Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues: Resolution (For a Family Thanksgiving In Pennsylvania!)

"Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."

--- Ben Franklin on Resolution

I doubt there is any greater cause of failure than lack of resolve.

Certainly, you cannot achieve great success if you don't carry-on through the rough patches.

We have all started projects enthusiastically only to become distracted by new interests before completing the task at hand.

Benjamin Franklin had broad interests too, but he successfully completed what he started with such incredible results so many times that he became not simply a leader in one field but a legend of the Age of Enlightenment.

We remember Ben Franklin as a Founding Father who helped craft American independence and our ground-breaking Constitution, and perhaps we hold a grade school image of him flying a kite with a key on the string during a lightning storm to somehow "discover electricity."

Those accomplishments would be sufficient to keep his memory alive, but he accomplished far more.

The printed word may be an industry in decline today, but in Franklin's era, it was essentially the computer/internet/social media breakthrough of its day.

He would have been comfortable simply running his own print shop soundly, but he also trained others to follow in his footsteps in a forerunner to franchising.  As his profit for guiding print shops and newspapers he helped set up, he earned a third of their profits.

Remember, this was brand new industry, so he had his fingers in about half of the print market for the British American colonies and Caribbean islands

This network also provided the foundation for a system of mail delivery around these various regions. "You've Got Mail" could have been the slogan for his new postal service making delivery of letters more efficient than haphazzardly passing mail to a traveler who dropped it off at random taverns in the right general vicinity.

The American post office system was just one of the public works that Ben not only dabbled in but resolved to make ongoing programs during his days as a printing entrepreneur in Philadelphia.  You may be familiar with little concepts like fire departments, homeowner's insurance and free public libraries.

Let's face it: we all have ideas pop into our heads, but few of us resolve to make them become realities.

As touched on previously, being in the printing business provided the opportunity for this brilliant man to publish his own writings, which became another profitable channel of income for him. Benjamin Franklin wrote an almanac under a pen name that used atronomy and other traditional methods to predict weather patterns that would be useful for farmers in particular to compete with another printer.

With a good dose of humor to poke fun at the pompous way his competitor presented his information plus wise sayings, Poor Richard's Almanack became an overnight best-seller.  Released annually, the publication became another cash cow for Ben.  At a young age, he no longer needed to worry about commerce.

He became a wealthy man of leisure well-known in the elite set in London and Paris.  Believe it or not, that period of his life in Europe lasted about 35 years.  His connections with the most brilliant thinkers of those influential cities and the rest of Europe were reflected in his evolving interests.

This being the Age of Enlightenment, Franklin became fascinated by "natural philosophy."  Back in his day, no one carried the title "scientist," but that's essentially a synonym for natural philosopher.

During the 1700's, Franklin shouldn't have reasonably expected to live too many years beyond his retirement age of 43, but he nonetheless dove into many new projects.

Upon learning about heat convection, Ben came up with a "Pennsylvania Stove." It didn't turn out to be much of a financial success in his day but nonetheless was a practical application of science to heat a home with less smoke in the room.  The last time I read "Mother Earth News" --- and admittedly my subscription ran out in 1981 when I abandoned what might have been a great life vision of living closer to nature rather than sticking to my resolution --- Franklin Stoves were still a hot item (embarrasingly, that pun was intended).

More impressive to me in my current incarnation as a Cruise Planner, Benjamin Franklin was the first to chart the Gulf Stream, a band of warm water between the USA and Europe.  He undoubtedly was not the first person to notice that it took only 37 days to sail from the American colonies and England but a full 54 days to go from England to America, but because he did this trip eight times during his long life, he had ample opportunity to contemplate the situation in the era before onboard entertainment extravaganzas of modern cruising.

Ben's always-curious mind previously recorded what a sea merchant brother-in-law had said about finding better whaling in a band of water between the continents, but of course that captain kept this a secret to maintain his competitive advantage in finding whales.

Franklin realized that different water temperatures might account for both phenomena, so he conducted an experiment during crossings where he would drop a bottle with a thermoter inside into the sea, held by ropes to allow submersion to 18 or 35 fathoms, and then comparing the water temperatures to that found on the surface.  It turned out to be 6 degrees colder at 35 feet and 12 degrees colder at 18 fathoms compared to the surface temperature  in the Gulf Stream, which he hypothesized indicated undersea currents.  When you go on your next transatlantic cruise, you may find time between shows and buffets to appreciate Mr. Franklin's help in charting your ship's course.

You may notice that pictures in this post are not of Ben Franklin but rather my family.  Julie and I went on a long-anticipated flight to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving.  That trip had many examples of resolution, if on a somewhat less epic scale.

We were supposed to go to Pennsylvania last Easter, but our resolve proved to be weak.  We were talked out of it by the media and loved ones who said we should wait, because that was a critical time to beat the virus by flattening the curve.  We wouldn't fall for that same FEAR this time, even when Pennsylvania instituted a new requirement to have a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours prior to arrival and California Governor Newsom directed us to stay home and dine alone.

I'm glad we followed through despite the slings and arrows of outrageous politicians.  Our daughter Amy and her boyfriend Lukas similarly broke free of New Jersey chains by resolving to enjoy Thanksgiving with family as planned.

Those examples weren't nearly as pronounced as the resolution to follow through on extensive plans crafted by our daughter Gina and granddaughter Emma in preparation for Thanksgiving, with the help of their beloved husband/daddy Laszlo.

Literally weeks in the making, the girls quizzed us on Skype calls about the menu, and made many extensive shopping trips to gather ingredients.  It all unfolded perfectly, with many recipes tried out weeks in advance to be ready for the appropriate "T-minus" --- Turkey in the Oven Blast Off (their family loves NASA, Star Trek and all things outerspace-oriented) ---  preparation time.

For example, homemade apple cider made with boiled apples and spices, then mashed and strained.

It could then be savored warm that day, cold the next day, and as part of cocktails with either vodka or Captain Morgan.

For those keeping score, it surprisingly turned out that vodka was better than spiced rum, because the apple cider was truly delicious and the vodka didn't change that flavor at all.

There were pumpkin pies, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread, and we actually were doing sampling Thanksgiving morning for breakfast, just to be sure they would be good for dessert.  Yep, they were delicious!

An annual study in resolution is the production to make Grandma Mary's Fruitcake.  Gina buys the many ingredients, and finding them all is a big task of its own.  Then it is a massive project of chopping cherries, crushing graham crackers, melting an inordinate amount of butter and marshmallows and mixing it all together before rolling them into wax paper hot, then sliced and wrapped in new wax paper and finally wrapping paper.

We on the assembly line are always amazed that my Mom accomplished this on her own while she lived.

Resolve to not simply accomplish goals but to enjoy your life.  No one can make that happen but you.