George Washington An Old Fuddy-Duddy

George Washington an Old Fuddy-Duddy? By Elton Camp What image of Washington comes to mind? In with your money is the one you will find Right there George is, on the one-dollar bill And looking humorless, old and extremely ill No worse portrait could anyone possibly pick It is showing a man who is aged, ugly and sick Some fuddy-duddy is just what he appears to be But that image of him is wrong, as we will see Most of what we know of him is really incorrect Now Parson Weem’s lies we’ve come to detect “George Washington couldn’t possibly tell a lie No matter if he wanted to, there’s no need to try.” The parson told us about the chopped cherry tree That story is just as false as it can possibly be The Founding Father had traits good and bad So, exaggeration and lies there’s no need to add Handsome as a young man as well as quite tall In a group of men, he towered above them all In picking a wife, Washington really did excel Martha was so pretty and also very rich as well A young army officer, he was ambitious & bold But not always successful, if the truth be told Washington lost far more battles than he won The Fort Necessity surrender surely wasn’t fun That record didn’t stop his advancement, of course He became commander of the Revolutionary force Rather than hole up in a mansion in some big town, Living with the troops with his wife he was found After founding a country, he did an amazing thing By serving as leader, but wouldn’t become a king After two terms, the presidency George did yield Return to Mt. Vernon & manage his land and field Perhaps an amazing fact most folks will now find Part of his living was from the making of moonshine How does this fit with all the stuff we’ve been told About the grim-looking guy inside your billfold? Another thing about him that gives him greater charm Washington introduced the mule to the American farm He was the first president who could be considered green To him, the advantages of manure as fertilizer was seen Those Washington stories are enough to make one quiver Like him throwing a silver dollar across the Potomac River So no old fuddy-duddy was he or did he ever come to be It’s that awful dollar bill picture that in our minds we see