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RYE, N.Y. Lisa Field sat on the grass in Rye Town Park, enjoying the warm weather on Columbus Day as her two sons Henry and Nicholas played catch with a miniature football.
"We went to the beach first," said Field. "Now we're just cooling off in the shade."
For Nicholas, 2, it was a day like any other, but Henry, got the day off from school for the national holiday.
When asked about what he knew about the holiday's namesake, the first-grader provided his account of the history.
"He was a sailor," Henry said. "And he sailed to the states. And he asked the Queen (of Spain) for money."
Christopher Columbus actually reached the islands known today as the Bahamas, though his voyages inspired other seafarers to cross the Atlantic and colonize the Americas, paving the way for the founding of the United States of America.
Henry will have plenty more years of school to learn the full history, but for now he said he's happy to have a day off from class to spend with his family in the park.
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