Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“In the past I worried why my penis bends slightly to the left, and finally I read in a book that this is quite normal, but then wondered, what sort of person would read books like that?”
Garrison Keillor
I normally would be leaving on for a month long visit to the paradise known as The Emerald Coast of Florida with an overnight stop in Montgomery. The Emerald Coast is from the Perdido Key eastward to just past Panama City Beach. I would have been staying on Pensacola Beach. I would have had my laptop packed but alas, I have medical issues that I must resolve before going on that road trip.
Last year a local radio station here in Greenville has cut a deal with the Westboro Baptist Church to prevent them from demonstrating at the funeral of an American soldier from this area that was killed in Germany. Westboro had promised a demonstration because they believed that God is taking the lives of American soldiers because America is “soft” on homosexuality. Perhaps these morons have not read the history of Germany in WWII. The Nazis forbade any and all homosexuality and slaughtered thousands that were. Yes, they were “hard” on homosexuality but lost 7 million men and women that were annihilated during the war. Make up your mind Westboro, which is it?
Here is a reminder as to the heart of the American soldier. We all need to read this and then examine your own heart and the depth of your pride in this great nation. The lesson follows.
Congressional Medal of Honor
EVANS, DONALD W, JR.
Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division
Place and date: Tri Tam, Republic of Vietnam, 27 January 1967
Entered service at: Covina, California
Born: 23 July 1943, Covina, California
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, he left his position of relative safety with his platoon which had not yet been committed to the battle to answer the calls for medical aid from the wounded men of another platoon which was heavily engaged with the enemy force. Dashing across 100 meters of open area through a withering hail of enemy fire and exploding grenades, he administered lifesaving treatment to 1 individual and continued to expose himself to the deadly enemy fire as he moved to treat each of the other wounded men and to offer them encouragement. Realizing that the wounds of 1 man required immediate attention, Sp4c. Evans dragged the injured soldier back across the dangerous fire-swept area, to a secure position from which he could be further evacuated. Miraculously escaping the enemy fusillade, Sp4c. Evans returned to the forward location. As he continued the treatment of the wounded, he was struck by fragments from an enemy grenade. Despite his serious and painful injury he succeeded in evacuating another wounded comrade, rejoined his platoon as it was committed to battle and was soon treating other wounded soldiers. As he evacuated another wounded man across the fire covered field, he was severely wounded. Continuing to refuse medical attention and ignoring advice to remain behind, he managed with his waning strength to move yet another wounded comrade across the dangerous open area to safety. Disregarding his painful wounds and seriously weakened from profuse bleeding, he continued his lifesaving medical aid and was killed while treating another wounded comrade. Sp4c. Evan's extraordinary valor, dedication and indomitable spirit saved the lives of several of his fellow soldiers, served as an inspiration to the men of his company, were instrumental in the success of their mission, and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
This Date in History March 30
1775 On this date King George III of England endorsed the so-call Restraining Act. Parliament had proposed this abomination and the King liked it. Now y'all listen to this. This act declared that the colonies must trade exclusively with Great Britain and that ain’t all, the Act forbade the American fishing fleet from fishing in the North Atlantic. Are you mad yet? This meant that all the most eaten fish in the colonies such as cod and salmon would have to be bought from Great Britain even though the Danes and Dutch fished the North Atlantic also and the American fleet had no problem with supplying its people with these fish. The British Prime Minister, Lord North, knew that this act would stir up a hornets nest in the colonies and tried to calm things down by stating that if a colony paid the salary of the Royal Governor of their Colony, they would be taxed less. But Lord North knew this would have little or no effect and sent the Military Commander General Thomas Gage to Boston to become Governor of Massachusetts. This was just the first step toward martial law and the colonists knew it. In July Gage sent a British regiment to destroy a cache of arms and ammo known to be in Concord, Massachusetts and arrest firebrand Patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock. It was during this event that the first shot was fired at the British in anger and the Revolutionary War was under way. Considering what humiliation burdens the British put on the colonists, I am amazed it did not start before now.
1825 Samuel Bell Maxey is born in Kentucky. Maxey went to West Point and graduated next to last in his class of 59 in 1846. As with many West Point officers of this era, he went to fight in the Mexican War. Maxey resigned his commission after the war and moved to Kentucky to practice law. In 1857 he moved to Texas. After the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services to the Confederacy and helped organize the 9th Texas Infantry. The 9th Texas was sent to fight in Mississippi with Maxey in command as a Brigadier General. Maxey was present at the battles of Vicksburg, Port Hudson and Chattanooga. It was here that Maxey was promoted to commander of the Indian Territories. Maxey began to train Cherokee, Creek and Choctaw Indians into Confederate combat troops. Maxey’s Indian troops attacked a Union wagon train near Poison Springs, Arkansas that was driven by a Black Kansas regiment. The Union troops were routed and many fled, but of those black troops that surrendered or were wounded there were no survivors. Maxey’s troops killed them all. After the war Maxey continued to support the Native Americans and as a United States Senator he introduced legislation in behalf of them. He died in 1895.
1980 In the stormy North Sea the oil companies provided apartments for the drilling platform workers on their off time. The apartment had room for about 220 workers and was afloat on gigantic pontoons. On this night while most of the workers were watching a movie with a gale howling outside, a gigantic rogue wave estimated to be over 100 feet high slammed into the apartment and capsizes it. Most of the workers were Norwegian but there were a few Brits and Americans aboard. The apartment was about 220 miles from Dundee, Scotland and soon Royal and Norwegian helicopters were on site but the gale was still howling and rescue was difficult if not impossible. Of the 208 that were aboard the apartment, 123 of those that were unable to reach a life boat were drowned. Eight years later there was a fire and explosion on a drilling rig in the North Sea took the life of another 167. The oil platform workers make a lot of money but it isn’t worth the risk.
1855 On this date the first legislative election is held in the state of Kansas. The only problem was that the so-called “Border Ruffians” were interfering with election. The Border Ruffians were pro slavery advocates from Missouri near the Kansas border. Kansas came into the Union as a “free” state meaning slave free and Missouri came in as a slave state. Even though more votes were counted than were registered voters and a pro-slavery legislation was elected, the Governor of Kansas ratified the election to avoid more bloodshed. It did not help that much because there was continued fighting between the pro and anti slavery advocates until the end of the Civil War in 1865. There was so much fighting in Kansas that it became known as “Bleeding Kansas”.
1867 On this date the United States Secretary of State William Seward coughed up $7.2 million dollars and gives it to Russia for what is now Alaska. Seward caught a large ration of shit for this deal. His detractors called Alaska a “huge stump of ice “or “Seward’s Icebox.” Little did they know what a plethora of minerals lay under ground including gold, silver, coal, and iron ore not to mention oil. I would say that the $7.2 million was a good investment for these United States.
Born today:
1135 Spanish philosopher Moses ben Maimon. He said “The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of no decision.” I think we all agree to this.
1880 Irish writer Sean O’Casey. He said “The world is just a stage and we are woefully unrehearsed.”
Died today:
1986 US writer John Ciardi. He said “Early to bed early to rise usually indicates unskilled labor.” I guess that means the majority of us.
Quotable quotes:
“The Cardinal rule of politics is don’t get caught in bed with a live man or a dead woman”. Larry Hagman...How about a semi-dead woman, Larry?
“Any party that takes credit for the rain should not be surprised if their opponents blame them for a drought.” Dwight D. Murrow
“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” Harry Truman I have known several, Harry.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“And now here are the headlines. The Pope actually found to be Jewish. Liberace is Anastasia and Ethel Merman jams Russian radar. The East Germans claimed today that the Berlin Wall was actually a fraternity prank. Today the Pope decided to release Vatican-based bath products. An incredible thing, yes it is going to be pope-on-a-rope, that's right folks, pope-on-a-rope. Take one bath with it an go straight to heaven.”
Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams)Good Morning, Vietnam
Mass hysteria is back with us, including your President, involving George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. I would like to hear from any eyewitness as to what really happened, all the freaking rest of you, shut the hell up. Remember Tawana Brawley? If not, you need to refresh your memory. The cops will find out what really happened and take the correct action. They do not and cannot ASSUME that Greorge Zimmerman killed young Martin in cold blood. Is it possible that young Martin attempted to grab Zimmerman's gun? Is it possible? If it is, then it is POSSIBLE that it WAS self defense, or the gun could have discharged in a struggle. Let the investigators do their damn job, for crying out loud. I will not discuss this issue again until there is a determinaion by the investigators. They know a hell of lot more about the facts and forensics in this case than ANYONE else, especially the sheep that jump on any bandwagon that comes by. Let the FACTS speak for themselves and don't listen to those that choose all opportunities to make themselves seem important. See Tawana Brawley.
Answer to the trivia question as to what is the largest naturally occuring land animal in North America...it is the Arctic Bison. These beasts weight about 2,000 lbs.each . They are about the same length and width as a plains bison but pack on more fur and fat to be able to stand up to the cold. This information is courtesy of “Frozen Planet” on Discovery channel.
The fuel used in the destroyed Japanese nuclear power plants was a mixture of utilities grade Uranium and weapons grade Plutonium in a 9/1 ratio. This is known as “MOX” and a plant to manufacture this mixture is being designed and built on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, SC. I worked on this project myself. This arrangement was brought about because America signed a disarmament agreement with Russia to decrease the number of nuclear weapons on both sides. The problem was what the hell were we going to do with all that very high powered and very expensive weapons grade Plutonium. The agreement was to mix it with utilities grade Uranium in a manageable ratio and use it in nuclear power plants. If nothing goes wrong, it is a win-win situation. But if something goes wrong it is a lose-lose situation. I believe that they will have to do what they did at Chernobyl and that is start pouring heavy duty concrete in the reactor building that is giving them trouble until all radiation is undetectable and write that one off to experience.
I was watching TV show about a young lady that was trying her hand at buying houses, remodeling them and then selling them at a profit. She had set a remodeling cost of $30,000 but it ended up being $51,000 because there was a water leak in an inside-the-wall water line that had soaked one whole hardwood floor end to end 2” deep. After that a brand new stainless steel refrigerator with through-the-door water and ice refused to give any water or ice. She called company that sold her the refrigerator and complained. The salesman said that it was probably because the valve on the water line was closed. She said “What water line?. Do you mean that after I paid what I did for that refrigerator I have to do something else than just plug it in?” She finally called Sam the plumber and he fixed it. No comment.
This date in history March 28
1979 On this date began a comedy of errors resulted the worst nuclear accident in United States history at the recently built Reactor #2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. This particular power plant was built on an island in the middle the Susquehanna River about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania capitol of Harrisburg. There was a slight overpressure in the reactor and a pressure relief valve opened as it was supposed to, the only problem was that it failed to close back and cooling water began to escape. The emergency relief pumps began to operate automatically as they were suppose to. If the plant operators had let this safety system work as designed, nothing would have happened. But the newly trained plant workers could not figure out what the hell was going on. With the cooling water leaking out onto the floor of the containment building the reactor core temperature began to rise. For reasons known only to the plant operators, they chose to shut down the emergency relief pumps. There is no need for me to tell you what happened to the core temperature. Pennsylvania Governor Thornburgh was between a rock and a hard place. After being appraised of the situation, he had to so something but he did not want to cause a panic. He sent out a notice that everyone with a 10 mile radius of Three Mile Island to stay indoors. Then the next day he advised that pregnant women should evacuate. Then word leaked out that radioactive steam had escaped and a small amount of radioactive water had leaked into the Susquehanna River. All of this was true but it was not that much of a risk but a panic began and over 100,000 people near the plant evacuated. By now the core had reached a temperature of 4,000 degrees which is within 1,000 degrees of a complete meltdown. Eventually experts from Metropolitan Energy and the reactor designer (Babcock and Wilcox) arrived and figured out what the problem was and the emergency pumps were restarted and the core temperature began to fall. In an attempt to lessen the panic, United States President Jimmy Carter went to the plant. Carter was a Naval Academy trained nuclear engineer and had dealt with damaged cores in the past. This was probably in a nuclear submarine. But he was not there to offer expertise but to restore the confidence of the population. Everyone thought the problem had been solved but two days later a hydrogen bubble was discovered in the top of the containment building and there had been a small explosion but the containment building held. Apparently the containment building in Japan did not. It was determined that the hydrogen bubble was not a threat. By the way, it was an explosion of a hydrogen bubble that destroyed the Russian power plant at Chernobyl but the Russians did not use containment buildings over their reactors. The core had been damaged in reactor # 2 making it useless. During the crises, reactor # 1 had been shut down also. Reactor # 1 was not restarted until 1985 and reactor # 2 was sealed. Since this emergency the building of not one nuclear power plant has begun in the United States. There have been reports that those that stayed those few days after the initial accident have an increased incidence of leukemia and other cancers but it is not a proven statistic. There was one of the plant operators that put on a safe suit and went into the floor of the containment building where the water was about 18 inches deep trying to find out what the problem was. He had with him a flask of test water that began to effervesce like carbonated water very soon after he arrived. He saw this and got the hell out of there, and I don’t blame him. A lot of lessons were learned during this experience. That is the only upside I can find to this whole scenario.
.
1776 On this date Juan Bautista de Anza founded the city of San Francisco and has with him 247 settlers. Anza was born in Mexico and is the equivalent of Lewis and Clark, Kit Carson and John Colter when it comes to exploration. It was Anza that explored northwest out of Mexico City and discovered most of what is now the resort area of the west coast of Mexico. He blazed a trail all the way to northern California and established trading posts and helped locate several Spanish missions along the way. In spite of Spanish ships sailing up and down the west coast of North America for 200 years, they had never discovered San Francisco Bay and neither had the Russians. It took Anza’s exploration by land to discover it. This area remained under Spanish control until the Mexicans kicked them out and under Mexican control until they lost the Mexican War in 1848 to the United States.
Born today:
1868 Russian writer Maxim Gorky. He said “A man may be stupid and still be good. But a bad man needs brains.” Believe what you want, but Hitler was brilliant.
1890 US bandleader Paul Whiteman. He said “Jazz came to America 300 years ago in chains.” So did okra, the banjo and Gullah.
1942 English politician Neil Kinnock. He said “You cannot make one wit out of two half wits.” I know lots of them.
Died today:
1941 English writer Virginia Wolfe. She said “I have lost friends because of death and others for no other reason than the inability to cross a street.” I hope I never reach that point.
1957 US writer Christopher Morley. He said “A critic is a gong at a railroad crossing clanging wildly while the train passes by.” I cannot relate to this, y’all. Critique me all you want, I am very happy with me.
1958 US song writer W.C. Handy. He said “You never can tell what’s on a woman’s mind, and if she is from Harlem there’s no use trying.” Add Greenville, SC to that, W.C.
1984 US educator Benjamin Mays. He said “Isn’t it a calamity that we died with unfulfilled dreams, but it is even a bigger calamity not to dream.” Ben was a wise individual.
Quotable quotes:
“I think the reason men like women in leather outfits so much is they smell like a new car.”
George Fara
“She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.”
Raymond Chandler
“Start every day with a smile and then get over it.”
W.C. Fields
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“And now here are the headlines. The Pope actually found to be Jewish. Liberace is Anastasia and Ethel Merman jams Russian radar. The East Germans claimed today that the Berlin Wall was actually a fraternity prank. Today the Pope decided to release Vatican-based bath products. An incredible thing, yes it is going to be pope-on-a-rope, that's right folks, pope-on-a-rope. Take one bath with it an go straight to heaven.”
Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams)Good Morning, Vietnam
Mass hysteria is back with us, including your President, involving George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. I would like to hear from any eyewitness as to what really happened, all the freaking rest of you, shut the hell up. Remember Tawana Brawley? If not, you need to refresh your memory. The cops will find out what really happened and take the correct action. They do not and cannot ASSUME that Greorge Zimmerman killed young Martin in cold blood. Is it possible that young Martin attempted to grab Zimmerman's gun? Is it possible? If it is, then it is POSSIBLE that it WAS self defense, or the gun could have discharged in a struggle. Let the investigators do their damn job, for crying out loud. I will not discuss this issue again until there is a determinaion by the investigators. They know a hell of lot more about the facts and forensics in this case than ANYONE else, especially the sheep that jump on any bandwagon that comes by. Let the FACTS speak for themselves and don't listen to those that choose all opportunities to make themselves seem important. See Tawana Brawley.
Answer to the trivia question as to what is the largest naturally occuring land animal in North America...it is the Arctic Bison. These beasts weight about 2,000 lbs.each . They are about the same length and width as a plains bison but pack on more fur and fat to be able to stand up to the cold. This information is courtesy of “Frozen Planet” on Discovery channel.
The fuel used in the destroyed Japanese nuclear power plants was a mixture of utilities grade Uranium and weapons grade Plutonium in a 9/1 ratio. This is known as “MOX” and a plant to manufacture this mixture is being designed and built on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, SC. I worked on this project myself. This arrangement was brought about because America signed a disarmament agreement with Russia to decrease the number of nuclear weapons on both sides. The problem was what the hell were we going to do with all that very high powered and very expensive weapons grade Plutonium. The agreement was to mix it with utilities grade Uranium in a manageable ratio and use it in nuclear power plants. If nothing goes wrong, it is a win-win situation. But if something goes wrong it is a lose-lose situation. I believe that they will have to do what they did at Chernobyl and that is start pouring heavy duty concrete in the reactor building that is giving them trouble until all radiation is undetectable and write that one off to experience.
I was watching TV show about a young lady that was trying her hand at buying houses, remodeling them and then selling them at a profit. She had set a remodeling cost of $30,000 but it ended up being $51,000 because there was a water leak in an inside-the-wall water line that had soaked one whole hardwood floor end to end 2” deep. After that a brand new stainless steel refrigerator with through-the-door water and ice refused to give any water or ice. She called company that sold her the refrigerator and complained. The salesman said that it was probably because the valve on the water line was closed. She said “What water line?. Do you mean that after I paid what I did for that refrigerator I have to do something else than just plug it in?” She finally called Sam the plumber and he fixed it. No comment.
This date in history March 28
1979 On this date began a comedy of errors resulted the worst nuclear accident in United States history at the recently built Reactor #2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. This particular power plant was built on an island in the middle the Susquehanna River about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania capitol of Harrisburg. There was a slight overpressure in the reactor and a pressure relief valve opened as it was supposed to, the only problem was that it failed to close back and cooling water began to escape. The emergency relief pumps began to operate automatically as they were suppose to. If the plant operators had let this safety system work as designed, nothing would have happened. But the newly trained plant workers could not figure out what the hell was going on. With the cooling water leaking out onto the floor of the containment building the reactor core temperature began to rise. For reasons known only to the plant operators, they chose to shut down the emergency relief pumps. There is no need for me to tell you what happened to the core temperature. Pennsylvania Governor Thornburgh was between a rock and a hard place. After being appraised of the situation, he had to so something but he did not want to cause a panic. He sent out a notice that everyone with a 10 mile radius of Three Mile Island to stay indoors. Then the next day he advised that pregnant women should evacuate. Then word leaked out that radioactive steam had escaped and a small amount of radioactive water had leaked into the Susquehanna River. All of this was true but it was not that much of a risk but a panic began and over 100,000 people near the plant evacuated. By now the core had reached a temperature of 4,000 degrees which is within 1,000 degrees of a complete meltdown. Eventually experts from Metropolitan Energy and the reactor designer (Babcock and Wilcox) arrived and figured out what the problem was and the emergency pumps were restarted and the core temperature began to fall. In an attempt to lessen the panic, United States President Jimmy Carter went to the plant. Carter was a Naval Academy trained nuclear engineer and had dealt with damaged cores in the past. This was probably in a nuclear submarine. But he was not there to offer expertise but to restore the confidence of the population. Everyone thought the problem had been solved but two days later a hydrogen bubble was discovered in the top of the containment building and there had been a small explosion but the containment building held. Apparently the containment building in Japan did not. It was determined that the hydrogen bubble was not a threat. By the way, it was an explosion of a hydrogen bubble that destroyed the Russian power plant at Chernobyl but the Russians did not use containment buildings over their reactors. The core had been damaged in reactor # 2 making it useless. During the crises, reactor # 1 had been shut down also. Reactor # 1 was not restarted until 1985 and reactor # 2 was sealed. Since this emergency the building of not one nuclear power plant has begun in the United States. There have been reports that those that stayed those few days after the initial accident have an increased incidence of leukemia and other cancers but it is not a proven statistic. There was one of the plant operators that put on a safe suit and went into the floor of the containment building where the water was about 18 inches deep trying to find out what the problem was. He had with him a flask of test water that began to effervesce like carbonated water very soon after he arrived. He saw this and got the hell out of there, and I don’t blame him. A lot of lessons were learned during this experience. That is the only upside I can find to this whole scenario.
.
1776 On this date Juan Bautista de Anza founded the city of San Francisco and has with him 247 settlers. Anza was born in Mexico and is the equivalent of Lewis and Clark, Kit Carson and John Colter when it comes to exploration. It was Anza that explored northwest out of Mexico City and discovered most of what is now the resort area of the west coast of Mexico. He blazed a trail all the way to northern California and established trading posts and helped locate several Spanish missions along the way. In spite of Spanish ships sailing up and down the west coast of North America for 200 years, they had never discovered San Francisco Bay and neither had the Russians. It took Anza’s exploration by land to discover it. This area remained under Spanish control until the Mexicans kicked them out and under Mexican control until they lost the Mexican War in 1848 to the United States.
Born today:
1868 Russian writer Maxim Gorky. He said “A man may be stupid and still be good. But a bad man needs brains.” Believe what you want, but Hitler was brilliant.
1890 US bandleader Paul Whiteman. He said “Jazz came to America 300 years ago in chains.” So did okra, the banjo and Gullah.
1942 English politician Neil Kinnock. He said “You cannot make one wit out of two half wits.” I know lots of them.
Died today:
1941 English writer Virginia Wolfe. She said “I have lost friends because of death and others for no other reason than the inability to cross a street.” I hope I never reach that point.
1957 US writer Christopher Morley. He said “A critic is a gong at a railroad crossing clanging wildly while the train passes by.” I cannot relate to this, y’all. Critique me all you want, I am very happy with me.
1958 US song writer W.C. Handy. He said “You never can tell what’s on a woman’s mind, and if she is from Harlem there’s no use trying.” Add Greenville, SC to that, W.C.
1984 US educator Benjamin Mays. He said “Isn’t it a calamity that we died with unfulfilled dreams, but it is even a bigger calamity not to dream.” Ben was a wise individual.
Quotable quotes:
“I think the reason men like women in leather outfits so much is they smell like a new car.”
George Fara
“She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.”
Raymond Chandler
“Start every day with a smile and then get over it.”
W.C. Fields
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Monday, March 26, 2012
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Sometimes I lay awake at night and I ask 'Where have gone wrong.?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'”
Charlie Brown, Peanuts
Answer to the trivia question as to what now deceased All-Pro NFL defensive lineman never played on a college team...It was 6'-6”-280 pound Eugene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb...He played for the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was recruited from the Camp Pendleton and Quantico Marines football teams. By the way, he died of a drug overdose at the age of 31. Nobody ever said he was smart.
Trivia question:
What is the largest naturally occuring land animal in North America? Hint: African elephants, Indian elephants and rhinos are NOT naturally occuring in North America.
