Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

“A constant calm sea makes for poor sailors.”

                       Confucius

Last weekend a 16 year old boy from the Hendersonville, NC area called his mother and reported his approximate location and said he was injured. After that there was no further contact and his mother reported him missing. The sheriff’s department assembled a couple of search parties and Sunday afternoon a corpse was found in the area that the boy had reported as his location. The only thing I can think of is that he was not dressed well enough to handle the really cold weather we have been having and died of hypothermia.

All of you have learned about the passing of General Alexander Haig last week. General Haig was a highly decorated soldier especially during the Korean conflict. He was Secretary of State under Richard Nixon. When the legislative branch of our government was collapsing because of the Watergate scandal, it was Haig that instinctively took command and literally acted as President while Nixon was wilting under the investigating pressure from the House and Senate along with the Supreme Court which resulted in the ouster of Nixon. It is generally believed that it was Haig that brokered the deal whereby Nixon would resign and Vice President Ford would take over the Presidency and pardon Nixon for “whatever crimes he committed or may have committed” putting an end to this can of worms. I did not agree with the pardon but it was probably the best thing for the country in the long run. Haig was a professional at “gobble-de-gook” or language that danced around the real issue. When asked if Nixon had lied to America, Haig said “No, I think it was more of a verbal inexactitude.”

This past Sunday a 33 year old man got really hammered at a seaside bar in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He decided to take a dip in the mighty Atlantic Ocean with all his clothes on. As soon as he hit the waves the owner of the bar called the cops because he was a afraid the man would go into hypothermia and drown since the water temperature was only 47 degrees. The cops showed up and took a series of photos of this lunatic splashing around in the surf while waiting patiently on the shore. The man finally trudged ashore and was promptly taken into custody and rushed to the hospital as a precaution and to dry out his clothes. After he had warmed up and put dry clothes on, he was thrown into the joint for a nice warm dinner and a restful night’s sleep on a concrete slab. I do not know what crime he would be guilty of except flagrant stupidity and causing a temporary disappearence of his genitalia.

This date in history February 23

1778    On this date the Prussian Baron Frederic von Steuben joins General George Washington at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The Baron had been recommended by the French minister of war to Benjamin Franklin. Franklin, in turn recommends him to George Washington. Baron von Steuben was the son of a famous Prussian General and became an officer in the Prussian army himself at the age of 17. Frederic proved to be an able officer and distinguished himself in combat more than once and was promoted rapidly from the infantry to the general staff of the King of Prussia, Frederic the Great. For reasons unknown, after reaching the rank of captain he was discharged from the army. I might be able to shed some light on this event. Frederic the Great was a flaming homosexual albeit a brilliant military commander. Frederic the Great would hold staff meeting on a regular basis that was attended by all the younger officers. Toward the end of the meeting the King would walk by and drop a handkerchief in one of his younger officer’s lap. This officer had the duty to stay an extra hour with the King after the meeting was ended. We can guess for what reason. Perhaps Frederic von Steuben finally resisted the advances of the King, who knows. Anyway, almost immediately after arriving at Valley Forge he began intensive training of the troops emphasizing rock-hard discipline. He also educated the troops on simple hygiene. The American troops knew nothing about this and therefore many troops were lost to disease. He insisted that the latrines be on the opposite side of the camp than the eating facility. But in fact, the troops had no latrines at all; they just took care of business wherever they felt like it. Frederic also insisted that the latrines be on a down slope away from the camp. Eventually the American troops departed Valley Forge a proud and competent fighting machine. Frederic did not speak English but did speak French so Alexander Hamilton and Nathaniel Greene interpreted his French into English. He authored a handbook for the American military parts of which are still in use to this day. The arrival of this man into the America army was none too soon. The American army had been having its ass handed to it for two years and the morale was very low. But now the pendulum began to swing the other way and our independence was finally on the horizon.

1885    A few months earlier a rich older woman was found dead in her mansion in Exeter, England. She had been severely beaten and throat cut just outside the bedroom of her 19 year old housekeeper John Lee. The police deduced that John Lee must have been the culprit even though Lee proclaimed his innocence and did not flee the scene of the crime. Lee was tried and convicted on circumstantial evidence alone and was sentenced to hang. On this day the hangman put a weight equal to John Lee on the trapdoor and released it a couple of time to see if all was in working order and it apparently was. Then they brought John Lee to the platform to be executed. Lee stood on the trapdoor and the hangman pulled the release but nothing happened. The hangman jerked on the release a couple of time more and the trapdoor did not open. They took Lee off the platform and went through the procedure again with the weights and everything worked perfectly. They brought Lee back and again the trapdoor refused to open when Lee was aboard. They tried the deal with the weights once more time with the same results and tried it with Lee again with the same result. The officials were stunned and took Lee back to the prison whence he came and declared that it was an act of God that had prevented his hanging so they sentenced him to life in prison. Lee spent 20 years in prison and was released and he immigrated to America. There had never been an explanation as to what was up with the trapdoor. There ain’t any commutation of an execution because of “an act of God” anymore. When the time comes, you are going down y’all, come hell or high water.

1940    After years on the back roads and railroads of America during the grinding depression of the 1930’s, on this date Woody Guthrie writes the song “This Land is Your Land”. Woody was born in Okemah, Oklahoma in 1912. When the depression came in 1929, Woody and millions of others hit the road looking for work and whatever they could find to stay alive. It was during this time that Woody wrote many, many songs about the poor and downtrodden during this trying time. In 1937 he went to California to try to become a country/western singing star. He appeared on a few radio programs singing traditional folk songs. But eventually he was able to do some of his own songs and that put him on the charts. He became the chronicler of the people that had been through the depression and his words and music showed that he had been there and done that. His success took him to New York City but WWII broke out and his career was put on hold while he was in the Merchant Marine. After the war he returned to NYC and tried to resurrect his career and again he was on his way up when in 1954 he was struck down with Huntington’s disease. This was the same illness that took his mother’s life. While bedridden he was visited by many musicians among which was Bob Dylan. Woody died in 1967 in New York City and was cremated with his ashes being spread across New York City. His home town of Okemah, Oklahoma put up a headstone with his name on it anyway. Many have tried to copy Woody’s style and music, few if any have succeeded.

Born today:

1824    US writer George William Curtis. He said about one of his rivals “He is so old his blood type has been discontinued.” I am A + and don’t ya’ll forget it.

1914    US actor Zachary Scott. He said “As you grow older the only things you regret is the things you didn’t do.” This is why I am burning the candle at both ends, y’all.

1928    US writer Michael Harrington. He said “Clothes make the poor invisible. America has the best dressed poverty the world has ever known.” I have never thought of that. Get picture in your mind of the people in poverty in India and how they dress.

Died today:

1998    US comic Henny Youngman. He said “I read where drinking shortens your life, so I gave up reading.” I miss Henny...George Burns too.

1976    US writer H. Allen Smith. He said “On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are jerks.” I think we all feel that way at times.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow