America's favorite heroine...may be a myth - Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History

While the majority of our "Founding Mothers" during the Revolutionary War supported the cause by running the households and businesses while the men were away fighting, there were also a fair share of women on the battlefield.

But the most well known of these women, Molly Pitcher, may have never even existed.

According to the story, a woman named Molly brought water to the soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth. They would say, "Molly, Pitcher," calling her for water, and that is how her name became Molly Pitcher.

Then Molly saw her own husband shot on the battlefield. I cannot even imagine the horror...but she just continued the fight and took his place firing the cannon.

Some say that Molly Pitcher is just a generic name for all the women who were water carriers on the battlefield, but there is sufficient historical evidence by eyewitness accounts that there was a woman at the Battle of Monmouth working the cannons.

A woman by the name of Mary Hays was also accounted for at the battle, and she is believed to have been Molly Pitcher, because Molly was a common nickname for Mary at the time (I know right, don't ask me why, but anyway, it was). Mary even received a pension for her services in the Revolutionary War.

Sounds like good enough evidence for me - I'd say Molly Pitcher was real, let's not dilute her to mere folklore.

And that's my two cents.

Helping Homeless

It has happened to us all: we are walking outside in a city and we see a homeless person begging. He's holding a can asking for change as people pass him by.

We all think to ourselves: Should I give him money or shouldn't I?

I think it's a common debate we all have, because ever since we were little there have been numerous adults that told us, "Don't give homeless people your money, they will just spend it on drugs and alcohol, and you aren't really helping them."

While I am sure there are some homeless people out there who will take the money you give them and squander it away on alcohol and another hit of drugs, I believe there are more in the world that will actually use it for food.

Maybe that is the innocent, naive little girl in me, but I am still going to believe it. I am still going to believe that not all homeless people are lazy trying to live off of hardworking people and government. I still believe that there are some people who are honestly just down on their luck, sick, with no one to turn to.

I also don't think all these homeless people are spending the money they get from begging on alcohol and drugs. Last time I checked, both of these are not inexpensive commodities. So he is definitely not headed to a bar with the total of $0.73 he got that day. I've never seen a homeless person with a cup full of change.

But with even less than a dollar or a little more, he can buy food.

At the end of the day, I also think it comes down to that this is not a big, political question of whether we should or shouldn't give people handouts. It's a much more narrower reality. This is just you and a homeless person on a street corner in one city, in one country of the world.

And I would much rather be a few cents short with a compassionate heart than have the warmth of change in my pocket with a cold heart.

And that's my two cents.

Wives and Spies - Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History

The most notable Philadelphia woman to help the Patriot cause, was Lydia Darragh. She had a great view from her window to watch British activities, and she would record them in coded messages and hide the messages in her sons' coat buttons who would then bring them to his older brother serving in Washington's army.

Crazy right?

One night, British Major Andre commandeered Lydia's house for him and his fellow officers to bunker down in. Which, by the way, is why we have the 3rd Amendment - that civilians don't have to quarter troops. When a woman would have to "host" troops in her house, she would have to do all their cooking, cleaning, and laundry - at best. And at worst, she was raped as well.

When Andre commandeered her house he told her he wanted her asleep while his troops were in there, and he would come upstairs to let her know when they wanted to be let out. Sensing that something wasn't right, she snuck into the hallway and pressed her ear against the keyhole. Sure enough, she hears the British plan to stage a surprise attack on over 5,000 American troops two days from then.

This was during the wintertime, and in the 1700s, armies did not fight during the winter - all fighting was called off and each army camps out. So this attack would have been a huge blow to the American army, because it would be both unexpected and during the winter. All in all, a crippling defeat, moreover, not the fair way to play war.

Lydia rushes back to bed and pretends to be sleeping when Andre knocks on her door for his troops to be let out. He knocks on the door once. No answer. Knocks again. No answer. Then he bangs loudly on the door and a groggy Lydia pulls herself out of bed to open the door.

Lydia then came up with a plan to be able to report her findings to the American army. She pretended that she needed to go out of town to get flour, and since during the war they were under martial law, she had to receive a pass from General Howe to do so.

With the Americans informed of the British surprise attack, they were well prepared, and the British walked straight into a line of cannons, completely defeated by the end of the battle.

The British goes back into town, and Major Andre KNOWS that someone tipped off the Americans. He goes to Lydia and demands to know who in her family was awake, and she says, "All my family was asleep, you know that," and he says, "I know it definitely wasn't you, because I had to knock on your door three times to wake you up."

Tricky, right?

And the British never figured out who it was that told, and who it was that saved over 5,000 American troops that day.

The even more amazing part of this story is that Lydia Darragh and her family were Quaker. Quakers are known for not getting involved, remaining neutral. During this time, if they were to have taken any side, they would have been quiet Loyalists, because that was maintaining the status quo.

So not only is it extraordinary that Lydia as a Quaker she was a Patriot, but that she did something about it too. It's interesting that her husband refused to get involved, yet she did. And after she did, the church excommunicated her.

All in all, Lydia Darragh was an amazing woman who sacrified for a cause she truly believed in.

And that's my two cents.

Puerto Rican is a language!?

The picture I posted is the view from my apartment window here in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Pretty sweet, huh? It's called Isla Verde, the area where I'm staying and its strip of beach.

So in honor of me being in Puerto Rico on vacation now, I thought I'd tell a funny story:

My grandparents and everyone on my Dad's side live in Puerto Rico, and we visit them every year during the summer. But during the rest of the year, for our birthdays, mi abuela (grandma) always sends us checks.

