Getting to know Ben Franklin

 The Body of Ben Franklin, Printer. Like the Cover of an old Book. Its Contents torn out. And Stript of its Lettering & Gilding. Lies here. Food for Worms. - Ben Franklin


If it wasn't for a Park Ranger handing me a pamphlet at Independence Hall I would have no idea Benjamin Franklin was buried in Philadelphia. Regardless of various memorials and dedications scattered across the city, the only Franklin-related thing I wanted to do in Philadelphia was to cross the Ben Franklin Bridge on the way in or at least take a picture nearby. I did neither. Despite my indifference, he became an influential part of my NYC-Phila-DC three-day road trip.

On the way to Franklin's grave site I visited a Quaker burial ground across the street from the oldest fire company in the nation, now closed due to citywide budget cuts, Engine 8, which graces Ben's likeness in a fire helmet.

The Quaker burial ground was fascinating in itself. The 1805 chapel (built on bodies piling up since 1683) had an energy that transmitted through my body and with some supernatural reason - I could almost literally see the ghosts packing out the pews and balconies before my host mentioned that there were 7,000 bodies underneath the building and another 8,000 surrounding it. The wall around the grounds was originally 5ft tall but had to be raised to 9ft. during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia. The Quakers felt obligated to protect themselves when people kept throwing their dead over the short wall.

After my history lesson at the burial ground I was more excited to look at dead people than ever. Ben Franklin is buried in a small, one block cemetery with many others including Susan E. Wagner, the woman my high school was named after.

The site charges admission, although its not expensive. Franklin is buried in the corner of the site, on the corner of the block. mounted on a brick post is Franklin's self-written obituary that I've quoted up top. He wrote it when he was a young man, slightly tongue-in-cheek I figure. I was very intrigued by the practicality of the short poem, the sense of humor, the modesty, and his overall message that each of us have the free will to strive for greatness. The rest of it reads:

But the Work shall not be lost. For it will as he believe'd appear once more in a new and more elegant Edition Corrected and improved By the Author.

Franklin is buried with his wife Deborah and their 4yr. old son Francis.

I knew Franklin printed money. Admittedly I know that because I've seen the entire first two seasons of "Pawn Stars". At the Smithsonian in DC, I wasn't looking for money printed by him particularly, I just wanted to look at some old money. I knew I would pass some of his eventually, so when I did I took a picture. Due to the glare and my poor skills, its impossible to read the paper. I was so consumed with taking as many pictures as I could that I didn't break down this "one-third of a dollar" bill at the time and when I found a clear picture of it today and I can't believe what I missed.

The back of the bill is easy to explain, its 13 circles each named after a state linked together to form a larger circle and in the center it says "We Are One United States". The front of the bill is so friggin' cool. The latin word "Fugio" translating to "I fly" orbits a sundial, meaning "time flies". Underneath is the phrase that just blows me away: MIND YOUR BUSINESS. This was also printed on coins.

Benjamin Franklin is one of the coolest people ever. If you ever wanted to really know what our founding fathers intended this country to be like, Franklin is an easy and direct person to research. The Constitution says all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Franklin metaphorically writes that in his "obituary". It says right there on the money that he printed, what he thought government's role should be in the life of the American citizen: MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. He believed, as did George Washington, that money should never be adorned with a leader or ruler on the face of it. That was something monarchies did, it was a show of power by the state. Instead Washington chose Lady Liberty, a symbol that would inspire the individual. It was the empowerment of the individual endowed by her/his Creator, as opposed to the empowerment of the government endowed by the mortals at the top of the pyramid. This is what made the United States a beacon of hope for so many. From "The Way to Wealth" by Benjamin Franklin:

"Friends, says he, and neighbors, the taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly, and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an abatement. However let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us; God helps them that help themselves.

 Times have changed. Principles don't have to. Every moment we fail to decide our environment decides for us. When we don't have the will to empower ourselves, we automatically give that power away to something else. Ben Franklin was the shit.