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Sheila L. Skemp is the author of Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist
Benjamin left his son virtually nothing in his will. William sailed from his native country in 1782 for exile in England. "I must resign myself," William wrote, "for the remaining Days of my Existence to that Solitary State which is most repugnant to my Nature." The elder Franklin had raised his son to be a loyal servant of the British Crown. He had done his job too well...
...Franklin liked to think of himself first and foremost as a printer, and his imprint on his adopted hometown of Philadelphia hasn't faded with the years. If you're seeking to follow in his footsteps there, you can hear the music of the Colonial glass armonica he invented, visit places where he lived and even dine at his favorite tavern for a bite of Colonial turkey potpie...
...good place to start your visit is the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, which is positioned at the entrance to the Franklin Institute fi.edu) the city's expansive science museum. The cavernous inner dome houses a big Ben statue built to the same scale as the Lincoln Memorial. The museum's ode to Ben, displaying some of his many inventions, is a permanent exhibit called "Franklin... He's Electric." You can see an electrostatic machine, a clever long-reach device and a pair of swim fins (yes, he invented those...
...minute cab ride across town will land you in the Old City, where Franklin sites are clustered within walking distance. Most of them are run by the National Park Service, which gives excellent free daily tours. For $5, guides in period dress at Centipede Tours (centipede inc. com) offer a Saturday-evening summer candlelight stroll through the Society Hill historic neighborhood...