[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Brawl.
Sticky.
Catch.
Gallop.

The colonials had a sticky wicket to deal with in the Second Continental Congress which could have resulted in a brawl.. That was the question of whether to fight for independence from England or whether to assert their rights from within a British Empire. They picked Ben Franklin as its oldest member as he was 69. Franklin had time to catch up on his sleep during the Congress as much of the time he was "sitting in silence, a great part of the time fast asleep in his chair." His thoughts did not gallop to independence like some of the more hot headed members who even accused Franklin of being a spy for the British because of how quiet he was. http://history.state.gov/milestones/...nentalCongress http://www.ask.com/wiki/Second_Conti...=3986&qsrc=999

[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Weary.
Huddle.
Milky.
Plural.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Brawl.
Sticky.
Catch.
Gallop.

The colonials had a sticky wicket to deal with in the Second Continental Congress which could have resulted in a brawl.. That was the question of whether to fight for independence from England or whether to assert their rights from within a British Empire. They picked Ben Franklin as its oldest member as he was 69. Franklin had time to catch up on his sleep during the Congress as much of the time he was "sitting in silence, a great part of the time fast asleep in his chair." His thoughts did not gallop to independence like some of the more hot headed members who even accused Franklin of being a spy for the British because of how quiet he was. Office of the Historian - Milestones - 1776-1783 - Continental Congress Second Continental Congress | Ask.com Encyclopedia

Franklin suffered a large number of defeats in his aims in the upcoming months as did the Rebels at the Battle of Bunker Hill http://www.britishbattles.com/bunker-hill.htm and during the burning of Charlestown. http://www.bostonfirehistory.org/his...efore1874.html He became quite weary with these losses. His illegitimate son William-- Royal Governor of New Jersey-- became even more adamant about his loyalty to the crown and pulled Franklin's grandson William Temple Franklin into the mix as well. There were many loyalists huddled at King's College (now Columbia) so Ben Franklin ruined his son's plan to send his grandson Temple there. Their relationship became even murkier.

Franklin's ire came to a head when he leaked a letter he had written to a long-time London friend and fellow printer William Strahan to the Rebel grapevine. You could have seen the milky film of cataracts of any hint of Franklin's remaining dutifulness to England drop from some eyes after this letter became widely known.

Philada. July 5. 1775

Mr. Strahan

You are a Member of Parliament, and one of that Majority which has doomed my Country to Destruction. You have begun to burn our Towns and murder our People. — Look upon your hands! They are stained with the Blood of your Relations! — You and I were long Friends:— You are now my Enemy, — and

I am,

Yours.

B. Franklin

Franklin is a man of plurality though and never really shows just one face to historians as he never sent that letter to Strahan and continued to send him letters with very different sentiments throughout 1775 and afterwards.

[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Wednesday Word Jumble answers:

Policy.
Exert.
Fetch.
Beauty.

For checking answers-- http://www.uclick.com/client/sea/tmj.../11/index.html

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Wednesday Word Jumble answers:

Policy.
Exert.
Fetch.
Beauty.

For checking answers-- Jumble | Seattle Times Newspaper

During the Continental Congress, Franklin got involved with a lot of areas like drawing the vein structures for leaves in paper currency http://etext.virginia.edu/users/brock/ http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCurrency/...05-10-75a.html with some beauty, fetching munitions through actions like manufacturing gunpowder, and trading with foreign powers as well as with Native Americans. The bow-and-arrow fans of the 2010s and later would be very pleased with his policy of the army's heavy use of the bow. He exerted himself in this cause. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...ead-of-muskets He had also set up underwater obstructions to block English ships from sailing up the Delaware River.

[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Token.
Bitten.
Avenue.
Joker.

A token of the esteem Ben Franklin is still held in dates back to his attempt to set up the workings of a new government. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_cent...g_07-21-75.asp http://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/Articles Many were very reluctant to set up a very strong central government even though one was needed to conduct the Revolutionary War and the colonial armies often starved during the winter months because of the lack of a powerful central authority. Other great minds like Franklin's took a stab at setting up the proper avenues for the new government. Of course, any joker could say that Franklin and the other Founding Fathers had bitten off way more than they could chew. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articles_of_Confederation

George Washington had been one of the very first proponents of a strong federal government. The army had nearly disbanded on several occasions during the winters of the war because of the weaknesses of the Continental Congress. ... The delegates could not draft soldiers and had to send requests for regular troops and militia to the states. Congress had the right to order the production and purchase of provisions for the soldiers, but could not force anyone to supply them, and the army nearly starved in several winters of war.

from above Wikipedia article on the Articles of Confederation.

[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Annex.
Dress.
Apathy.
Oblige.

