Daily Lesson

Good morning,



Quote of the day:


"Pick battles large enough to matter but small enough to win"

                          Jonathon Kozel


Today will be another type of lesson. It will have the intent to provoke thought and look inside yourself.


For hundred of years people had stumbled across burial sites that included a corpse and many accoutrements such as knives, swords and even food and water. On one site in Malta a burial site included two horses, a chariot and a dog along with a corpse surrounded by knives, swords and axes. We all know about the Chinese emperor whose burial site was found recently that had the corpse of the emperor along with 1,800 full size terra-cotta soldiers, weapons included. The Scandinavians would place the corpse of an expired king, and sometimes his wife along side either alive or dead, inside a boat and then they would pile on the king's personal belongings including all his weaponry and some extra food and drink. Then they would set the boat afire and push it out into a fiord and watch it burn and sink. People did not know the meaning of this for a long time but eventually the world's linguists were able to decypher most of the world's written languages including the glyphs of the Egyptians, Inca, Maya and Aztecs of Central America. Then they found out what all of this was about. They were preparing the dead person for his "journey" in the afterlife. The Maya called the underground that they had to travel after death "Xibalba". If you expand your search you will find that even in pre-history when there was no written language, burial crypts have been found that had the same type decorations. They buried the dead with their personal belongings along with things to help them on a journey. Even over in North America, the American Indians did that same thing. In South America some of the Indians living in the Amazon keep the corpses of their ancestor under their floor in case they want to return. This means that nearly all mankind believes that there is something going to happen after death. It really does not matter if they are correct or not, what matters is that mankind believes this is the case. The question is who or what planted this seed in the mind of humankind? The thought is universal and apparently eternal. We cannot turn to religion because many of those that prepare for the afterlife have various religions or lack of any religion. Think on it y'all, it is an enigma.


This coming weekend will be the Great Gulf Coast Seafood Festival in downtown Pensacola. You will not catch my ass downtown this weekend. I can find as good a seafood as there is anywhere within a block of my condo over here on the beach. On top of that, the girls wear less clothing.


This date in history September 26


1957    The Broadway musical West Side Story opens at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York with the music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephan Sondheim. The story line was a modern day version of Romeo and Juliet set in the West Side of New York where gangs ruled. But love prevailed and the lovers found each other in spite of the turmoil. The song “Maria” was the one most remembered as far as I am concerned. But how can the show fail with the two geniuses of Bernstein and Sondheim at the reins. The play is still a major attraction to the fans of musicals. It I am not mistaken, Sondheim gave us Phantom of the Opera also.


1945    The first American is killed in Vietnam. OSS operative Lt. Col Peter Dewey is shot by refusing to stop at a road block while in his car. OSS was the precursor to CIA and Dewey was in country looking for American pilots that his been shot down and incarcerated in Vietnam. At the same time 1,400 French troops had been liberated from Japanese prison camps in Vietnam and were re-armed by French constituents hoping to take over the country and make it a French Colony as it was before WWII. Ho Chi Mien denied that this would happen and thus began the war with France in Indo-China and ended in 1954 with the French taking an ass whipping at Dien Bien Phu and were forced to leave the country. During this interim, Col Dewey was riding down a road and came upon a road block and refused to stop because he was an American but those running the road block thought he was a French soldier and capped him. Mistaken identity.


1989    Soviet President Gorbachev eliminates censorship in the Soviet Union. In the past all printed material came under the scrutiny of the government so that no western “decadence” could reach the people. They even banned Dr. Zhivago, for crying out loud. This act was included in Gorbachev’s doctrine of “Glasnost” meaning more freedom for the people. Gorbachev knew that soon the Soviet Union would collapse and the people would have to rely upon themselves instead of the government for their needs. Two years later it happened. Gorbachev resigned and the Soviet Union as a nation ceased to exist.


1888    T. S. Eliot is born to a privileged family in St. Louis. From the git-go it was apparent that he was brilliant. He was sent to Harvard, Sorbonne, back to Harvard and then to Oxford. He chose essays and poetry as his calling and was soon recognized for his mastery. He moved to London where he met fellow poet Ezra Pound and they eventually fed upon each other for inspiration. Eventually Eliot landed a job as editor at Faber and Faber and stayed there until his death in 1965. In his life he had written many poems and essays and his death marked the end of a very fruitful life for us all.


1944    A military operation called Market-Garden came to an end on this day with the virtual destruction of 10,000 British and Polish Paratroopers near the Dutch city of Arnhem. It seems that the biggest blowhard in WWII, British Gen. Sir Bernard Law Montgomery decided that he had waited long enough to get into Germany from France so he put together an operation whereby paratroopers would land near Arnhem in the Netherlands and capture the two bridges crossing into Germany and the allied tanks would pour across into Germany. The only problem was that is was too far for the tanks and re-enforcements to reach Arnhem to bail out the paratroopers and Montgomery was told this. Monty blew it off and ordered the assault anyway. Of the 10,000 paratroopers that went only 2900 escaped. The rest were either killed or captured. Montgomery had a good military mind but constantly let his lust for glory interfere with his decisions. Sounds like US Col. George Armstrong Custer to me.


1820    Daniel Boone dies in his sleep near Defiance, Missouri. What can one say about this giant of American history? Well, he was born in Berks County, Pa.in1734 but his family moved to the Yadkin Valley in N.C. when little Daniel was very young. Daniel did not take well to schooling but much preferred to explore his surroundings. He would go further and further afoot everyday going just beyond the extent of the exploration of the day before. He finally left home and set out to explore what was past the Blue Ridge Mountains. He went through the Cumberland Gap and down into the valleys of Kentucky and settled the town of Boonsboro, Ky. This settlement provided a place for other pioneers and settlers to come to for refitting for further trips west. Boone himself decided that Ky. was getting too crowded and moved on westward. Boones many adventures are too much for this small epistle but if you like true adventure get a book about this man. His contribution to the expansion of this nation is incalculable. I will leave you with one small story. A group of Indians had kidnapped Boone’s daughter and was headed for Illinois as fast as they could. It took Boone 3 months to track them down but track them down he did. He killed three of the Indians grabbed his daughter and headed home with Indians hot on his trail. With his woodman’s skills he was soon able to elude them and got his daughter home safely.


Born today:


1888    US writer T.C. Eliot. He said of Henry James “His mind is so fine that no idea could violate it.” I have read both T.S. Eliot and Henry James and I see a pot and a kettle here.


1892    US religious leader Robert Lynd. He said “One of the greatest joys known to man is to take flight into ignorance in search of knowledge.” Been there, Robert.


1896    Religious leader Pope Pius XVI. He said “Technological has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy.” Hey Pope, you are dancing on the edge of understanding, but that is common for Popes. Perhaps you should look into your priests that have been jailed for various offenses. I am sure they know where joy lies.


1898    US composer George Gershwin. He said “Why should I limit myself to one woman when I can have as many as I want.” George, I can assure you that one is as many as the average male can handle....trust me I have been there.


1942    Mexican writer Gloria Anzaldua. She said “Voyager, there are no bridges; one builds them as one walks.” This is a true, Gloria. The hard part is deciding which creek or river to cross.


Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow


Goodbye from the land of Bob-White quail, Mourning doves and Jesse Jackson who represents a silly goose.