Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

“That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, that the biggest failure or the worst mistake is a hell of a lot better that not trying at all.”

                                       Bernard Baruch

This past Saturday Brandon Earl Gosnell got a little bored and decided to spice up his life with a carjacking over in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He jacked an old Buick assaulting the car owner in the process. Apparently Brandon was not happy with the Buick and 12 hours later he jacked a 2003 Ford F-150 pickup. As you might suspect the cops had an all points bulletin out for Brandon Earl and he was indeed spotted in a remote area of Anderson County and a high speed pursuit followed. Brandon Earl lost control of that pickup and crashed into a utility pole with the cops close aboard. Brandon Earl was not hurt and exited the pickup with a shotgun in hand and chose to aim it at the cops. Bad move, Brandon. The cops opened up and Brandon received a .40 caliber bullet in the right forearm and it was then that Brandon chose to surrender. Apparently he decided that he had had enough excitement for one weekend. Brandon will join those two boys that tried a purse snatching and ended up killing a 75 year old woman. All of them will be guests of the meanest prison system in the free world.

Here is more of the saga of my trip across the US after getting discharged from the Air Force. I left y’all yesterday on top of Rabbit Ears Pass, Colorado. As I said we could see the glow of the lights of Denver on the horizon from Rabbit Ears Pass and thought it take us no time to get there. I was wrong. We left about 8:00a and reached the outskirts of Denver just before dark. We did not have a map of Denver itself but just a general map of the main highways. All of a sudden we saw a place all aglow with neon lights spelling out “SHO-BAR”. We decide to go in and get a drink or six. It was a strip joint, y’all. A very fancy-schmantzy one but a strip joint none the less. The girls in there were first class in their demeanor and performances. Strangely they were not sleazy and their conversations were smooth and intelligent. We spent most of the evening there and then with a little guidance from the doorman (he looked like Mr. T) we found a hotel within walking distance, we certainly could not drive. Remember that restaurant in Pendleton, Oregon where we got the gigantic breakfast? I found another one like that in Denver the next morning. It was called the Cattleman’s Restaurant. They served a breakfast very similar. It was delicious and filling. We knew that the Great Plains was upcoming and we were looking forward to sights we had never seen. There is more to come.

By the way, if any of y’all do not like this serial of my past experiences just delete it. I have a pet theory that the more you think and study the less likely you are to have Alzheimer’s. The reading of anything qualifies as does the writing of anything. Keep your mind occupied and busy with creative thought. The result is a breathtaking experience with the length, width and depth of the human mind.

I read that a higher up in the al-Qaeda organization has called for all Muslims in the United States, especially those in the military, to emulate that jackass down in Texas that killed his fellow soldiers. Unbelievably, this jackass is an American. I don’t know if he knows it or not but the US, Great Britain, Israel, France and other nations too many to mention that have assassin teams out there capping those pig-suckers faster than a dog can trot. We are not a flock of sheep awaiting our fate. We can covertly kill our enemies with the best of them. Y’all remember that when you go to bed tonight. There was a Senator from Tennessee that was told about an American assassin team that hooked one end of a battery cable to a man’s tongue and testicles and the other end to a car battery trying to get information about a possible attack. The Senator said this “If that will save just one American life, it is red is positive and black is negative.” By the way, this American Muslim has been capture in Pakistan and will end up back in the good old USA.

This date in history March 8

1782    On this date 160 Pennsylvania Patriot militiamen raid a Moravian church in Ohio, County and massacre 96 Christian Indians including 39 children, 29 women and 28 men. These Indians were members of the Moravian church which meant they were devout pacifists and when the raid began, the Indians just went to their knees and awaited their fate while singing and praying. The raiders did not disappoint. They killed the Indians by smashing them in the skull with wooden mallets. The reason for the raid was a few of the outlying settlements had been raided by Indians that were clearly members of the Delaware tribe. But the Pennsylvania Militia was just looking for ANY Indians and these pacifists were an easy target. It was too bad because the Moravian Indians, even though pacifists were anti-British and would help the Patriots any way they could short of bloodshed. After this little tea party, the Moravian Indians became neutral and helped neither side, British or Patriot. It caused the Patriots a valuable ally because of that damned prejudicial militia.

