Daily Lesson

Good Morning,


Quote of the day:

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." Keep this in mind, Bard. IKYIM

                                     Denis Waitley

It is a partly cloudy sky, the wind is from the northwest at about 10 MPH which indicates we are on the backside of a low pressure system. It rained a little last night so I suppose that the cold front passed then. The temperature has cooled a little, the high expected is about 81. There is a lot of boat traffic in the Sound, everything from personal watercraft to 50 foot yachts. Sailboats abound.


I cannot get over how much clearer my thoughts processes are now that I am avoiding anything political or controversial. In fact, I am developing another outlook. I used to say my politics was somewhere right of Attila the Hun, now it is somewhere right of Ivan the Terrible, but right, none the less.


I have been called to task for my use of adjectives when describing the Clemson fans that I meet almost on a daily basis. The accuser is someone that I admire and do not want to isolate. So from now on I will not use the adjectives that I am used to accepting from the cadre of Clemson fans that I know and will not embellish upon them. In fact I will tone them down to where they will not be downright trashy. It is obvious to me that this person does not engage socially with a mixture of different colleges that select their own adjectives and adverbs. I can assure you that the Clemson fans are just as foul mouthed as any other school. Clemson is not an off-shoot of Bob Jones University, they end up at the games drunk as Cooter Brown and as foul-mouthed and obscene as any other college students and fans. The sun does not rise in Easley and set in Seneca with Clemson being the center of the universe. Clemson is not a friary and is typical of any other college in America. I guess you know that Clemson Police had to activate a "drunk patrol" whenever there is a game at "death valley". Wonder why? But not to worry, I will soften my language.


I hope all of y'all saw that hit that Florida quarterback Tim Tebow received in the Kentucky game. That boy was out like a light for about five minutes. After they got him on his feet, he was till looking around with unfocused eyes for several minutes and then he started vomiting. That is almost a sure sign of a concussion and a CT scan at a Lexington, Ky. hospital confirmed it. Florida has an off week before facing LSU on October 10. Reports indicate that Tebow should be ready for that game much to the chagrin of the LSU fans, Tom S. included, but the Florida team trainers will keep a close eye on Tim for the next two weeks.


Only in South Carolina would something like this happen. A man named Dean Allen from Greenville held a fund raiser. He is running for state Adjutant General. In South Carolina this position administrates nearly all state based military units including the National Guard. He held the fund-raiser at an indoor pistol and rifle range and offered an AK-47 as a door prize. The cost was $25 a ticket with a plate of barbecue thrown in. Allen said that he did this to show his support of the Second Amendment. In addition to the barbecue plate, the patrons could fire 25 rounds with the weapon of their choice, the patron providing the ammo, of course. Allen said that the winner of the AK-47 would have to go through all the paperwork that is normally required at the federal level. YEEEE-HAAAA!


This date in history September 28


1991    Trumpet virtuoso Miles Davis dies at the age of 65. Miles was born to a privileged family who gave to him a good education including the renowned Julliard School of Music where Miles soared with his virtuosity. Miles was basically a jazz musician but was not restricted to that. He was not afraid to venture out into or mix different genres of music. He had a monkey on his back most of his adult life as did his roommate Charlie “Yardbird” Parker. Charlie was a gifted musician also on the alto sax. Miles and Charlie played many, many sets together. If I am not mistaken, Charlie Parker died of a heroin overdose. Miles was finally able to kick the habit and produced several jazz milestone albums before going to the great trio in the sky.


1863    US Generals Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden are given the blame for the severe ass-kicking that was received at Chickamauga at the hands of CSA Gen. Braxton Bragg and CSA Gen. James Longstreet. It was the flanks held by McCook and Crittenden that were shattered by Longstreet’s Rebs resulting a panic and rout of the Union left. The Union right flank under the command of US Gen. George Thomas stayed cohesive and withdrew in an orderly manner. It was the Union overall commander US Gen. Rosecrans that did the finger pointing to take the heat off him. McCook and Crittenden were relieved and sent the Indiana area to menial jobs. Rosecrans did not dodge the bullet, however and he also was relieved and the command of his army was given to US Gen. George Thomas known as “The Rock of Chickamauga.” What goes around …


1066    One of the most important events the history of western man occurs on this day. William of Normandy sets foot on English soil near Pevensey in Southeast England to stake his claim for the English throne. However, he wasn’t the only one who had eyes for the throne. Three days before William’s brother Tostic and King Harald III of Norway joined forces and had attacked England from Scotland but were met by King Harold of England and his army at Stamford Bridge. The English army annihilated Tostic, Harald III and their army. The destruction was total. King Harold of England was told of the landing of William at Pevensey and turned his army in that direction. He marched the 250 miles to Hastings battlefield in 29 days gathering volunteers as me went. Once there he and his army dug in on a hill to minimize any cavalry movements and await Williams attack. William did not disappoint and struck hard at Harold’s center. Harold was correct in assuming the hillside minimized the effect of the cavalry and the fight was mostly with infantry. A chronicler wrote that “William’s forces looked as a dancer in their movements whilst Harold’s army appeared to grow out of the ground unmoving.” A French mounted knight got through Harold’s lines and swept by and beheaded Harold with one swipe of his sword. After this the English forces scattered. Harold of England’s army was soundly defeated and William was crowned King. William got his claim to the throne by being the illegitimate son of one of the natural heirs to the English throne who had died. William was from a long line of Scandinavians meaning Vikings. His crowning marked the end of Anglo-Saxon England and the French speaking people from Normandy melded their languages into what now is modern English. William from this day on was known as William the Conqueror. I have a separate essay on William the Conqueror I think y'all would find interesting.


1542    Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo attempting to find a “northwest passage” across North America to get back to the Atlantic and home discovers Sans Diego Harbor. There had always been a legend about “The Straights of Alina” that was a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific in North America. There was no such thing as we know but it promoted a lot of exploration up and down the American west and east coast. Strangely Cabrillo sailed right by San Francisco Bay and never saw it.



1988    I am reading the story of Roch Theriault a cult leader in Canada. It is difficult for me to tell you about this monster that hacked off peoples arms and legs, put vise grips on women’s nipples, disemboweled people while still alive in an attempt to drive “demons” out of their bodies, etc. He was arrested and put on trial for murder after one of his people the he disemboweled died. The judge and jury were so appalled at what they heard that they tried and convicted him and gave him life just to get the trial finished. They forgot to add life “without parole” in their haste. Roch is eligible for parole after a given time.


Born today:


555BC    Chinese philosopher Confucius. He said “Have no friends not equal to yourself”. Hey Confucius, not equal to yourself doing what?


1902    US TV host Ed Sullivan. He said “If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time because a dose of joy is a spiritual thing, it transcends all barriers.” That is pretty deep thinking there Ed.


1909    US cartoonist Al Capp (Li’l Abner). He said “Young people should be helped, sheltered, ignored and clubbed if necessary.” You can’t do that any more, Al.


1972    US actress Gwyneth Paltrow. She said “Beauty to me is being comfortable in your own skin, or maybe a kick-ass red lipstick.” This girl has great lips.


Thanks for listening I can hardy wait until tomorrow


Goodbye from the land of scooters, Hooters and looters.


Yesterday a friend of mine said that he was going to start taking Karate lessons because it was getting dangerous out on the streets in some cities. I told him that instead of that he needs a course on how to meet people…..like Colt, Smith, Wesson, Remington, Rossi, Glock, etc…They have something that barks over here and bites over there.