Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

Near the end of WWII several news journalists were given a tour of the Nazi death camp of Buchenwald. Here is a comment by one of them. "They tell us that there are 20,000 people here. At one time there were 60,000. No one had to explained what happened to the 40,000. I have told you only part of the story, for the remainder of what I have seen I have no words."

                                         Lowell Thomas

I have to confess to a "cuss fight" I got into that was silly. The next to my last day I went to a well known seafood house on Pensacola Beach. I got involved in a discussion about the NFL with one of the bartenders there. Sean is one of the best informed people I have ever met with knowledge about the NFL, he has a phenomenal memory. We were discussing who would win probably win the AFC and the NFC championships and we agreed that it would be Indy and New Orleans in the Super Bowl. Suddenly a man two stools down almost shouted out "I am from Pittsburgh and how many teams have won six Super bowls...nobody...we are the only ones!" Sean and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders in disbelief. This guy kept saying how great "we" were. He finally crossed the line and I had to say something. I asked him if he was ever a player with the Steelers and he said no. Then I asked what positive reinforcement he had ever made to a Steeler victory and he said none but I am a big fan. I said that since he was never a player and never had directly helped the team to a win then it is not a case of "we", it is a case of "I" and "they". He stood up at that point and Sean intervened and told both "cool it" or leave. I left knowing what my temper will allow and not allow. I hate braggarts, especially if they have a snotty attitude and a "know-it-all" demeanor, if you get my drift.

I guess all of you now by now that the FAA's automated flight data system has failed...again. A flight plan on all commercial aircraft including charter flights are required. Normally the information is entered into the system by the airline dispatcher or a flight service station. The flight plan then is automatically transmitted to air traffic control and the flight plan is printed out on the point of origin air traffic control facility. Something has failed in the system between the airline dispatchers and air traffic control. This means the flight plan will have to be called in to air traffic control on the telephone and air traffic control will have to type it in manually. In this case safety is not an issue, but to get everything in order the time required will quadruple. Lots of money is/will be lost by the airlines because they will have to delay or cancel many flights. When I was an air traffic controller 28 years ago the system operated almost the same as it does today but I never recall a failure in the flight data system. Maybe there are a lot more flights now than back then and the system has not kept pace...maybe.

This date in history November 20

1820    On this date the whaling vessel “Essex” based in Nantucket, Rhode Island encounters an enraged bull sperm whale 2,000 mile off the west coast if South America. The 80 ton whale rammed the 280 ton ship twice causing it to capsize. All of The 20 man crew escaped to three smaller boats but their troubles were not over. The crew spent 83 days adrift and ran out of food and soon chose to draw straws to see who would be shot to provide food for the others. After the boats were spotted near the west coast of South America and picked up by other boats there were only five survivors. There were three others that were marooned on an uninhabited Pacific island but they were eventually rescued. The first capture of a sperm whale was in 1711 and it was then that the value of whale oil and ambergris was discovered. From then on the whaling industry ballooned to 800 ships that traveled the entire globe looking for these giants. It was this event that inspired Herman Melville to give us the immortal "Moby Dick" the next year. To my knowledge whaling has been banned or severely restricted. I believe that if they had not the whale would have gone the route of the Moa and the Dodo bird.

1947    On this date Princess Elizabeth, the heir apparent to the English throne, is married to Phillip Mountbatten. Phillip was a Prince of Greece and Denmark and he renounced his titles to marry Elizabeth. Elizabeth was 21 years old and Phillip was 26 and had fought with the British Navy during WWII. He was given the title of Duke of Edinburgh just before the wedding. As you might suspect, the wedding was a lavish one held in Westminster Abbey in London (been there). This event raised the spirits of the British people who were suffering personally and financially from the effects of WWII. As expected, Elizabeth’s father King George VI died in 1952 and Elizabeth rose to the throne of Great Britain where she remains to this day. The coronation of Elizabeth, also held in Westminster Abbey, was also a lavish event. It is not very often that there is a change in the monarchy of England and the ceremony is the same as it was with the crowning of William the Conqueror in December of 1066. The English are big on tradition. Oh I forgot, Phillip is Elizabeth’s cousin.

1843    On this date a major trading post on the Mississippi River named Blacksnake Hills trading post has a name change to Saint Joseph’s trading post. The post had been wisely established in 1826 by French fur trader Joseph Robidoux right in the mouth of the Platte River valley. This valley was a major artery for the fur trappers returning from the far west and the Rocky Mountains. Eventually the fur trade dried up but the pioneers heading west stopped at Saint Joseph to gear up for their trip to Oregon and California. The Platte River was again a major avenue for those traveling west. The trail split near present day Beatrice, Nebraska with some heading northwest on the Oregon Trail and others heading southwest on the Santa Fe and several other trails. What an adventure that would have been.

1945    On this date the Nuremberg war crimes trial begins in Nuremberg, Germany. The trial was judged by a tribunal of the French, United States and Russia. There were 24 Germans on trial for war crimes; of those half were eventually hanged. The others received sentences from life to twenty years. Naturally the root of the charges of “crimes against humanity” was what happened to the Jew, Gypsies and various other minorities throughout Europe during WWII. The trial took a year. Most of the Germans defended themselves by claiming they were just doing what they were ordered as good soldiers do. One of the most famous of the accused was Field Marshal Herman Goering who was the second in command of the German military after Adolph Hitler. Herman was sentenced to the gallows but on the day before the hanging, Herman got his hands on a cyanide capsule and committed suicide. No one knows how he came by the capsule but the rumor was that he bribed one of his guards to get him one. We will never know.

Born today:

1884    US social reformer Norman Thomas. He said “If you want a symbolic gesture, don’t burn the flag, wash it.” Norman was a famous communist.

1908    British social commentator Alistair Cooke. He said “A professional is one that does their best even when they do not feel like it.” That sounds like a prostitute to me.

1919    US actress Evelyn Keyes. She said “I always took up with the man of the moment, and I had many moments.” Life is a smorgasbord isn’t it Evelyn?

1923    South African writer Nadine Gordimer. She said “Truth is not always beauty, but the hunger for it is.” Good thinking, Nadine.

1925    US politician Robert F. Kennedy. He said “One fifth of the people are against everything all the time.” Most of them are the Evangelicals these days.

1946    US blues guitarist Duane Allman. When he was asked what his philosophy on life he said “Just rock on, and have yourself a good time.” What a good basis for life, ya’ll.

1954    US actress Bo Derek. She said “Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness just doesn’t know where to shop.” Bo, get in touch with reality.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow