Parades

As I wound toward the end of a long (and, boy, do I mean long) biography on Ulysses S. Grant, I came across an amusing anecdote from the years after his presidency. The former president and his wife took a long journey across the globe. Literally. The left from an East Coast port and returned to the West Coast almost two years later. He was feted around the globe, and news accounts of his popular receptions through Europe and Asia redeemed his popularity in the U.S. 

So when he returned he was greeted and celebrated in cities across our nation as he made his way eastward toward home on the East Coast. But, according to the book, the finest parade and celebration for him was held in Philadelphia. 

Then I recalled that, yes, Philly is a great city for parades. Which got me to thinking of the big parade here in 2018. Which led me to YouTube to watch the video of Jason Kelce's speech. And of highlights from that Superbowl.

And I, a grown man, wept. 

I enjoyed that brilliant memory today. 

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The biography? It was good. I'm simply not much of a biography guy. I learned from it though, and find myself better understand the murkiness of our post-Civil War era. In some ways I feel like a political and social standoff followed the Civil War just as the Cold War followed World War II. It was called Reconstruction. We won the Cold War. 

I don't think we won the cold war that emerged in the years before, during, and after the Grant presidency.