Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

“Time heals all griefs and sorrows, for we change and are no longer the persons we were.”
                                         Pascal

THIS WILL BE THE LAST LESSON FOR A FEW DAYS…

Several times in my life I have spent a great deal of time researching different peoples that interested me such as the Vikings, the Egyptians and the people in the following vignette.

                                The Magnificent Maya

There is evidence that there were settlements on the Pacific coast of Mexico in 1,800 BC. By 1,000 BC there semi-organized city-states beginning to form in what is now the Mexican provinces of Oaxaca (pronounced “wa-sha-ka”) and Chiapas and further east into southern parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and on into Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador. These are the Maya. Keep in mind that during the era of 1,300 BC the Egyptians were governed by Pharaoh Ramses II and if you are a believer in the bible, it was the time of Moses and Exodus of the Jews from Egypt and Europe was just a few villages. There were only Native Americans in North America living a primitive and nomadic existence. Only 700 miles south in the Amazon Rain forest the natives were living the most basic of existences and were indeed head-hunters. By in large only the Maya, the Chinese, the Egyptians and Mesopotamia were the only forward thinking civilizations out there. By the era of 200-700 AD the Maya had progressed into well defined city-states like Copan, Palenque and Bonampak among others and had began an explosion of building and the arts. They developed a written language and the concept of zero in mathematics. Their sculptures and wall murals are still breath-taking to this day. It was also during this time that they began building large structures that were larger at the bottom than the top, pyramids in other words. I do not know how the Mayan architects came by the pyramid concept. One would think that they had received guidance from another civilization to come up with the pyramid concept, but there is no evidence that the Maya had ever had contact with anyone other than other city-states so where did the idea come from? As far as I can tell, it is only the Egyptians and the Maya that built them. There are those that believe the Lost Tribe of Israel came to that area after the Exodus and that is when the idea came from, but that is one hell of a reach but it would explain a lot of things. The flood of Mayan civility spread northward into the Yucatan Peninsula resulting in the magnificent city-states of Chichen-Itza, Uxmal, Coba and Tulum among others. I think it is important to remember at this point that the Maya had no draft animals and they did not have the wheel. I went for visit to Coba once and there is a causeway that the Maya built without the wheel and draft animals across a jungle from Coba to a trading post of Yaxuna almost 60 miles away. To think what it took to wade around in that mosquito infested swamp dodging poisonous and constricting snakes along with the jaguars and build that causeway with sweat alone. Not only that, it is not believed that they had neither civil engineering skills nor a compass. How they built that causeway through that jungle straight as an arrow boggles the mind. This advance in civilization came about in the 700-800’s.AD. Think about what was going on in the world during that time. In Europe the Vikings held sway and the Mongolian hordes were threatening Eastern Europe under the leadership of Attila the Hun. I cannot think of any cities in Europe that could even compare with those of the Maya at that time. The Mayan influence spread far and wide and there is evidence of it in the land of the Olmecs or as they were later known, the Aztecs. These two civilizations, the Olmecs and the Maya, were 700 miles apart. As with human nature, as the city-states grew in wealth and stature, the kings of those cities began to look with greed upon the other city-states and widespread warfare and alliances ensued. This turmoil began to tear the city-states apart. This disintegration was not the only cause for the demise of the Maya glory days. There was a drought that was the worst in 7,000 years and the agrarian society of the Maya went down the toilet. The diet of the Maya was based almost entirely on maize or corn and squash. If they had a crop failure, they were in real trouble. The disintegration worked its way from south to north with the last city-states to succumb was those great cities near the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan peninsula. It was in the 1500’s that the last of the Mayan cities fell and were abandoned. The Maya are still with us. They are in those small villages throughout the whole of the ancient Mayan lands. They still have there own rites and customs but all are devout Roman Catholic mixed with some of their gods and idols that they refuse to give up. The all speak a variation of Quechua which was the language of the Maya. An entire civilization is destroyed because of greed and the weather. It just goes to show you how fragile we are. There is no reason for me to tell you that this small treatise covers all of the Mayan presence on the earth. After all, they were here for 3,000 years. We have been here in America for 400 years. We are just papooses in the history of civility.