Back in September of 2011 over in Spartanburg, SC., a 33 year old man sexually molested a child under the age of 11. He then left the country and went to South Korea. The Spartanburg PD could not find him and put his information out on the nationwide fugitive network. This past week this bastard arrived in Los Angeles attempting to re-enter the US. When his name was scanned by Customs it popped up as him being a fugitive from Spartanburg, SC. They arrested him and notified the SCSO who was very grateful. He will be extradited back to stand trial. I almost feel sorry for him if he is convicted of child abuse and goes to a South Carolina prison because I know what will happen to him. But on second thought...that will not be enough....they should get medieval on his as-.
It looks like Bank of America has begun to show that they have a heart after all. They have begun a pilot program whereby certain homeowners whose homes that are in foreclosure will be offered a deal where the bank retains the title and deed to the property. The homeowners will be allowed to stay in the house on a lease arrangement. The past due house payments will be forgiven and the lease payment will be equal to or less than current market. The leaseholder will not be responsible for taxes and insurance either. It is known as the familiar lease/purchase arrangement that first time home buyers frequently employ. The item did not mention if the lease payment went toward the price of buying the house or not but I suspect that it would.
Over in Charlotte, NC a 20 year veteran of the Charlotte PD named Bobby Wiliiams met Wendy Daniels who was working in the communications section. They realized that they had been dating while in high school 20 year ago and decided to start again. After a few months Bobby felt that it was not working and broke off the relationship. Wendy went crazy as hell. She came over to his house and kicked open the front door, broke some furniture, etc. After that she filed over 100 abuse charges against Bobby all of which were thrown out of court. Bobby said that Wendy made his life hell for quite a while. The prosecutor decided to put Wendy under “deferred prosecution” for two years. What this essentially amounts to is parole. You have to do exactly what the court orders and behave for two year and then your record is erased. Wendy was very happy with this but Bobby thought it was bullsh-t...So do I. What if that had been Bobby doing all that stuff? Deferred prosecution, my ass.
Rather than the history lesson, here is a biography on an interesting person.
Biography of James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin
This is the biography of a very driven and successful individual. He went from an orphan to a small coal mining town to a General in the US Army to the United States Ambassador to France with many adventures in between.
James Maurice Gavin was born James Nally Ryan in Brooklyn, New York in 1907. His precise ancestry is unknown. It is known that his mother, Katherine Ryan, was probably an Irish immigrant but the father is ambiguous. When James was about two years old his mother sent him to an orphanage where he stayed until he was the age of 8 and he was adopted by Martin and Mary Gavin who lived in the coal mining town of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. As you might suspect, Martin Gavin was a coal miner. The Gavins treated James as well as could be expected but had trouble making ends meet which required James to drop out of school at the age of 12 and go to work to help support the family. James knew that his adoptive parents wanted him to become a coal miner and that was the last thing James wanted. So at the age of 17 James ran away from home and took a train to New York City. As soon as he could he sent a telegram to the Gavins telling them that he was OK but that he was ready to go it alone. He knew this would stop the Gavins from reporting him missing and the police would not come looking for him. He knocked around in New York for just a short time before going to a US Army recruiting office and tried to enlist. He had to prove he was at least 18 years old and he knew his parents would never approve so he told the recruiter that he was an orphan. The recruiter took James and two other “orphans” to an attorney who technically became the guardian of all of them and approved their enlistment. James Maurice Gavin became a Private in the US Army in 1924.
James’ first assignment was at Panama as a crew member in a 155 howitzer unit. The library in that facility was rich in military history books. James read ravenously the careers of many great military leaders including Hannibal and “Stonewall” Jackson. James was always very aware of his lack of education and read all the literature that he could get his hands on. He also would take long walks throughout the countryside trying to assuage his ever present curiosity. One of the men he looked up to was his First Sergeant who was an American Indian known as “Chief” Williams. Sergeant Williams saw the potential in James and made him his aide and James was promoted to corporal six months later. In spite of the heat, humidity and malaria carrying mosquitoes, James remembered his tour in Panama with fondness.
James let it be known that he was interested in a military career and at the Chief’s suggestion; he applied for a military training school where the graduates would be eligible to apply for an appointment to West Point. James was accepted to this school but needed a tutor for algebra, geometry, English and history. This tutor turned out to be Lt. Percy Black, a man that encouraged him to succeed and James never forgot him. James did indeed graduate from the school and was selected to go to West Point. Since James had no basic education he got up at 4:30a and studied in the bathroom where there was enough light to read. After a tough 4 years, in 1929 James graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. Soon after graduation he married Irma Baulsir of Washington, D.C.
His next assignment was in Douglas, Arizona with the 25th Infantry Regiment, one of the black only units in the Army. They were also known as the “Buffalo Soldiers”. His next assignment was the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia with Colonel George C. Marshall at the helm. Marshall eventually became the US Army Chief of Staff. Marshall brought Colonel Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell with him as the instructor in tactics. Marshall and Stillwell believed in the premise of field commanders just giving a rough outline of the goal and let their combat commanders use whatever tactics works for them. This was exactly the Army James was looking for. He had been taught that he should issue detailed instruction in the field but here was a school that taught progressive use of improvisation and innovation in combat. James had a fertile mind and this was his calling. By the way, it was the German way of not allowing improvisation by their combat commanders that cost them the defeat on D-Day. If our soldiers ran across something that was unexpected and could not contact their superiors, they improvised. Not so with the Germans. Anyway, Stillwell was a tough and demanding instructor and insisted that all combat commanders not issue an order that they were unable to carry out themselves. James found his time at Fort Benning a very enjoyable one but his marriage to Irma was failing. In December of 1934 he and Irma drove to Washington to spend Christmas with her parents. When it came time to go back to Georgia, Irma chose to stay in Washington with her parents. James’ next posting was at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where there was an excellent library and as you might suspect, James was there most of his spare time while the others were partying. He then went to the Philippines in 1936 where he became concerned about the preparedness of the troops and equipment to be able to counter the Japanese expansion that was obvious. After the Philippines James came back to Washington and his family and served at the Vancouver Barracks. In 1933 a daughter was born to him and Irma and while in the Philippines he was promoted to Captain.
He next was sent to West Point as a tactics instructor. While the Germans were steamrolling Europe, the best equipment and armaments the US Army had were just copies of the Germans. It was during this period that the idea of airborne assault was borne. He next went to airborne school at Fort Benning, Georgia. After graduating he was asked to write a book about tactics used by airborne assault troops. After this book was finished, he was given promoted to Major and given command of an experimental unit. He was commander of company C of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Battalion. He next wrote a book about how airborne troops could be used to the best effect. It was finally decided that there would be an airborne division and the choice was the 82nd Infantry division at Fort Claiborne, Louisiana and the task of shaping up this unit was given to James. He was promoted to Colonel at the age of 35. James was a hard taskmaster and honed his troops into a razor sharp fighting unit known forever after as the 82nd Airborne. James insisted on having as many jumps as his troops and was always the first out the door. His creed for his field commanders was “First out the door and last in the chow line”. His troops loved him. Just before the first airborne unit graduated James decided to test them. He took them on an exercise that began at 7:00pm and they marched all night to a small town 23 miles away, fought a simulated battle all day and surrounded a simulated airfield and fought off a counter-attack, broke up the exercise at 8:00pm and headed back to the Fort via another route through thick pine forests. They went into bivouac at about 11:00pm, were awakened one hour later and continued on to the Fort arriving about daylight. In the span of 36 hours they had marched about 50 miles, fought for 12 hours, and subsisted on reserve rations. James was in the lead for this entire operation. This type operation is the signature of American Airborne units to this day.
The first combat assignment for the 82nd Airborne was the invasion of Sicily and James Gavin was the first out the door in command of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The winds at the drop zone was stiff and from an unexpected direction and scattered his troops but James was able to gather about 25 men and headed off toward the sound of battle. James also jumped on D-Day and in Belgium during Operation Market-Garden.