1862    After several months of rebuilding and refurbishing the Confederate Navy had completed its first ironclad vessel. It had originally been named the Merrimack but on this day it was christened the CSS Virginia. The CSA navy had a hell of a time finding enough iron to clad this ship sufficiently but the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond proved to be equal to the task. On this day the CSS Virginia sallied forth into the waters of Hampton Roads, Virginia. It was an odd looking ship. It was basically rectangular with sheets of iron plate sheathing the sides sloping inward at the top. It had cannon ports out the side. The first vessel the Virginia engaged was the USS Congress. The USS Congress and nearly every other US vessel nearby showered the Virginia with everything they had to no effect. Finally the Virginia got into position and unleashed a broadside into the wooden USS Congress and succeeded in detonating the powder magazine and the USS Congress went up in a volcano of splinters. Then the Virginia attacked the USS Minnesota. The Minnesota fired everything it had to no effect and then decided to run for it. Even though the Virginia was not the fastest ship afloat, it was able to cut off the Minnesota and run it aground. After this, the Captain of the Virginia decided that he had a pretty successful day and went to the house. Very soon thereafter a United States vessel named the USS Monitor shows up in Hampton Roads. It is an ironclad also except the design was totally different. The freeboard (distance above water line) was very shallow, maybe four feet or so. But mounted in the middle was a round turret that could be rotated with two Dahlgren cannon apparent. The Monitor and the Virginia did battle only once that ended in a draw. But this engagement was the death knell for wooden ships worldwide.

1951    Earlier Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez had met via a “Lonely Heart Club” advertisement in a New York magazine. Let me described these two. Martha was extremely obese with oily hair and acne. In fact it was reported that if she had been an inch taller she would have been a perfect sphere. Just joking. But she was a porker. Raymond had received a severe head wound in WWII and was bald, had constant headaches and wore a cheap black toupee. Well, Martha and Raymond set up a meet and for reasons known only to them, they fell in love. These two had an adversity toward a profitable job so they decided that the “Lonely Hearts Club” was a target rich venue for rich and lonely older women. So Raymond began communicating with a few of them and would marry them and/or kill then and take all their money and leave while passing off Martha as his sister. Finally Raymond made the mistake of hooking up with a somewhat younger woman and she was not buying this brother/sister act. Even though she allowed Raymond and Martha to move in, she refused to marry until she was sure of Raymond and Martha’s relationship. Eventually, Raymond and Martha got tired of waiting and killed the woman and her two year old daughter and buried them in the basement. After this they fled to Michigan. They were arrested in Michigan and thought all was cool because Michigan did not have the death penalty. That is until they found out that they were going to be extradited back to New York where the death penalty was an option. Then the started trying to plea as being insane and enthralled the courtroom with vivid descriptions of kinky sex acts performed beside the various corpses. The jury was not amused and convicted them and sentenced them to death. On this date they both were executed by “Old Sparky” the electric chair in Sing Sing. It is a rumor that to this day, a faint aroma of sizzling lard can be detected there.

1669    On this date Mount Etna, a volcano in northeast Sicily erupts after several days of warnings like lava flows, ash blowing out the top, etc. But today was the real thing. Etna exploded and threw white hot ash and poisonous gasses into the atmosphere. Well, the Sicilians that lived near the volcano refused to leave hoping to save their towns and villages. I don’t know what they thought they could do but over 25,000 people perished on the flanks of this volcano. This definitely was not the first nor would it be the last eruption of this famous volcano.

Born today:

1799    US Senator Simon Cameron from Pennsylvania. He said “An honest politician is one that when he is bought, he will stay bought.” I don’t know any.

1890    US writer Gene Fowler. He said “Writing is easy. All you have to do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until two drops of blood form on your forehead.” Si, Senor.

1917    On this date began the famous revolution in Russia that brought down the Romanov dynasty. The people were tired and hungry after WWI and there was no relief in sight. But the Royal Family was in fine shape. The still had their mansions, carriages, jewelry, etc. The crowd began throwing missiles and setting fires so the Tsar, Nicholas II, sent in a brigade into Petrograd to break up the demonstration. When the soldiers arrived they joined in with the demonstrators. Two weeks later Tsar Nicholas II abdicated and throne and the entire family was slaughtered by the Russian military.

1963    Supermodel and magazine mogul Kathy Ireland. She said “Modeling is very lucrative. I am able to save up and take only the movie roles I want.” I would like to see a show of hands of everyone that as ever seen this broad in ANY movie. A Meryl Streep she ain’t.

Died today:

1874    President Millard Fillmore. He said “An honorable defeat is better that a dishonorable victory.” Hey Millard, If George Patton ever heard the President of the United States say that he would move to Costa Rica. There is no honor to be had in a defeat.

1959    US baseball player and husband to Marilyn Monroe Joe DiMaggio. He said “People say I am graceful when batting. My father drove railroad spikes in Martinez, California for 10 cents and hour to support his family. That was grace.” Indeed it was, Joe, indeed it was.

2005   Welsh writer Alice Ellis. She said “There is not reciprocity, men love women, women love children and children love hamsters.”

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow