United States Adventures(Lynn Schuyler) United State Adventures
The Declaration of Vance and Liam

“Mom!” Vance yelled, “Liam said he’s going to fart on me!” Liam was Vance’s little brother and they didn’t always get along.

“Liam, don’t fart on your brother…and Vance quit tattling on Liam. You guys need to get some fresh air. Go play in the backyard.” She was happy to get some peace and quiet in the house.

The boys ran outside, racing to see who could be the first one to the swing set. Vance won the race, which made Liam really mad, so he turned his butt toward his brother and loudly farted at him. He then decided that if he couldn’t swing, he would go dig in the big hole by the deck with his little shovel. The hole was made by their old dog Molly, but Liam loved to dig too…so the hole grew bigger.

Liam had just begun digging when his shovel hit something hard. He dug deeper and pulled a small tin box from the dirt. The outside was rusty, but he could tell the picture on it was an American flag. The stars were different though, they were in a circle instead of in rows like the flag on the front of their house. Vance wandered over from the swings.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a box that I found in the dirt,” Liam replied, adding quickly, “it’s mine.” Vance stuck his tongue out at his brother and leaned over to study the lock on the box.

“It looks like you just have to flip the latch up…like on a lunch box.” Vance pried the rusty latch up and opened the box. The only thing inside was a folded up piece of paper. When Liam picked it up, he noticed that it was heavier than normal paper. They boys were very careful about unfolding it, and they managed to open the paper all the way up without tearing it.

It turned out to be a map of the United States. The boys loved looking at maps and learning the names of the states and capitals, so they thought this was the perfect treasure (besides chocolate…chocolate would be a better treasure.)

“Don’t forget, I found it, so it’s mine,” Liam reminded his brother.

“Liam, we found it in OUR yard, so it’s OURS. Besides, you never……” Vance was distracted by a blinking light coming from the map. “What is that?” Liam shrugged. A small light was coming from the circle that marked Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“That’s Philadelphia. It’s not the capital of Pennsylvania…Harrisburg is.” Liam pointed out to his brother.

“Ugh, I know that Liam, you don’t have to tell me that. You’re always telling me things I already know!” Vance always loses his temper with his brother, “I should fart on you.” It was Liam’s turn to stick his tongue out.

Liam decided to see if the map’s blinking light was warm, he didn’t want his new map to burn up. This was the coolest treasure he’d ever found. Up until now, a bird’s nest was the coolest treasure collected from the backyard. This map was much more fun than an old empty bird’s nest.

Before Vance could stop him, Liam reached out and lightly touched the blinking light. In that moment, both boys were sucked head-first into the map. It was like someone had grabbed them by the shoulders and pulled them into a black hole. It was dark, cold, and they tumbled over and over. Vance thought he was going to be sick. Then, just as suddenly as they were sucked in, the map spit them back out again.

“Liam, what did you do! What is that map! I’m telling mom!” Vance was shaken up from the experience. Liam was just looking around, eyes wide, at their strange surroundings. They weren’t in their quiet Northern Michigan backyard anymore.

Liam glanced over at Vance and began to laugh. "You look like a girl in that outfit.”

Vance looked down at what he was wearing. Their clothes were very different than the ones they had been wearing in the backyard. They were old fashioned clothes, although they felt new. Their pants only went down to their knees, and they were wearing tights below that. Their shirts had frilly ruffles covered by a brown jacket, and it was all kind of itchy.

“We’re wearing the same thing, Liam. So if I look like a girl, it means that you look like one too.” Vance glanced around at the strange surrounding. There were no cars, only people riding horses or in wagons pulled by horses. The buildings looked different and everyone was dressed in the same kind of crazy old fashioned clothes. Then Vance noticed a sign on the corner of the street that said “Welcome to Philadelphia.”

“Liam...we’re not in Michigan anymore. I think that map sent us to Philadelphia,” Vance said nervously. Vance began to panic and backed away from the sign. Accidentally he bumped right into a man dressed in very formal, old-fashioned clothing.

“Whoa...watch your step little lad,” the man said smiling down at the boys. Vance looked up at the man and realized he was looking at our third president Thomas Jefferson.

“You’re Thomas Jefferson!” he exclaimed. Liam just stared at the man, farting a little bit from nervousness.