After the war he was instrumental in the integration of the all black 555th Parachute Infantry Regiment into the 82nd Airborne. The commander of the 555th said that James was the most color-blind commander he had ever met. He next went into the design of an “airborne cavalry” utilizing lightweight vehicles and helicopters in assault tactics. This vision was realized later in Viet Nam and honed to a razors edge in various covert and overt battles and raids by the US Airborne. James retired in 1958 as a Lieutenant General (3 stars) at the age of 51. He was soon hired by the research and development firm of Arthur D. Little, Inc. As a Vice-President and in 1960 he became President of ADL.
In 1961 President John Kennedy asked James to take a leave of absence and become the Ambassador to France. Kennedy was concerned about the deteriorating relations with France. He knew that during WWII James had met and coordinated operations with French General Charles DeGaulle, now President of France. Hiring of James as the ambassador solved the problem and relations returned to normal.
In 1962 James returned to ADL. In 1971 President Jimmie Carter considered James for the director of the CIA but chose Stansfield Turner instead. During all of this James and Irma were divorced and in 1948 he married Jean Duncan of Knoxville, Tennessee. They remained married for 42 years until his death in 1990 at the age of 83. James has written many books about combat tactics and the history of several important military encounters.
Every year on June 6 (D-Day) the James Gavin family, a group from West point, representatives of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment from Fort Bragg, NC and others gather to honor Lt. General James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin. Was he here at this place at in this time period by accident? I think not.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Quote of the day:
“Sometimes I lay awake at night and I ask 'Where have gone wrong.?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'”
Charlie Brown, Peanuts
Answer to the trivia question as to what now deceased All-Pro NFL defensive lineman never played on a college team...It was 6'-6”-280 pound Eugene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb...He played for the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was recruited from the Camp Pendleton and Quantico Marines football teams. By the way, he died of a drug overdose at the age of 31. Nobody ever said he was smart.
Trivia question:
What is the largest naturally occuring land animal in North America? Hint: African elephants, Indian elephants and rhinos are NOT naturally occuring in North America.
Back in September of 2011 over in Spartanburg, SC., a 33 year old man sexually molested a child under the age of 11. He then left the country and went to South Korea. The Spartanburg PD could not find him and put his information out on the nationwide fugitive network. This past week this bastard arrived in Los Angeles attempting to re-enter the US. When his name was scanned by Customs it popped up as him being a fugitive from Spartanburg, SC. They arrested him and notified the SCSO who was very grateful. He will be extradited back to stand trial. I almost feel sorry for him if he is convicted of child abuse and goes to a South Carolina prison because I know what will happen to him. But on second thought...that will not be enough....they should get medieval on his as-.
It looks like Bank of America has begun to show that they have a heart after all. They have begun a pilot program whereby certain homeowners whose homes that are in foreclosure will be offered a deal where the bank retains the title and deed to the property. The homeowners will be allowed to stay in the house on a lease arrangement. The past due house payments will be forgiven and the lease payment will be equal to or less than current market. The leaseholder will not be responsible for taxes and insurance either. It is known as the familiar lease/purchase arrangement that first time home buyers frequently employ. The item did not mention if the lease payment went toward the price of buying the house or not but I suspect that it would.
Over in Charlotte, NC a 20 year veteran of the Charlotte PD named Bobby Wiliiams met Wendy Daniels who was working in the communications section. They realized that they had been dating while in high school 20 year ago and decided to start again. After a few months Bobby felt that it was not working and broke off the relationship. Wendy went crazy as hell. She came over to his house and kicked open the front door, broke some furniture, etc. After that she filed over 100 abuse charges against Bobby all of which were thrown out of court. Bobby said that Wendy made his life hell for quite a while. The prosecutor decided to put Wendy under “deferred prosecution” for two years. What this essentially amounts to is parole. You have to do exactly what the court orders and behave for two year and then your record is erased. Wendy was very happy with this but Bobby thought it was bullsh-t...So do I. What if that had been Bobby doing all that stuff? Deferred prosecution, my ass.
Rather than the history lesson, here is a biography on an interesting person.
Biography of James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin
This is the biography of a very driven and successful individual. He went from an orphan to a small coal mining town to a General in the US Army to the United States Ambassador to France with many adventures in between.
James Maurice Gavin was born James Nally Ryan in Brooklyn, New York in 1907. His precise ancestry is unknown. It is known that his mother, Katherine Ryan, was probably an Irish immigrant but the father is ambiguous. When James was about two years old his mother sent him to an orphanage where he stayed until he was the age of 8 and he was adopted by Martin and Mary Gavin who lived in the coal mining town of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. As you might suspect, Martin Gavin was a coal miner. The Gavins treated James as well as could be expected but had trouble making ends meet which required James to drop out of school at the age of 12 and go to work to help support the family. James knew that his adoptive parents wanted him to become a coal miner and that was the last thing James wanted. So at the age of 17 James ran away from home and took a train to New York City. As soon as he could he sent a telegram to the Gavins telling them that he was OK but that he was ready to go it alone. He knew this would stop the Gavins from reporting him missing and the police would not come looking for him. He knocked around in New York for just a short time before going to a US Army recruiting office and tried to enlist. He had to prove he was at least 18 years old and he knew his parents would never approve so he told the recruiter that he was an orphan. The recruiter took James and two other “orphans” to an attorney who technically became the guardian of all of them and approved their enlistment. James Maurice Gavin became a Private in the US Army in 1924.
James’ first assignment was at Panama as a crew member in a 155 howitzer unit. The library in that facility was rich in military history books. James read ravenously the careers of many great military leaders including Hannibal and “Stonewall” Jackson. James was always very aware of his lack of education and read all the literature that he could get his hands on. He also would take long walks throughout the countryside trying to assuage his ever present curiosity. One of the men he looked up to was his First Sergeant who was an American Indian known as “Chief” Williams. Sergeant Williams saw the potential in James and made him his aide and James was promoted to corporal six months later. In spite of the heat, humidity and malaria carrying mosquitoes, James remembered his tour in Panama with fondness.
James let it be known that he was interested in a military career and at the Chief’s suggestion; he applied for a military training school where the graduates would be eligible to apply for an appointment to West Point. James was accepted to this school but needed a tutor for algebra, geometry, English and history. This tutor turned out to be Lt. Percy Black, a man that encouraged him to succeed and James never forgot him. James did indeed graduate from the school and was selected to go to West Point. Since James had no basic education he got up at 4:30a and studied in the bathroom where there was enough light to read. After a tough 4 years, in 1929 James graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. Soon after graduation he married Irma Baulsir of Washington, D.C.
His next assignment was in Douglas, Arizona with the 25th Infantry Regiment, one of the black only units in the Army. They were also known as the “Buffalo Soldiers”. His next assignment was the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia with Colonel George C. Marshall at the helm. Marshall eventually became the US Army Chief of Staff. Marshall brought Colonel Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell with him as the instructor in tactics. Marshall and Stillwell believed in the premise of field commanders just giving a rough outline of the goal and let their combat commanders use whatever tactics works for them. This was exactly the Army James was looking for. He had been taught that he should issue detailed instruction in the field but here was a school that taught progressive use of improvisation and innovation in combat. James had a fertile mind and this was his calling. By the way, it was the German way of not allowing improvisation by their combat commanders that cost them the defeat on D-Day. If our soldiers ran across something that was unexpected and could not contact their superiors, they improvised. Not so with the Germans. Anyway, Stillwell was a tough and demanding instructor and insisted that all combat commanders not issue an order that they were unable to carry out themselves. James found his time at Fort Benning a very enjoyable one but his marriage to Irma was failing. In December of 1934 he and Irma drove to Washington to spend Christmas with her parents. When it came time to go back to Georgia, Irma chose to stay in Washington with her parents. James’ next posting was at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where there was an excellent library and as you might suspect, James was there most of his spare time while the others were partying. He then went to the Philippines in 1936 where he became concerned about the preparedness of the troops and equipment to be able to counter the Japanese expansion that was obvious. After the Philippines James came back to Washington and his family and served at the Vancouver Barracks. In 1933 a daughter was born to him and Irma and while in the Philippines he was promoted to Captain.
He next was sent to West Point as a tactics instructor. While the Germans were steamrolling Europe, the best equipment and armaments the US Army had were just copies of the Germans. It was during this period that the idea of airborne assault was borne. He next went to airborne school at Fort Benning, Georgia. After graduating he was asked to write a book about tactics used by airborne assault troops. After this book was finished, he was given promoted to Major and given command of an experimental unit. He was commander of company C of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Battalion. He next wrote a book about how airborne troops could be used to the best effect. It was finally decided that there would be an airborne division and the choice was the 82nd Infantry division at Fort Claiborne, Louisiana and the task of shaping up this unit was given to James. He was promoted to Colonel at the age of 35. James was a hard taskmaster and honed his troops into a razor sharp fighting unit known forever after as the 82nd Airborne. James insisted on having as many jumps as his troops and was always the first out the door. His creed for his field commanders was “First out the door and last in the chow line”. His troops loved him. Just before the first airborne unit graduated James decided to test them. He took them on an exercise that began at 7:00pm and they marched all night to a small town 23 miles away, fought a simulated battle all day and surrounded a simulated airfield and fought off a counter-attack, broke up the exercise at 8:00pm and headed back to the Fort via another route through thick pine forests. They went into bivouac at about 11:00pm, were awakened one hour later and continued on to the Fort arriving about daylight. In the span of 36 hours they had marched about 50 miles, fought for 12 hours, and subsisted on reserve rations. James was in the lead for this entire operation. This type operation is the signature of American Airborne units to this day.
The first combat assignment for the 82nd Airborne was the invasion of Sicily and James Gavin was the first out the door in command of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The winds at the drop zone was stiff and from an unexpected direction and scattered his troops but James was able to gather about 25 men and headed off toward the sound of battle. James also jumped on D-Day and in Belgium during Operation Market-Garden.
After the war he was instrumental in the integration of the all black 555th Parachute Infantry Regiment into the 82nd Airborne. The commander of the 555th said that James was the most color-blind commander he had ever met. He next went into the design of an “airborne cavalry” utilizing lightweight vehicles and helicopters in assault tactics. This vision was realized later in Viet Nam and honed to a razors edge in various covert and overt battles and raids by the US Airborne. James retired in 1958 as a Lieutenant General (3 stars) at the age of 51. He was soon hired by the research and development firm of Arthur D. Little, Inc. As a Vice-President and in 1960 he became President of ADL.
In 1961 President John Kennedy asked James to take a leave of absence and become the Ambassador to France. Kennedy was concerned about the deteriorating relations with France. He knew that during WWII James had met and coordinated operations with French General Charles DeGaulle, now President of France. Hiring of James as the ambassador solved the problem and relations returned to normal.
In 1962 James returned to ADL. In 1971 President Jimmie Carter considered James for the director of the CIA but chose Stansfield Turner instead. During all of this James and Irma were divorced and in 1948 he married Jean Duncan of Knoxville, Tennessee. They remained married for 42 years until his death in 1990 at the age of 83. James has written many books about combat tactics and the history of several important military encounters.
Every year on June 6 (D-Day) the James Gavin family, a group from West point, representatives of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment from Fort Bragg, NC and others gather to honor Lt. General James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin. Was he here at this place at in this time period by accident? I think not.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball or saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base.”
Dave Barry
Answer to the trivia question as to which Spanish explorer/conquistador that died in 1542 and was buried at night in the Mississippi River. It was Hernando DeSoto. The reason he was buried in the river at night is that he had convinced the native Americans that he and his troops were Gods and even the native Americans knew that Gods don't die. He wanted to be buried in secret to maintain the mystique. The best guess as to where he was buried is the west bank across from Memphis.
Trivia question:
What perennial All-Pro NFL defensive lineman (now deceased) never played a minute of college football?
Last Thursday over in Rock Hill, SC 33 Year old Josh Grose was driving through a construction zone and knocked over a few construction cones. Several people called the cops and said that Josh “appeared to dancing” in his Toyota pickup. The cops searched and found Josh's truck half into and half out of a convienence store parking lot with Josh inside reaching into the beer cooler. Also in his car they found an open bottle of Wild Turkey, an open bottle of Bacardi rum, an untouched six-pack of Bud Lite and several empty beer cans all on the passenger side floor board. Josh was charged with reckless driving, DUI and open container. The worst sin of all is he was charged with attempting to tap dance to “Sixty Minute Man”. He refused a Breathalyzer test.
Last Thursday a 20 year old woman was speeding in her car down one of the main streets in Columbia, SC. A marked city cop car gave chase and she stopped only because of traffic. When the traffic cleared she took off again and once again had to stop because of traffic. A cop came up and ordered out of the car but she refused and locked her doors while yelling that she was late for class. The University of South Carolina is very near downtown Columbia. The traffic cleared once again and she took off striking a police car and a cop in the process. The next time she stopped the cops gave her one more chance to get out and she refused. That was a bad move because the cops went to her car and broke out both of her front windows and snatched her young ass out of there. Needless to say, she is in the joint...and will be late for class.
As most of y'all know, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell took no prisoners when dealing with the New Orleans Saints and their “bounty” program. It was found that the Saints defensive coordinator, Glenn Williams, had established a program whereby if any of his defensive players knocked a member of the opposition out of the game they would receive a bonus. Goodell found out about this travesty and sent a letter to the Saints telling to knock that sh-t off. The head coach Sean Payton and Glenn Williams, among others, ignored the letter and Goodell found out that they had not discontinued the practice and came after them. Head coach Payton was suspended for the entire next season which cost him about $5.8 million, Glenn Williams was suspended indefinitely. The general manager was suspended for 8 games (half of the season) and the Saints organization was fined $500,000. Goodell is not done yet...he has not yet addressed the Saints players that took the bonuses. It is ugly...but necessary. The Saints had this program in effect for the last two years, at least. Not any more. My eldest is in mourning.
This date in history March 26
1776 The Provincial Government of South Carolina declared their independence from Great Britain, adopted a new constitution and renamed itself the General Assembly of South Carolina. They elected John Rutledge as president, Henry Laurens as Vice-President and William Drayton as Chief Justice. This was four months before the Continental Congress declared independence for the entire Colonies on July 4. During the next two years John Rutledge had near dictatorial powers in South Carolina and the others decided a change was needed. In 1778 changes were proposed to the State constitution that Rutledge was opposed to and he resigned. Rawlins Lowndes took over a Governor and instituted the changes Rutledge found objectionable. The changes took veto powers from the President and made it a law that state senators were to be elected in a general election. It also changed the office of the state President to a governorship. In spite of all of this, in 1779 Rutledge was re-elected only this time he would not be President but a Governor with a lot less power than before. It was Drayton that drafted the state constitution that gave Rutledge such heart burn. Drayton went on to serve in the Continental Congress and died in Philadelphia at the age of 37 in 1779. Rutledge lost most of his wealth when the British captured Charleston earlier but lived to see a new century and died in 1800. Henry Laurens was elected to the Continental Congress and in 1780 was sent on a diplomatic mission to Holland but was captured by the British and was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he served 15 months and was released. He came back to America and spent the rest of his years on his plantation where he died in 1792. I have visited Rutledge's grave site at St. Michael's church in Charleston.
1987 On this date the Philadelphia police are called to a rundown house owned by one Gary Heidnik. In the basement they find a den of horrors. There were two women chained to the wall, one woman at the bottom of a deep pit. There was a fourth but she was the one that had escaped and called the cops. Hiednik had been a mental patient in the past but had made his self wealthy on the stock market. He did not pay any income tax because he had declared himself a Bishop of his own church, The Church of God’s Ministries. It was in 1986 that Heidnik had decided to have a harem and began gathering women off the streets of Philadelphia. He killed one woman by throwing her into the pit, filling it with water and then throwing in an operating electric fan. He killed another by chaining her to the wall and letting her starve to death. The grisliest of all was when he killed another woman, dismembered her and cooked and fed her to the others. Needless to say, Heidnik was tried and convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed in July of 1999. This jackass was able to live 12 years after committing these abominations. It ain’t right, y’all. It just ain’t right.
