I love the web. I love its ability to allow me to explore; to surprise me; to put me in touch with like-minds in a way that was undreamt of only a few decades ago. Here is a little personal story.
When I first bought Mark Knopfler’s music CD (a while ago) Sailing to Philadelphia, I was captivated by the track of the same name.
First, Mark Knopfler is a fantastic guitar player, and second I love music with a historical story that connects me emotionally with the past. Al Stewart, for example, is my favorite singer-songwriter. Who else could write a song called Trains about the history of trains culminating with their role in the holocaust? And the words:
I still sometimes get caught up in the past I can’t say why.
All our lives are just a smudge of smoke or just a breath of wind against the sky …
Credit: Al Stewart
But as I first listened to Sailing to Philadelphia – the story of the ‘drawing’ of the Mason-Dixon line – I realized that as a Brit, although I had heard of the line – I had no idea what it was. A Google search and I quickly discovered the basic historical facts.
Jeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason were commissioned in 1763 by the heirs of William Penn and Lord Baltimore to establish the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The Mason-Dixon line boundary became the demarcation between the slave and non-slave states many years later.
I wonder if Jeremiah Dixon and Charlie Mason, when sailing to Philadelphia, ever realized just how well known they would become.
Since I first Googled the story, I have more recently discovered a short ten-minute video made about the line and the song that, for some reason, I find exceptionally moving.
Knowledge Letter: Issue: 260 (Subscribe)
Tags: Al Stewart (2) | Charles Mason (1) | Jeremiah Dixon (1) | Mark Knopfler (1) | Mason Dixon Line (1)
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Photo Credits: Midjourney (Public Domain)
