Stella's Place

I wrote a story about a few of the lesser-known events surrounding the writing of The Star-Spangled Banner. In particular, the role of two teenagers and a runaway slave on the outcome of that most consequential battle. Growing up in Baltimore with a father who taught social studies, I was well-acquainted with these facts and shared the story on my podcast. I never imagined that several years later, it would be brought to life for a TV series called The Story Behind the Story. Nor did I ever imagine it would become the basis of a movie which was released a year ago this week. Funny what can happen when a story takes hold.

This is the current version of Something to Stand For, brought to life for the movie of the same name. If you like it, I hope you’ll check out the whole film, which features a total of nine unapologetically patriotic stories, stitched together with a trip to DC, where I reacquaint myself with our countries greatest memorials, and remind myself that America is both a great nation, and a work in progress. The film is currently streaming on Angel Studios and hanging tough on Rotten Tomatoes with 98%, for whatever that’s worth. In the meantime, have a great Independence Day, and don’t forget to raise a glass to those things we can all still agree on. Simple but important things, that are still worth standing for.

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