This date in history October 15

1966    A 75 year old McKinney, Texas man earned the distinction of the world’s worst driver when he receives 10 traffic tickets in 20 minutes. He was cited for driving on the wrong side of the road four times, hit-and-run four times and causing six accidents. What’s the big deal here, it sounds like the average driver in Greenpatch. Just joking, but it is ironic that a native Texan has this distinction when Texas drivers are known as some of the best in the country especially in the Houston area. I have lived in the Houston area and let me tell ya’ll something; you must be an expert driver just to survive in that town. But, in truth what I observed was that the average person there was not in a real big rush and was polite and friendly and it showed in their driving habits.

1863    The Confederate submarine CSS Hunley sinks during a test run in Charleston harbor before a huge crowd of observers taking all aboard to a watery grave. After this disaster it was difficult for a crew to be found but a crew was found with the inventor, Horace Hunley, in command. On one fateful day the Hunley approached the Union blockader USS Housatonic, stuck a torpedo into its side and backed off and lit off the torpedo, sinking the Housatonic. Thus the Hunley became the first submarine in history to sink another ship in combat. The down side of this was that the Hunley sank on its way back in taking yet another crew to their death. The Hunley normally had a crew of eight with one man steering and seven men turning a crankshaft that turned the propeller. In the year 2000 the Hunley was found and raised and now rests in the Charleston Historical Museum. This reminds me of my late sister who was a Civil War historian such as me and was very excited about the raising of the Hunley. I miss her.

1878    On this day Thomas Edison opens the offices on Edison Electric Company. Edison had promised his investors that he would invent an electric light and did so setting off a lot of other small companies trying to feed off of this revolutionary invention. Edison was a brilliant inventor but was lost when it came to big business so big business men such as J.P. Morgan came to his aid and taught him how to be ruthless in the elimination of competition. This was possible because there were no anti-trust laws. Eventually Edison’s company became General Electric and soon thereafter another inventor name George Westinghouse opens his company, and the rest is history.

1946    German Herman Goering dies from cyanide poisoning. Herman was an aide and confidant to Hitler during WWII and rose to be one of the highest ranking officers in the 3rd Reich. Herman was a hero in WWI as a fighter pilot. In 1924 he was involved in a riot in Munich that started Hitler on his rise to power. During the riot Herman was injured in the leg and thus began Herman’s addiction to pain killers which stayed with him for the rest of his life. It was Herman that convinced Hitler that England could be brought to her knees by bombing alone and set about Operation Sea Lion which was designed for the defeat of England. But Herman and Hitler did not plan on the dogged determination of the British people. The bombing has little or no effect on the British spirit and morale and therefore Operation Sea Lion was scrapped. After this Herman became more and more depressed and took more and more drugs. After the surrender of Germany, Herman was tried as a war criminal because he advocated and promoted genocide of the Jews. Herman was convicted and sentenced to death on the gallows. On the set day of his execution, somehow Herman got his hands on a cyanide capsule and he missed the hanging. Too bad.

1886    Chiricahua Apache leader Victorio is killed south of El Paso. Victorio was born in 1807 in New Mexico and from an early age was in almost constant combat with the Mexicans that kept trying to move in on the people’s lands. After America kicked out the Mexicans, here us honkies doing the same thing with the same result which was almost constant warfare. For many years the US cavalry was unsuccessful in trying to capture the elusive Victorio and his band. Finally, Victorio was convinced to go to the San Carlos reservation in Arizona. After one summer with temperatures in the 120’s, Victorio said “Screw this” and he and his band pulled out and went back to New Mexico and eventually to Mexico. All Victorio wanted was for him and his people to be left alone on their own land. Somehow, this was not possible.

Births and deaths:

70 BC The Roman writer Virgil is born. Virgil once said “They are able because they think they are able.” Tell that to the Carolina Panthers.

1844   German philosopher Fredrick Nietzsche is born. He once said “Large states have mediocre education like large kitchens have mediocre food.” Hey Fredrick does this mean that Alaska’s people are not well educated? I don’t think so.

1921    The author of “The Godfather” Mario Puzo is born. Mario is credited with “One lawyer with a briefcase can steal more that 100 men with guns.” Indeed.

1924    Ex-Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca is born. Lee once said “After all, how much clean air do we really need?” I don’t know if Lee was kidding or not.

1959    One of my favorite people Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York is born. Sarah never let anyone or anything bother her. She is a cool customer.

1964   Songwriter Cole Porter dies. Cole was one of the most influential songwriters of our time with songs like “Night and Day” among others. Cole was always unsure about his gender.



Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow