I learned something from a third-grader last week and I had to research it to see if the little man was pulling my leg or not. This boy was dressed as Paul Revere at my son’s “Night of the Notables” function at school (my son was Leonardo DaVinci). It seems that on the fateful night in April, 1775, Paul revere rode North of Boston through Charleston, Medford and ended up in Lexington, MA. Yes, he rode to each tavern and yelled the popular phrase we all know. He was famous for this ride and his “word of mouth” marketing efforts aided in centralizing of the Colonial Army.
Now here’s what I learned: Mr. Rever was not alone in his quest to warn of the impending British. He had a fellow rider, who took the southern route out of Boston and rode through Roxbury, Brookline and Cambridge, MA. He even had the same message; “The British are coming!” But have you ever heard of William Dawes? Did you see his name in the history books back in elementary school? No, you (and I) didn’t. It turns out Mr. Dawes was a bit of a shy man, not known by many people and didn’t know where to go or who to talk with to help spread the message. While Paul Revere charismatically rode, warned and yelled- Ol’ Mr. Dawes just rode. It seems passion and knowledge gets you everywhere while boring and mediocre makes you a “Dawes,” that is- boring and dead!
Straight Tower Of Pisa?
In 1986 I climbed to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Northern Italy. Long-spiraling staircase took me past each level where I could see out and feel the slant of the tower. The entire town was awash in the typical tourist trappings with buses of people from all over the world coming and going.
Why did this tiny town with nothing but a slanted tower become a required destination spot for one’s trip to Italy? Because it was odd, weird, different! Imagine if it was the “Perfectly Straight Tower of Pisa.” Who would come? Who would care (besides engineering students).Give me different, unique, wacky and I’ll remember. Stand out from the crowd and I’ll talk about it for years to come (21 years of talking about it actually).
Why did this tiny town with nothing but a slanted tower become a required destination spot for one’s trip to Italy? Because it was odd, weird, different! Imagine if it was the “Perfectly Straight Tower of Pisa.” Who would come? Who would care (besides engineering students).Give me different, unique, wacky and I’ll remember. Stand out from the crowd and I’ll talk about it for years to come (21 years of talking about it actually).
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