1997 The San Diego police are called to a fancy mansion in the Rancho Santa Fe area. They find 39 corpses all in a very peaceful and serene positions. The police cannot find blood anywhere and it appears that all have committed suicide by mixing a deadly cocktail of Phenobarbital and vodka. There were 21 women and 19 men. The head of this cult was a strange looking critter named Marshall Applewhite. The basis for Heaven’s gate was to absolve yourself of all earthly possessions, give whatever money you can get for it and give it to the Heaven’s Gate organization and then hang around for God to send a space ship to take you to heaven in a spiritual form. Then the unexpected happens. The Hale-Bopp comet shows up in spectacular fashion. Applewhite takes this as a sign from God and believed the space ship is hidden in the tail of the comet. He decides that it would be prudent to assume the spiritual form when the comet makes its closest pass to earth. I am not saying that the Heaven’s Gate faithful are not sitting aboard a starship as we speak, nor am I denying the turning of the Nile River into blood, nor water into wine nor the parting of the Red Sea because all the above require a leap of faith. It just depends upon what you choose to believe, and it doesn’t have to be logical. What I don’t get is if they are in a spiritual form why do they need a piece of hardware like a space ship. Did I mention Jim Jones and David Koresh?
1832 On this date the American Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor launched its newest device to capture even more of the North American fur trade. It is the riverboat Yellowstone. Astor had the boat built in New Orleans to have a shallow draft but yet be maneuverable. The boat departed Saint Louis on this date and headed up the Missouri River to the American Fur Company trading post at the intersection of the Missouri and the Yellowstone rivers. The trading post was name Fort Union and was nearly the only successful fur trading fort in the American west. Astor’s fur company was so huge that they could undercut or absorb any and all of their competition. Normally, the furs were brought down river to Saint Louis by small 12 man skiffs with them fighting off the Mandan and Blackfoot Indians most of the way. The Indians would not attack a vessel the size of the Yellowstone so the American Fur Company could transport their furs carrying many times over what the competition could carry and did not have to fool with the pesky Blackfoot. After the Astor family became enormously rich, the need for furs faded and the Yellowstone faded from memory also.
Born today:
1874 American poet Robert Frost. He said “Home is the place where, when you go there, they must take you in.” It is a comforting thought isn’t it.
1904 US writer Joseph Campbell. He said “Computers are like Old Testament gods: lots of rules and no mercy.” I’ve been there as most of us have.
1911 US writer Tennessee Williams. He said of Truman Capote. “I have always said that Truman’s voice is so high it could only be heard by a bat.” Truman was aflame, y’all.
1914 US General William Westmoreland. He said “The military doesn’t start wars, politicians start wars.” Good advise, General.
1942 US writer Erica Jong. She said “It is often that you see a smart man with a dumb woman, but it is rare that you see a smart woman with a dumb man.” Hey my daughters, pay attention to this. Erica says this because dumb men are so rare.
1944 US singer Dianna Ross. She said “Hair is always important.” To whom, Dianna, to whom?
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball or saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base.”
Dave Barry
Answer to the trivia question as to which Spanish explorer/conquistador that died in 1542 and was buried at night in the Mississippi River. It was Hernando DeSoto. The reason he was buried in the river at night is that he had convinced the native Americans that he and his troops were Gods and even the native Americans knew that Gods don't die. He wanted to be buried in secret to maintain the mystique. The best guess as to where he was buried is the west bank across from Memphis.
Trivia question:
What perennial All-Pro NFL defensive lineman (now deceased) never played a minute of college football?
Last Thursday over in Rock Hill, SC 33 Year old Josh Grose was driving through a construction zone and knocked over a few construction cones. Several people called the cops and said that Josh “appeared to dancing” in his Toyota pickup. The cops searched and found Josh's truck half into and half out of a convienence store parking lot with Josh inside reaching into the beer cooler. Also in his car they found an open bottle of Wild Turkey, an open bottle of Bacardi rum, an untouched six-pack of Bud Lite and several empty beer cans all on the passenger side floor board. Josh was charged with reckless driving, DUI and open container. The worst sin of all is he was charged with attempting to tap dance to “Sixty Minute Man”. He refused a Breathalyzer test.
Last Thursday a 20 year old woman was speeding in her car down one of the main streets in Columbia, SC. A marked city cop car gave chase and she stopped only because of traffic. When the traffic cleared she took off again and once again had to stop because of traffic. A cop came up and ordered out of the car but she refused and locked her doors while yelling that she was late for class. The University of South Carolina is very near downtown Columbia. The traffic cleared once again and she took off striking a police car and a cop in the process. The next time she stopped the cops gave her one more chance to get out and she refused. That was a bad move because the cops went to her car and broke out both of her front windows and snatched her young ass out of there. Needless to say, she is in the joint...and will be late for class.
As most of y'all know, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell took no prisoners when dealing with the New Orleans Saints and their “bounty” program. It was found that the Saints defensive coordinator, Glenn Williams, had established a program whereby if any of his defensive players knocked a member of the opposition out of the game they would receive a bonus. Goodell found out about this travesty and sent a letter to the Saints telling to knock that sh-t off. The head coach Sean Payton and Glenn Williams, among others, ignored the letter and Goodell found out that they had not discontinued the practice and came after them. Head coach Payton was suspended for the entire next season which cost him about $5.8 million, Glenn Williams was suspended indefinitely. The general manager was suspended for 8 games (half of the season) and the Saints organization was fined $500,000. Goodell is not done yet...he has not yet addressed the Saints players that took the bonuses. It is ugly...but necessary. The Saints had this program in effect for the last two years, at least. Not any more. My eldest is in mourning.
This date in history March 26
1776 The Provincial Government of South Carolina declared their independence from Great Britain, adopted a new constitution and renamed itself the General Assembly of South Carolina. They elected John Rutledge as president, Henry Laurens as Vice-President and William Drayton as Chief Justice. This was four months before the Continental Congress declared independence for the entire Colonies on July 4. During the next two years John Rutledge had near dictatorial powers in South Carolina and the others decided a change was needed. In 1778 changes were proposed to the State constitution that Rutledge was opposed to and he resigned. Rawlins Lowndes took over a Governor and instituted the changes Rutledge found objectionable. The changes took veto powers from the President and made it a law that state senators were to be elected in a general election. It also changed the office of the state President to a governorship. In spite of all of this, in 1779 Rutledge was re-elected only this time he would not be President but a Governor with a lot less power than before. It was Drayton that drafted the state constitution that gave Rutledge such heart burn. Drayton went on to serve in the Continental Congress and died in Philadelphia at the age of 37 in 1779. Rutledge lost most of his wealth when the British captured Charleston earlier but lived to see a new century and died in 1800. Henry Laurens was elected to the Continental Congress and in 1780 was sent on a diplomatic mission to Holland but was captured by the British and was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he served 15 months and was released. He came back to America and spent the rest of his years on his plantation where he died in 1792. I have visited Rutledge's grave site at St. Michael's church in Charleston.
1987 On this date the Philadelphia police are called to a rundown house owned by one Gary Heidnik. In the basement they find a den of horrors. There were two women chained to the wall, one woman at the bottom of a deep pit. There was a fourth but she was the one that had escaped and called the cops. Hiednik had been a mental patient in the past but had made his self wealthy on the stock market. He did not pay any income tax because he had declared himself a Bishop of his own church, The Church of God’s Ministries. It was in 1986 that Heidnik had decided to have a harem and began gathering women off the streets of Philadelphia. He killed one woman by throwing her into the pit, filling it with water and then throwing in an operating electric fan. He killed another by chaining her to the wall and letting her starve to death. The grisliest of all was when he killed another woman, dismembered her and cooked and fed her to the others. Needless to say, Heidnik was tried and convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed in July of 1999. This jackass was able to live 12 years after committing these abominations. It ain’t right, y’all. It just ain’t right.
