Week of March 8th

Well, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Delaware is called the “First State” because it was the first of the 13 original states to ratify the Constitution. Civics lesson over.

Let’s face it, Delaware is such a small state nothing really comes to mind when it comes to being the best, highest, most or tops. It has some beautiful areas and some very popular beach resorts but these are mostly enjoyed by folks from neighboring states. No one famous seems to actually be from the tiny state and I couldn’t think of any movies about or filmed in Delaware. It is home to several financial and credit institutions, but you create a celebration around that. Allen Family Foods makes its home there, so poultry production is high, whoopee! DuPont has its headquarters there and if I was fertilizing my garden I might have done a little jig, but that wasn’t happening.

After much debate I decided that we would celebrate the state by creating a play-list with all songs with Delaware in its title. (Oh, what would we do without this modern invention? Although, there are some that say you shouldn’t put an i Pod in the hands of anyone over 30.) This turned out to be a really fun exercise (for me anyway). You’d be surprised how many songs have Delaware in its title. I found songs that ranged from the childhood classic “Delaware” that asked the age old question “What would Dela-ware, boys?” to a beautiful song, performed but I don’t think written by an English singer-songwriter Jez Lowe, “Dover, Delaware”. As best as I make out, it’s a song about an English soldier fighting on American soil during the Revolutionary War. And then there’s the Fat Waller’s classic “You’re a Square from Delaware”. I also included another song entitled “Delaware” by Brigid Kaelin. This songs has a great refrain; “But George is still crossing the Delaware, Billie’s still singing the blues, Lisa’s still smiling her own special smile and I’m still waiting for you.”

I have to admit the funniest song was a ditty by Todd Chappelle “I’m from Delaware” a parody of “I’ve been Everywhere” sung by Johnny Cash. In this song he mentions every town in this small state, and I think he hits them all.
Not to leave any of my selections out, I also downloaded “Delaware” by Will Edwards, “Going Down to Delaware” by Jake Michaels and “Good Times Delaware” by Vic Sadot.
This really was a fun exercise, one that I would recommend, and I found some artists that I would explore in the future. By the way, she wore a brand New Jersey and sipped a Minnesota.

Before leaving this lyrical state I wanted to explain the graphics for the Delaware map. Feeling rather challenged by the size of the canvas I just replicated a common map of Delaware that shows its 3, count them 3, counties. OK, you try being creative on a ¼” x ¾” canvas.

Color in the “First State” with a pallet of 3 colors and head directly West to the “Sunflower State” – Kansas. 20 down - 32 to go.