Recently, our bank told us that they couldn't process her checks anymore, because they were from Puerto Rico and from a Puerto Rican bank. This is absolutely ridiculous, because Puerto Rico is a territory of the US! Why won't you process American checks??

So when my mom got her birthday check from mi abuela, and the bank wouldn't process it, she was on the phone with them trying to figure out why.

As she's talking to the bank teller, the woman responds, "Well we can't process the check, because it's written in Puerto Rican."

!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

My mom just paused and said, "Umm, well the check is written in SPANISH, yes."

We just couldn't believe any of this. First of all: PUERTO RICAN!? Seriously? Second of all, Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world, and this bank teller was from Northern Virginia, so don't tell me she hadn't heard Spanish before. We all know Northern Virginia has its abundance of hispanics.

It's not like the check was that hard to read too. It was from el Banco Popular. Hmmm, I wonder what that means in English? And the amount was for "cuarenta dolares" and if she didn't have the simple motivation to look up "cuarenta" or ask a friend that easy question, the amount is written right there for her in the box! $40!

It's really not that difficult.

Puerto Rican!? Oh goodness...

And that's my two cents.

16 and Pregnant? Nah. How about 16 and Plantation Owner - Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History

Oh my goodness! I am not even halfway through Founding Mothers, and I have already read so many fascinating stories about the women during the American revolution. Where to begin? Let's start from the beginning...

The first woman, or I guess I should say girl, the author Cokie Roberts introduces is Eliza Pinckney. Around 1734, her father had to leave to join his regiment in Antigua in fighting the war against Spain. So he left her, a 16 year old girl, in charge of their 3 South Carolina plantations, her sick mother, and all the children.

Phew! That's a lot for a teenager to handle! But she proved that she was up for the challenge.

"I have the business of three plantations to transact, which requires much writing and more business and fatigue of other sorts than you can imagine. But least you should imagine it too burdensome to a girl at my early time of life, give me leave to answer you: I assure you I think myself happy that I can be useful to so good a father, and by rising very early I find I can go through much business."

Man, I admire her already! But not only did she just run three plantations, she did a heck of a job at it too. She realized that rice was basically the only cash crop making South Carolina money, and she was determined to find another way to make the colony prosperous. She predicted (and was eventually right!) that growing indigo would become a lucrative business.

It took a lot of hard work, trial and error, and years until her indigo experiment worked. She was finally able to harvest enough plants and distributed the seeds to other planters so that indigo would make South Carolina an exclusive hub for indigo and thereby an important colony with more power. England snatched up the indigo and paid South Carolinians in bounty for it.

So here is a girl who not only had an extreme amount of responsibility for her age, but she went above and beyond the call of duty, for herself and her colony, and showed wisdom beyond her years.

And that's my two cents.

¿El Fin de los Toreros?

Just today, Barcelona and its region of Catalonia banned bullfighting. This is the first region in the mainland of Spain to abolish the long time tradition and hallmark of Spanish culture.

But this has been a critical issue in Spain for a long time, as opponents of bullfighting cry animal cruelty. When I was in Spain, I never attended a bullfight, and if I go back, I don't think I ever will. I just don't understand what is entertaining about watching an animal being tortured and eventually killed. Plus it seems even more disturbing to have tons of people watching in a ring and cheering as the bull dies. It all comes across as barbaric.

But everyone in Spain that I talked to was against bullfighting, especially the youth. The only main argument for bullfighting is tradition. It has become such a part of the culture, that many, especially older people, have a hard time letting it go.

When I was reading this article, nothing really surprised me about what they were reporting. Everything that is unfolding with this issue is so true to Spain. Bullfighting has always been a problem, Barcelona has always been the most independent region, and there has always been tension between the youth and the elderly.

The region of Catalonia, where Barcelona is situated, is the most unique region and distinct in Spain. People there call themselves Catalans first, and Spaniards second. They even speak their own dialect of Spanish called Catalan. So some are saying this bullfight ban is more than just to save animals, but a political push as well. Could it be another step for Barcelona to gain more independence from the rest of Spain?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the rest of Spain: how the rest of the Spanish public will receive the ban, and if other Spanish cities will follow suit. Some say if anything, Madrid and Seville will definitely keep bullfighting around, as it is the most popular and culturally significant in those two cities.

So is this the end of the bullfighters? I certainly hope so.

And that's my two cents.

Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History

A few weeks ago I was watching Glenn Beck, and every Friday in the summer he does a segment called "Founding Fridays" where he focuses on a topic about the founding of our nation.

So on this particular day he focused not on the Founding Fathers, but the Founding Mothers. Most of our knowledge of important women during the Revolutionary period begins with Betsy Ross (which doesn't really even count, because that story is mainly a folktale now) and Abigail Adams and Martha Washington...

...and it ends there.

Little is taught in the history books of the women who sacrificed and fought for America's independence too. They supported their husbands and made their own mark as well. During Glenn's Beck show, he told numerous stories of the women who showed immense courage and conviction for our new nation.

I was so intrigued by these women's lives that I decided to start a little project this summer! (frankly beause I knew I'd NEVER actually do it during the school year) I am going to learn more about these great women by reading Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts, and I will talk about some of the stories I find most interesting on here (because if I don't post it somewhere then I'll never actually do it ha).

So I am going to start a series on my blog post called "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History." Be looking out for entries in this new series!

And that's my two cents.