Daily Lesson

Good morning,



Quote of the day:


When speaking to her husband she said "As we grow older, we continue to change with age. But there is one thing that will never change, I will alway keep falling in love with you."


Karen Clodfelter


I rained a little last night and this morning the wind has stiffened from the west-northwest. There is whitecaps on the Sound. However the sky is clear and the forecast high for today is 89. Another day in paradise.


I have a correction: On my September 26 lesson I said the Pope Pius XVI was born and gave a quote of his. That was wrong as pointed out by an eagle-eyed subscriber. It was Pope Paul VI that was born on September 26. I apologize and swear I will try to do better proof reading. Thanks Bob.


To my  friend in Marble Falls, I have recieved the book.  Thanks Dotty.


Speaking of Paradise, my daughter and I went to the Paradise bar yesterday evening to listen to the band. The band was pretty good until they started the hip-hop noise. I say noise because it is not music. My daughter told me me about a musician that apparently travels the Gulf Coast that calls himself "The Sauce Boss". He is an elderly black man that plays a Delta Blues guitar and sings with a rich, smokey baritone that has been fine tuned in hundreds of smoke filled bars and lounges. The best part is that he cooks a pot of gumbo during the performance and gives everybody some of it after the session is over. I will depend on Scottie to find this artist on youtube.


Up in the hill country 51 year old Robert Lepard was on the way home when he ran off the side of the road, hit a mailbox and then an embankment and rolled several times. Robert was ejected and the automobile rolled over and crushed him. Robert was not wearing a seat belt. I have a question for y'all. Would Robert have had a better chance of survival if he had been strapped in? YES HE WOULD HAVE! Buckle up, y'all, I need all the subscribers I can get.


Someone was riding by Lake Cooley near Spartanburg, SC and spotted a light down in the water. He called the Sheriff's department and a diver went down in the lake to have a look-see. It was an unside down car with its headlights on. Unfortunately, there was a woman in the front seat that had drowned. They are investigating.


A few months ago an educator in Anderson County, SC was arrested at park that is known as a meeting spot for homosexuals. At his trial Gary Burgess testified that an undercover cop came up and approached him for sex and he turned and walked away whereupon he was arrested. The undercover cop said that Burgess approached him for sex and then was arrested. Anyway, Burgess was acquitted and this weekend he had a pot luck dinner at the pavilion where he was arrested. I don't think they roasted any weiners.


I finally went to a fish store that Luther and Anne know about. It is Joe Pattis and I got 3 pounds of 16/20 headless shrimp and had them steamed with Old Bay seasoning plus a quart of select oysters. I will have something to nibble on for a few days.


This date in history September 29



1908    Gene Autry is born in Tioga, Texas. At a young age his family moved to Oklahoma where Gene became a railroad telegrapher. One day while sitting in the train station strumming his guitar and singing, a stranger walked up and listened for a while and suggested that he should try singing on the radio. The stranger was the world famous Will Rogers and Will told Gene he should go to New York and who to contact. Gene did not succeed in The Big Apple and came back to Oklahoma and started a radio show that ran for many years. He started a successful TV show also along with making many B Grade movies. Gene was a wise investor and became one of the wealthiest men in America. Gene went to that great ranch in the sky in 1998. Bye the way, his horse’s name was Champion.



1964    The Republic of North Vietnam declares that any pilot captured would be considered as a war criminal rather than prisoners of war thereby bypassing the laws of the Geneva Convention for the treatment of POW’s. Hell ensued. The first American pilot captured was Navy Lieutenant Everett Alvarez. He was captured August 5, 1964. The person spending the longest time was Green Beret Captain Floyd Thompson who was captured March 26, 1964. The American POW’s themselves accounted for 766. The Paris Peace Accord allowed for the release of 565 military and 26 civilians. There are to this day more than 2,500 missing in action. What a freaking nightmare that was/is.



1864    In an attempt to break the stalemate at Petersburg, US Gen. U.S. Grant orders US Gen. Benjamin Butler to attack the Confederate lines at a place called New Market Heights. Butler scouts the lines personally and decides on a two pronged attack led by US Gen. Ord and Birney. Both attacks failed only because the Confederates had built several trenches one behind the other so that if one trench was overrun the defenders would just move back to the next trench. The Confederate lines were bent but not broken. The US had 3,300 casualties out of 20,000 engaged and the Confederates had 2000 out of 11,000 engaged.



1862    In Louisville Ky. US Gen. Jefferson Davis (not the President of CSA) and US Gen. William Nelson gets into a screaming argument in the lobby of a hotel. Nelson losses it and slaps Gen. Davis and heads upstairs. Davis follows him, pulls out a pistol and caps Nelson. Davis was never taken to trial for two reasons and that being Davis was a recognized as a superior military leader and the Governor of Indiana intervened in Davis’ behalf. The Governor was with Davis when the shot was fired. Davis went on the serve with distinction in the Chickamauga/Chattanooga campaign among others.



1748    The legendary British hero Horatio Nelson is born in Burnham Thorpe, England. If there was a military leader that needed to be canonized it was Nelson. Nelson joined the British Navy and went to sea as a midshipman at the age of 12 and became a Captain at the age of 20. In their seemingly unending battles with Spain and France Britain gave Nelson command of the 64 gun frigate HMS Agamemnon to beef up the naval forces. He immediately showed his peers his bravery and skill in naval warfare and I could spend an entire lesson on the adventures of Nelson. His life was one that would make a great novel. But briefly he won several important naval engagements that prevented Spain or France from invading England. During these battles he lost and eye and his right arm but kept his command. He had a lover who was the wife of a British diplomat along with a wife of his own. His lover’s husband Lord Hamilton allowed the tryst because of Nelson’s importance in his country. Finally he was in command of the frigate HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar where his navy crushed the French navy that was in support of Napoleon stopping him from invading England. During this battle Nelson was shot in the shoulder and chest by a French sharpshooter. Knowing he was close to death Nelson uttered the famous phrase “Thank God I have done my duty.” After he died, his body was put into a barrel of rum to preserve it while reroute back to England for a heroes burial. He was buried at the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. I have been to St. Paul’s and have seen the statue of Nelson at; you guessed it, Trafalgar Square. From that time on the rum kept aboard ships was known as “Nelson’s blood”



Born today:



1547    Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. He said “Where there is music there can be no evil.” Miguel is the author of “The Man of La Mancha” better known as Don Quixote, one of the most read and beloved creations of literature in history.



1810    English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. She said “I’ll never listen to reason. Reason means that you are listening to what someone else has to say.” Good thinking, Liz.



1889    German author Martin Heidegger. He said “Man acts if he were the shaper and master of language, when in fact language remains the master.” Hey Martin, did you say something?



1903    US actress Greer Garson. When speaking about Marlon Brando she said “Actors like him are good but I do not like people that try to communicate with their armpits.” Marlon was one of my favorites but he has gone to that great sound stage in the sky.



1935    US rock and roll pianist Jerry Lee Lewis. He said “If I go to hell, I will go playing a piano.” Jerry Lee married his 14 year old cousin at one time. A lot of people remember Jerry Lee for the song “Great Balls of Fire” but I think his rendition of Hank Williams’ “Born to Lose” is his best. It really gets to me.



1943    Polish leader Lech Welesa. He said “I must tell you that the supply of words worldwide is increasing, but it appears the demand is falling.” I agree with you, Lech.



Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow



Goodbye from the land of tall pines, huge Magnolias and short politicians.