Daily Lesson

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

"History is a series of lies agreed upon. Remember that the history of warfare is written by the victors not the losers."

                             Napoleon Bonaparte


The air is clear and the temperature is mild. The wind in fairly brisk and from the north-northeast indicating a strong low pressure system east of us. The high temperature is suppose to be about 81 to 83 for the remainder of the week with isolated thunderstorms later in the week. Another day in Paradise.


I received a copy of Dan Brown's newest novel "The Lost Symbol". I have read a little over five chapters and it looks like the Masons are the target this time. We shall see.


Some friends of mine came down to Gulf Shores, Alabama for a visit and wanted to meet somewhere for a toddy. We met at the world famous Flora-Bama Lounge on Perdido Key. As the name suggests, the bar rests exactly on the Florida/Alabama line about 100 yards from the Gulf of Mexico. The place is a landmark and is one of the most famous watering holes on the Gulf. We had a few drinks before they left . It was an enjoyable visit.


Then I came back to Santa Rosa Island and to my local watering hole known as the Sandshaker Lounge. It was Karaoke night which is always entertaining. I met a beautiful young lady from Baton Rouge that made the evening much more enjoyable. It was one of those meetings where everything seemed to click and therefore conversation with this lady made the night magical. It was a night I will remember.


The Dallas Cowboys won their first game in the new stadium. They beat the Carolina Panthers 21-7. Neither team was impressive and I do not expect to see either one in the playoffs.


The South Carolina Department of Transportation is going to resurface I-385 northbound lanes from the intersection of I-26 to State highway 101, a distance of about 16 miles. About halfway in that construction area is a gigantic Wal-Mart distribution center. What the hell are they going to to? It is rumored that any of Wal-Mart's truck coming in from the south would stay on I-26 until in intercepts I-85 near Spartanburg and then go west until intercepting the southbound lanes on I-385 near Greenville and then on to the Center. I-85 between Spartanburg and Greenville is a can of worms as is and dumping all of those Wal-Mart semis in there will be no picnic.

Good News:

I am writing this after reading an article written by a reporter for NPR who was present when the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan. He said that the Afghanis are not upset because of an occasional "collateral damage" with civilian deaths from Allied rockets and artillery while trying to kick out the Taliban. When the Taliban was in power, every Friday they would herd people into soccer stadiums to watch the executions of alleged criminal which were executed by tying them up to the soccer nets and cutting off their hands and feet and let them bleed to death. There was no art, dancing, sports, etc. Women were not allowed to learn or teach and could not walk outside without a male relative. All of that has changed with the presence of the US and Allied forces. Now there are women in the Parliament, woman teachers and educators and there is a national soccer team. The reporter says that the extra troops needed in Afghanistan would not be to defeat the Taliban but to keep freedom alive.



This date in history September 30



1955    Actor James Dean and his mechanic Rolf Wutherich are killed in a head on collision in Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder while en route to a road race. Dean, even though only making 3 movies, became an icon of the restless generation and its convoluted lifestyle. He never could get a handle on his unbounded energy and lust for speed even trying motorcycle racing. I remember him best as Jett Rink in the movie "Giant". What an amazing performance he gave us. But what made the movie especially good was that Elizabeth Taylor was co-starring. I have been in love with her for centuries. I guess Dean is best known for his first movie Rebel Without a Cause where he plays a tortured man that is pretty much like himself. To me he seemed like a person going fast down a hill and don’t know how to stop. His death was a great loss for all of us.



1930    Louis Armstrong arrives in New York to join Fletcher Henderson’s jazz orchestra as second horn. Louis had been playing in King Oliver’s band in Chicago for the previous 12 years honing his skills and now he was going to the most famous jazz ensemble in the world. Louis was immediately recognized for his ability to play solo and to harmonize with others in the brass section. He rose to be recognized worldwide for his musical abilities; in fact he died being the most important influence in the history of jazz. A great talent.



1938    British Prime minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime minister Eduardo Daladier meet with Hitler in Munich and sign a pact with this monster that they would not intervene when Hitler “annexed” Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain is elated that war between England and Germany had been averted even though Czechoslovakia was offered up as a sacrificial lamb. Daladier is really pissed off about it but he knew that the French army could not stand up to the German war machine and did not want to have his country destroyed. It happened anyway. The next day the German army rolls into Czechoslovakia. Shortly thereafter Germany invades Poland and Chamberlain has to announce that England is going to war against Germany. The Germans also invade France and France capitulates without a fight. So what else is new?



1962    A black man named James Meredith accompanied by U.S. Marshals tries to register at the University of Mississippi. James had previously been accepted but the acceptance was rejected once it became known that James was black. It is needless for me to say what happened next. There was day and night rioting that was subdued only by the arrival of 3,000 paratroopers from the long suffering 82nd Airborne. Even then there was sporadic violence but James was finally admitted and began classes. James graduated with a degree in political science. After this James chose to make a march from Memphis to Jackson in protest the unequal treatment of blacks. On the second day he was shot from ambush by a sniper. He wasn’t killed but was hospitalized for long while. Other black leaders showed up and continued the march much to their own peril.



1924    Author Truman Capote is born aflame in New Orleans. Truman achieved much success and wealth from his writings primarily with In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's both of which were made into movies. He did not how to handle his fame very well and began a life of jet setting and party, party. Truman died at the age of 60 after a life of excesses.



1949    The Berlin Airlift ends. Let me tell you folks, as an ex-air traffic controller this was the greatest logistical operation ever achieved. Russia had blocked all ground accesses to West Berlin leaving those folks with no way to get anything for survival. So the allies, primarily the good old USA, began flying supplies to the beleaguered city. The Airlift began 15 months previous and those airmen flew 250,000 flights and hauled 2 million tons of supplies into West Berlin. I have seen movies on how this was done without planes running over each other. It was a miracle that there were very, very few instances of danger. After seeing that the allies could supply West Berlin indefinitely the Russian said “To hell with it” and opened the roads and rails.



1889    The state of Wyoming enacts a law that allows women to vote and was the very first one to do so. There was a lot of speculation as to why a remote western state would be the first and the consensus of opinion was that this was a reward for the pioneer women that helped settle this wild frontier. By 1914 there was a definite pattern emerging because every state west of the Mississippi had woman suffrage and none of the states east of the Mississippi did. What’s up with that? Anyway, all is cool now.



Born today:



1207    Afghan mystic Jalal-ud-din-Rumi. He said “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” Sounds like the stock market to me.



1921    Scottish actress Deborah Kerr. She said “I came over here (Hollywood) to act, but turned out that all I had to do was be high-minded, long-suffering, white gloved, and decorative.” This girl was dynamite in two movies. “From Here to Eternity” and “An Affair to Remember”.



1924    Playwright Truman Capote. He said “Life is a moderately good play with a poorly written third act.” Truman was a notorious homosexual who died at the age of 60 probably of AIDS but he burned the candle at both ends while alive.



1931    US actress Angie Dickinson. She said “I dress for women and undress for men.” Hey Angie, you talk a lot. As the country song goes “A little less talk and a lot more action”.



Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow



Goodbye from Dixie for today….GO COCKS!