just economic powerhouses; they have been the standard-bearers of innovation, creating products and services that have transformed how we live, work, and connect.

Success is forged from failure, from trial and error, from this relentless dance with adversity, a model deeply ingrained in American culture. Failure isn’t just a slogan in America. It’s the way of life—from Robert Morris to John C. Frémont. As Edison famously said after chronically failing, I have gotten lots of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work. Embracing the journey rather than settling for instant success drives American creativity.

Look at American enterprise. In this system, risk is the key to creating something of value. These risks often come with failures. Still, Americans understand that each failure is a stepping stone to success—a lesson in what not to do.

Individuals take risks, yet it is the many who benefit when entrepreneurs win.

This distinct work ethic extends beyond the corporate world. It permeates every aspect of American life, from arts to sciences, literature to sports. From Mark Twain and Harper Lee challenging literary norms to the daring spirit of the Wright brothers and Sally