Hope everyone had a great week and got to enjoy some celebrations for the 250th over the weekend.

If I'm being honest, it didn't really feel like the 250th to me. Maybe that's just because there wasn't as much going on as I expected. I was asking my dad about it, and he remembers the bicentennial back in 1976 being a completely different thing. Way more celebrations, more parades, and behind it a more cohesive country. More patriotism, more pride, more of a shared sense that this was a big deal. The energy and the pride were palpable.

And even here in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the whole thing, this year it mostly felt like another Fourth of July. For a 250th anniversary, that surprised and disappointed me.

I think part of what this community is about is pushing back on that. Getting back to our roots. Appreciating where we came from as a country, and getting a little closer to the ideals the founders actually cared about: liberty, freedom, agency, hard work, determination. They're the things I want to internalize, and they describe the kind of people I'm trying to bring together here.

And the most important part of all of this, for me and I think for you too, is getting together in person. So I'd love to host as many of you as possible on Wednesday. Details are below.

I really want to make this one count. To me, success is simple: more of you coming out, more people getting involved, more real conversations happening. That's it. And it feels like we're trending in the right direction.

This is the big one this week: our July gathering is this coming Wednesday, July 15th at 6pm at Jasper's Backyard in Conshohocken.

We had ten guys at the last one and some of the best conversation I've had in a while. If you've been meaning to make it to one of these and haven't yet, what are you waiting for?

Two asks: if you haven’t already reply to this email or shoot me a text so I can get a headcount, and if you know someone in the area who'd fit right in, bring them along.

Last week I wrote about the vote on July 2nd and the document that came together on the 4th. This week, just what happened next. I didn't know this part until recently, and I thought it was worth passing along.

The Declaration was adopted on July 4th and sent to the printer that night, but the public didn't hear it right away. On July 8th, 1776, four days later, it was read out loud in public for the first time, right here in Philadelphia, in the yard behind the State House.

Town criers and church bells called people in. A crowd gathered in what we now call Independence Square, and a colonel named John Nixon climbed up and read the whole thing aloud, start to finish. For most of the people standing there, it was the first they heard that the colonies had declared themselves free.

Then the city went up. Bells rang all day and into the night. That evening a group took down the King's coat of arms from the State House and threw it onto a bonfire. The same scene, more or less, played out in Easton and Trenton that same day.

If you haven’t done so already, please reply to this email and let me know the following:

What part of the Philadelphia area are you in?
What are your favorite local spots — restaurants, farms, trails, taverns?
What would make this community useful to you?

I want to build the most valuable community, your input matters a lot.

Sound Life Philly is in its early stages, and your help growing it matters more now than it ever will later. If this resonated, forward it to someone in the Philadelphia area who should be part of this newsletter and community.

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