Saturday's puzzle with answers if you cannot wait or want to a challenge with a timed version-- http://www.uclick.com/client/sea/tmj.../13/index.html

[Taltarzac725]

The Continental Congress obliged Franklin with a hazardous mission of attempting to annex French speaking Canadians into the fight against England. This failed as miserably as Benedict Arnold's invasion of Canada about that same time. Franklin had not even dressed appropriately for the bitter cold and feared that he would die on this journey. He must have started to feel some apathy for his cause. Benjamin Franklin's desperate mission in 1776 took him through the North Country « The In Box http://www.usnews.com/news/national/...once-a-patriot

[Taltarzac725]

Saturday's Word Jumble answers:

Award.
Image.
Drench.
Poorly.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

The Continental Congress obliged Franklin with a hazardous mission of attempting to annex French speaking Canadians into the fight against England. This failed as miserably as Benedict Arnold's invasion of Canada about that same time. Franklin had not even dressed appropriately for the bitter cold and feared that he would die on this journey. He must have started to feel some apathy for his cause. Benjamin Franklin's desperate mission in 1776 took him through the North Country « The In Box Benedict Arnold: A Traitor, but Once a Patriot - US News and World Report

Ben Franklin remained at home in Philadelphia for a good deal of 1776 recovering from his poorly planned trip to Canada. Philadelphia was drenched with political passions coming from all positions- rebels, loyalists, and those wishing to stay out of the fray like the pacifist Quakers. The American Revolution: Timeline of Events Franklin's son William's actions reflected badly on his father Ben's image at this time. The New Jersey Assembly ordered William's arrest. The Continental Congress on June 24, 1776 moved William Franklin to Connecticut where he was either on parole or held in jail for two years. Prior to this date of the 24th of June, on June 10, the Continental Congress formed a Committee comprised of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to write a Declaration of Independence. Franklin played a part in the wording of some of the Declaration but Thomas Jefferson seems to have been awarded most of the credit by historians. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...f_Independence

[Taltarzac725]

Sunday's Word Jumble answers from that issue of the Villages Daily Sun:

Larva.
Flabby.
Augur.
Tallow.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Sunday's Word Jumble answers from that issue of the Villages Daily Sun:

Larva.
Flabby.
Augur.
Tallow.

Ben Franklin as a Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress may have mentioned a parable probably conceived in the light of a tallow candle about a flabby two headed snake. This augured some of the problems of other bicameral US Congresses. The snake may also have been hunting for water as well as for larva of various insects as well as other game. Other Members of Congress could have argued that the one headed snake might have had too much of a focus and became flabby because of this.

Has not the famous political Fable of the Snake, with two Heads and one Body, some useful Instruction contained in it? She was going to a Brook to drink, and in her Way was to pass thro' a Hedge, a Twig of which opposed her direct Course; one Head chose to go on the right side of the Twig, the other on the left; so that time was spent in the Contest, and, before the Decision was completed, the poor Snake died with thirst.

[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Front.
Swept.
Fickle.
Rather.

http://www.uclick.com/client/sea/tmj.../16/index.html For checking today's Word Jumble answers.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Ben Franklin as a Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress may have mentioned a parable probably conceived in the light of a tallow candle about a flabby two headed snake. This augured some of the problems of other bicameral US Congresses. The snake may also have been hunting for water as well as for larva of various insects as well as other game. Other Members of Congress could have argued that the one headed snake might have had too much of a focus and became flabby because of this.

Franklin told a funny story to commiserate with Thomas Jefferson after the Continental Congress removed more than half of Jefferson's wording of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson called them mutilations. This is the story of a sign a young hat maker put out in front of his store and the subsequent changes he made in that sign after his friends criticisms of it. An editor can be quite fickle however and sometimes the whole meaning of the original gets swept under by the "foresight" of holder of the correcting pen. The tale seems to belong rather with Ludwig Wittgenstein than with Ben Franklin. http://www.history.org/almanack/reso...onanecdote.cfm

He composed it in these words, 'John Thompson, Hatter, makes and sells hats for ready money,' with a figure of a hat subjoined; but he thought he would submit it to his friends for their amendments. The first he showed it to thought the word 'Hatter' tautologous, because followed by the words 'makes hats,' which show he was a hatter. It was struck out. The next observed that the word 'makes' might as well be omitted, because his customers would not care who made the hats. If good and to their mind, they would buy, by whomsoever made. He struck it out. A third said he thought the words 'for ready money' were useless as it was not the custom of the place to sell on credit. Every one who purchased expected to pay. They were parted with, and the inscription now stood, 'John Thompson sells hats.' 'Sells hats,' says his next friend! Why nobody will expect you to give them away, what then is the use of that word? It was stricken out, and 'hats' followed it, the rather as there was one painted on the board. So the inscription was reduced ultimately to 'John Thompson' with the figure of a hat subjoined."

[Taltarzac725]

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Goose.
Needy.
Sculpt.
Window.