Saturday, June 14, 2014

Thank You William Penn

Yo!  Howya Doin' ?
 No Pain, No Qualm,

No Victory Palm;











No Thorns, No Groan,

No Ultimate Throne;
















No Bitter Gall,

 No Glory At All;











No Cross to Bear,

 Then

No Crown to Wear.








 Today's words are my own adaptation
from William Penn's quote.


" No pain, no palm; 
no thorns, no throne;
 no gall, no glory; 
no cross, no crown. "
                          William Penn 
                                         (1644 - 1718)

William Penn was 
an Englishman and
  one of the first Quakers.
Link


Once, he was
 proprietor/owner
of today's US State 
of Pennsylvania
(which means Penn's Woods).

Penn received a royal charter 
from the King of England
In 1681
to form a new colony in America. 

  He envisioned a peaceful refuge 
for all beliefs. 

Penn was known for
fair dealing with ALL
 including the
Original Inhabitants.

 He named his capitol city:
Philadelphia  "Brotherly-Love City"
Founding it on October 27, 1682

Link


The City of Brotherly Love,
[or "The Quaker City".
As it is also called]
still benefits from the 
sensible grid pattern 
of streets
that Penn laid out,
and punctuated with
capacious parks and Squares.

His urban design 
left it's mark 
on modern cities today!

Until relatively recently,
 William Penn's heroic statue
atop Philadelphia City Hall
was the tallest point in the city
by gentlemen's agreement.


Pennsylvania calls herself
a Commonwealth:
"The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."

Philadelphia began as a place of 
tolerance
during an age of religious tests
and religious violence,
flourishing thereby
in Medicine, Arts, Sciences,
Commerce, and Government.

You may have heard
of something called
The Declaration of Independence,
or the US Constitution.

They were both created
by delegates in Philadelphia.

Many good things got their 
start in Philly,
and I don't just mean
cheese-steaks, soft pretzels,
and Stetson cowboy hats!

I was born there.
No. I never met
William Penn!
(impertinent!)

Next week brings
 my birthday.

Thanks for coming along
on this nostalgia trip!


           Warmly, Cloudia
Philadelphia City Hall-zoom
By Jeffrey M. Vinocur  Wikimedia Commons

Once visible for miles,
from every direction,
this particular profile
is the one
we smirked about
as children.
You can see why!
A remarkable building:
The world's largest free standing
masonry building [no steel skeleton]
and the world's largest example
of French Renaissance style.