“I am! And who might you young gentlemen be?”

“My name is Vance and this is my brother Liam.”

“It is very nice to meet you both. Now if you don’t mind, I have a very important meeting to go to at Independence Hall.” Thomas said looking at his pocket watch.

“I thought you were from Virginia, not Pennsylvania?” Vance commented, remembering that from a book he read about Thomas Jefferson. Liam just nodded, still amazed at the tall figure in front of him.

“Why, you are a smart young fellow. I AM from Virginia, but today I have been asked to write out the final draft of the Declaration of Independence for the Second Continental Congress. You see it is a very important document letting England know that we are free from their control.”

“You mean King George?” Liam asked, remembering what his dad told him about the history of the United States.

“Yes, King George the Third. Today is a very important day for the 13 colonies. Today we are signing the final document to declare our independence! It is very exciting!” Thomas Jefferson smiled from ear to ear.

“Is today the 4th of July!?” Liam asked, excited about the possibility of fireworks.

“Why no, it is the 2nd of August.”

“But I thought that Independence Day was the 4th of July?” Vance added.

“Independence Day! What a splendid name for a day!” Thomas Jefferson said, “We did approve the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, but we are signing the final draft today. In fact, I’m going to recommend to the Congress that the 4th of July should be celebrated as Independence Day! Thank you young lads.”

“You’re welcome” Liam and Vance said at the same time.

“Well, I best be off. Take good care of each other. It was a pleasure to meet you.” He reached out and shook both boys’ hands.

“It’s been awesome meeting you,” Vance added as he started to walk away, “It’s not every day you get to meet the third President of the United States!”

Thomas Jefferson stopped in his tracks and stared at Vance.

“What do you mean the third President?” He asked startled. Thomas walked closer to the boys, “Who are you boys? Where are your parents?” He quickly grabbed Vance by the arm.

Vance realized that he had said too much. He quickly slipped out of his itchy brown jacket and he and Liam took off running. They could hear Thomas chasing after them shouting for them to stop. The boys ran in and out of people, careful not to go into the street near all the horses. Liam quickly ran through an archway and hid behind some boxes next to an old building. Vance followed behind him.

The boys waited there while they heard several people running by on the street. Looking around, Vance spotted a set of wooden stairs leading up into a building. He grabbed his brother and they quickly made their way up the stairs. Luckily the door at the top of the stairs was unlocked, so they quietly crept inside. It took a couple minutes for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.

They found themselves on the second floor of a large old building. They waited several minutes while they caught their breath and decided what to do next.

“Where do we go now?” Liam asked Vance, sounding a little scared. Just then they heard the familiar sound of Thomas Jefferson’s voice coming up from downstairs. He was talking about them!

“Benjamin, I just met two young boys on the street just now, who spoke with an odd accent.” He sounded out of breath. “They referred to me as the third President of the United States.” The boys then heard the voice of the other man who sounded older.

“Third President of the United States?” He sounded curious. “I don’t understand. John Hancock is the President of the Second Continental Congress. Maybe they are mistaking the two of you.”

“No, they called me by my name, and they knew exactly who I was and where I lived. I need to find those kids and find out what’s going on.”

“Thomas,” Benjamin replied, “you must do that later. We have to get the signatures on the Declaration. Everybody is waiting in the Assembly Room. Do you have the final draft with you?”

“I do.” Thomas sounded calmer now. “Let’s go. I’ll track down those boys later.” The sound of their footsteps faded as they walked away. Vance leaned over and whispered into Liam’s ear.

“Let’s follow them.” Liam farted a little. The boys quietly crept down the stairs and entered into a large hallway. There were no people in the hallway, but there was a lot of talking coming from an open door about 20 feet from them. The boys quietly walked toward the door and they could hear the old man named Benjamin talking. He used a lot of big words and everyone seemed to quiet down when he spoke.

Looking through the doorway, the boys were able to get a good look at Benjamin. He was a balding man who walked with a limp. Vance recognized him right away.

“That’s Benjamin Franklin!” he whispered to Liam, “I recognize him from the $100 bill.” Liam stared, amazed that he was actually seeing these famous people with his own eyes.

