We recently returned from a trip to New England where, among other things, we were able to see and stand on some of the first New World land that voyagers saw and stepped on when they arrived at these shores.
Each time, on each spot landmarked or otherwise, I found it impossible, despite the many imperfections of those long-gone people and longer-gone moments, not to think of all that had been measured, spent, lost, and gained so that, all these years later, so many of us can stand on the same or similar shores and be thankful for their voyages and for a certain “declaration†made by many of their descendants 241 years ago.
 Happy Independence Day! Â