Matt

When you live in people's hearts,
you never die.

[Echoes of War @EchoesofWarYT]

Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Clark may have paid the highest personal price. Almost nobody knows his story. Buckle up.

He was a New Jersey farm kid considered too frail for farm work, so he taught himself math, then surveying, then law. He never got rich from it because he kept defending poor farmers who could not pay him. His neighbors called him "the Poor Man's Counselor."

In the early hours of July 4, 1776, while Congress debated independence in Philadelphia, Clark wrote a letter to a friend with one of the most chilling lines of the Revolution: "Perhaps our Congress will be exalted on a high gallows."

He signed anyway.

Then the British made it personal. Two of his sons were officers in the Continental Army, and both were captured. They were thrown onto the prison ship Jersey in New York Harbor, the deadliest place of the entire war. More Americans died on British prison ships than in every battle of the Revolution combined.

One son got it even worse. He was locked in the dungeon and given no food except what other starving prisoners could push through the keyhole of his cell.

The British reportedly offered Clark a deal: renounce the Declaration, switch sides, and your boys go free.

He refused.

Here is the part that breaks me. Clark sat in Congress through all of it and never once brought it up. No special pleading, no favors. Congress only found out through other channels and threatened retaliation against a British officer, which finally got his son out of the dungeon.

After the war, he kept choosing the little guy. He fought for debt relief for struggling farmers and refused to support the Constitution until he was assured a Bill of Rights would protect ordinary citizens.

In September 1794, at age 68, the self-taught surveyor who outlasted the British Empire died of sunstroke after a long day working on his own farm.

No statue on the National Mall. No musical. Just a small town in New Jersey called Clark, and most people who drive through it have no idea why.

Some men signed the Declaration with ink. Abraham Clark signed it with his sons.

[Matt @MattHull84]

@SenMcConnell

[Matt @MattHull84]

@AzPetrich @CynicalMother Solid Flex 🤦🏼‍♂️

[Buffalo Hockey Moments @SabresPlays]

Before the @BuffaloBlade were born, there was another group of hooligans from South Buffalo who stole the zamboni from Cazenovia ice rink and drove down to the local bar with full hockey gear on. The police escorted them back to the rink . This runs through our blood (sometime in the 90s)

#LetsGoBuffalo #NHLBruins

[Matt @MattHull84]

@JoshyWaitForItJ @Matt_Bove Long John Silvers has a 2pc fish n more. Ask for extra hushpuppies.

[x - A a r o n @23sabres]

*Refs looking forward to calling a high energy back and forth game between the Sabres and Lightning*

The game:

[SPIN @SPIN]

Future Islands change their lives with a Letterman performance of 'Seasons (Waiting on You)'

Just bask in Samuel T. Herring’s incredible movements and impassioned vocals, not to mention the propulsive band around him, 12 years ago today.

(📹 via @letterman on IG)

[Matt @MattHull84]

@markpoloncarz #shitforbrains says what?

[Matt @MattHull84]

@news4buffalo Wayne Brady

[Larry @Tom & Marty's @tomandmartys]

The national movement begins NOW. Starting at Toms.

Tired of how big Buffalo Wings have gotten. They are not meant to be like fried chicken. The skin/sauce/meat ratio is all wrong.

The ONLY reason they are like this is to justify the $20 for 10 bullshit so many places charge.

Secured a steady supply of regular OG sized wings and charging $9.75 a dozen as god intended.

[Matt @MattHull84]

@GakNation80 All day been going low.

[Matt @MattHull84]

@GovKathyHochul Fuckin Curse

[Matt @MattHull84]

@Breaking911 On wild card weekend?

[Matt @MattHull84]

@salmaiorana Thanks my man

[Trustkill @Trustkill]

Gorilla Biscuits ❌ New Jersey

[Matt @MattHull84]

@RyanTalbotBills @Porkdogg23 Good stuff. I don't judge gay marriage.
May the be a couple happy dudes forever.