“Vance look!” Liam whispered loudly, “It’s John Adams...the second President!” He was looking at a smaller man with crazy white hair and a rosy red nose

“Shhhhhh” Vance snapped back. “We don’t want to attract anyone’s attention.” The boys watched as different men made speeches. Finally Benjamin Franklin laid the Declaration of Independence on the desk in front and got a feather out.”

“What’s the feather for?” Liam wondered out loud.

“They use the end of a feather like a pen...back before pens existed.” Vance replied, “They would dip it in ink, then write with it. I saw people use them in a movie once.”

The boys watched as a man call John Hancock walked up to the table and took the feather pen and dipped it into the ink. Before he signed the Declaration he looked up at Benjamin Franklin,

“We must all hang together” He stated very seriously.

Benjamin Franklin smiled and replied, “Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” A few men chuckled as John Hancock began signing the Declaration of Independence in large sweeping letters. The other men took turns adding their names one at a time.

The boys watched for a while, it was starting to get boring. Liam had been thinking about something Benjamin said.

“What did Mr. Franklin mean when he said that they must hang together or they will hang separately?”

Vance thought about it, “I guess it means that they must stick together or they will probably die. I think they are already fighting with England. This will probably make King George even MORE mad.”

“Die! What do you mean die!” Liam sounded nervous...and Vance knew what happened when Liam got nervous.

BBBBBBBBRRRRRTTTT! Liam let out the loudest, funniest sounding fart Vance had ever heard. Vance immediately burst out laughing, which made Liam laugh, too.

“It’s those boys!” Thomas Jefferson yelled, pointing at the doorway. “Somebody grab them, I must speak with them!” Vance and Liam stopped laughing and immediately took off for the stairway. Just then, men began to burst out of the Assembly Room doors after them. They ran up the stairs to the door they had come in through, but it was locked!

“Quick, where do we go?!” Liam shouted. Vance noticed that the stairs continued upward.

“Follow me!” Vance took off up the stairs with Liam right behind him. They had gone up several flights of stairs when Vance looked back. The men were still following them, but slower and breathing heavily. The boys finally reached the top of the stairs and went through another doorway. On the other side of the door was a gigantic bell. The bell was a magnificent copper brown bell, taller than each of them. It had words around the top of it, but the only words they recognized were “Proclaim Liberty.”

“We’re trapped!” Vance said. “We can’t go back out the door and we are up too high to jump. I just want to go home!” That gave Liam an idea. Checking through all the pockets of his brown suit, he finally found what he was looking for. Liam pulled the map out of his pocket and quickly unfolded it.

“Vance, If we touch the light blinking on our home town it should take us back home!” he exclaimed. Just then there was a loud thud as the men reached the top of the stairs.

“Quick, Liam! Touch the blinking light!” Vance shouted. Liam reached down just as the door began to open. The next thing they knew, they were tumbling over and over in the cold dark, on their way back home through the map. They landed with a soft thud in their quiet backyard.
The boys got up and brushed the grass off their clothes. They were wearing their normal clothes again. Liam carefully folded up the map and placed it back in the tin box.

“We need to put this in a very safe place” Vance said. They looked around for the perfect hiding spot. After a few minutes of searching, they found a place behind the boxes of Christmas decorations in the shed. It was a spot that would keep the map dry and no one would find it.

“Boys! Time for lunch!” their mom shouted from the kitchen window.

“Quick, Liam. Let’s go find my book about Thomas Jefferson!” Vance said as they ran into the house. They went straight to the bedroom and searched the bookshelf. Liam finally found the book and began flipping through pages until he found the picture he was looking for.

On the page was a famous painting of the Assembly Room at Independence Hall during the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The caption at the top read “The Declaration of Independence was passed on July 4, 1776” and in the center of the photo stood the familiar tall figure of Thomas Jefferson, dressed in the same clothes they had seen him in earlier. There was also Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, and many of the members of the Second Continental Congress. The boys were so excited to find a picture of the people they had been watching just minutes before. They studied the photograph carefully, and then Vance’s mouth dropped open.”

“Oh no, Liam! Look at the doorway!” Liam looked over at the doorway in the picture, and peeking around the corner and peering into the room were the two unmistakable faces of Vance and Liam.

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