1997 The San Diego police are called to a fancy mansion in the Rancho Santa Fe area. They find 39 corpses all in a very peaceful and serene positions. The police cannot find blood anywhere and it appears that all have committed suicide by mixing a deadly cocktail of Phenobarbital and vodka. There were 21 women and 19 men. The head of this cult was a strange looking critter named Marshall Applewhite. The basis for Heaven’s gate was to absolve yourself of all earthly possessions, give whatever money you can get for it and give it to the Heaven’s Gate organization and then hang around for God to send a space ship to take you to heaven in a spiritual form. Then the unexpected happens. The Hale-Bopp comet shows up in spectacular fashion. Applewhite takes this as a sign from God and believed the space ship is hidden in the tail of the comet. He decides that it would be prudent to assume the spiritual form when the comet makes its closest pass to earth. I am not saying that the Heaven’s Gate faithful are not sitting aboard a starship as we speak, nor am I denying the turning of the Nile River into blood, nor water into wine nor the parting of the Red Sea because all the above require a leap of faith. It just depends upon what you choose to believe, and it doesn’t have to be logical. What I don’t get is if they are in a spiritual form why do they need a piece of hardware like a space ship. Did I mention Jim Jones and David Koresh?
1832 On this date the American Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor launched its newest device to capture even more of the North American fur trade. It is the riverboat Yellowstone. Astor had the boat built in New Orleans to have a shallow draft but yet be maneuverable. The boat departed Saint Louis on this date and headed up the Missouri River to the American Fur Company trading post at the intersection of the Missouri and the Yellowstone rivers. The trading post was name Fort Union and was nearly the only successful fur trading fort in the American west. Astor’s fur company was so huge that they could undercut or absorb any and all of their competition. Normally, the furs were brought down river to Saint Louis by small 12 man skiffs with them fighting off the Mandan and Blackfoot Indians most of the way. The Indians would not attack a vessel the size of the Yellowstone so the American Fur Company could transport their furs carrying many times over what the competition could carry and did not have to fool with the pesky Blackfoot. After the Astor family became enormously rich, the need for furs faded and the Yellowstone faded from memory also.
Born today:
1874 American poet Robert Frost. He said “Home is the place where, when you go there, they must take you in.” It is a comforting thought isn’t it.
1904 US writer Joseph Campbell. He said “Computers are like Old Testament gods: lots of rules and no mercy.” I’ve been there as most of us have.
1911 US writer Tennessee Williams. He said of Truman Capote. “I have always said that Truman’s voice is so high it could only be heard by a bat.” Truman was aflame, y’all.
1914 US General William Westmoreland. He said “The military doesn’t start wars, politicians start wars.” Good advise, General.
1942 US writer Erica Jong. She said “It is often that you see a smart man with a dumb woman, but it is rare that you see a smart woman with a dumb man.” Hey my daughters, pay attention to this. Erica says this because dumb men are so rare.
1944 US singer Dianna Ross. She said “Hair is always important.” To whom, Dianna, to whom?
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Good morning,
Quote of the day:
“Thou beeth what thou seemeth,” Meaning you are what you appear to be.
Some guy sitting at the bar in Don Julio's
At one point in my life while I was in the US Air Force I was chosen to teach a class on “Surviving a Nuclear Attack”. After reading the supplied material I determined that I am not sure that I want to survive a nuclear attack. The “half-life” of weapons grade U-235 Uranium or U-238 Plutonium is several lifetimes...on the average is 24,100 years “Half-life” is the time it takes for the radioactive material to decrease in toxicity by one half. If PU-239 or PU-240 is engineered then the half life is over a billion years, y'all. Our Ameican nuclear engineers have already created weapons grade nuclear cores called Americium and Curium. These scorpions in a bottle are capable of producing a “yieId” equal to weapons grade Uranium and Plutonium at half the volume. In case of full scale retaliatory strikes world wide with these beasts, the atmosphere would be so toxic that it would be unbreathable for centuries upon centuries. If the minutest amount of the dust is ingested through the mouth or nose it is curtains, sooner or later. That is a possibility in Japan. At the most severely damaged nuclear power plant in Japan that has four reactors, three have experienced explosions and the leakage of radioactive material. The difference is that the fuel used in nuclear power plants are far less toxic that weapons grade Uranium or Plutonium, et al. There is a scale used to quantify the severity of a nuclear accident and leakage into the ground water or atmosphere. Three Mile Island was rated a number 3, Chernobyl was rank a number 7 (the most severe ranking). The accident in Japan is a number 6. This means that the area around those reactors will be uninhabitable for at least 30 years for a radius of at least 20 miles. After the Chernobyl explosion and resulting fire, the building was so radioactive that there were no safety suits available that would protect the firemen enough to save their lives but the fire had to be extinguished. The Ukrainian officials told any volunteer firemen that went into that inferno that they would surely die from radiation poisoning but their families would receive unlimited care for the rest of their lives. Enough firemen volunteered and the fire was indeed extinguished. Three months later all the volunteer firemen were dead. That, my friends, is grace under fire.
Up in Sharon, SC a 53 year woman did not show up for work and her fellow workers sent someone to her house that she shared with her 47 year old boyfriend for seven years. The doors were locked and no one answered their yells and knocks so they forced their way in. They found both of them sitting on the couch dead as fried chicken with a bullet to the brain. The cops determined that the man capped the woman and turned the weapon on himself. How can things get so bad that a murder/suicide appears to be the only answer? My philosophy is that life is a smorgasbord, try to take a little taste of it all.
This date in history March 16
1751 On this date future president James Madison is born on a Virginia plantation. James led a privileged childhood and attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and graduated after only two years. After college in 1771 Madison returned home very ill and it took him until 1776 to sufficiently recover to return to politics where he became a member of the Virginia legislature. James was a drafter of the United States Constitution and was a chronicler of the Constitutional Convention. His notes of the Convention are the most accurate of any records of that immortal meeting. But Madison forbade any of his notes to be made public until all those in attendance had died. It was he, John Jay and Thomas Jefferson that authored The Federalist Papers which foster the idea of a larger government being better capable of the protection of individual rights. The most important of these was Federalist Paper #10 authored by Madison alone. James married Dolley Payne Todd who proved to be one of the finest hosts in Washington of all time. While James Madison was Secretary of State under the widowed Thomas Jefferson, it was Dolley that arranged and hosted the White House frivolities in behalf of Jefferson. After resigning from public office he became rector for Thomas Jefferson’s beloved University of Virginia. Later on he became the president of Virginia State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. The college eventually became James Madison University. Madison was yet another man that showed up at the right place in the right time in history with the right skills and determination to contribute to the success of this great experiment in freedom known as the United States of America. We need many more men/women of this caliber.
1985 On this date Associated Press Beirut bureau chief is kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon. American journalist Terry Anderson was leaving his hotel when he was whisked into a waiting car, blindfolded and taken to the basement of a destroyed house in southern Beirut where other western journalists were being held. Terry stayed in different houses in Beirut until November 2, 1991 when he was released by his Hezbollah captors, meaning 2,455 days wearing a blindfold the whole time. No one to this day knows to what end these journalists were captured. What the hell did Hezbollah want from these journalists and/or their employers? Israel and the other free nations are supposed to negotiate with these jackasses. Negotiate what? They never really said what they wanted in exchange for the journalists. By the way, Terry was one of a very few that got away from these hyenas. The greatest majority were assumed killed and were never seen again. After being released Anderson sued Iran and received several million dollars in recompense. In 2002 wrote a book about his captivity named “Den of Lions.” He ran for Senator from Ohio but was defeated.
1881 On this date on of the most famous gigolos in Los Angeles, California is found shot to death through the right eye. Francisco “Chico” Forster was the most eligible bachelor in the Los Angeles area when he happened into the pool hall owned by Jose Abarta. Jose’s daughter Lastania was singing there. Chico was smitten by this raven haired Latino beauty and began to pay her much attention. On March 14 Lastania was invited to sing at a party given in honor of the outgoing Governor of California, Pio Pico the last Mexican Governor of California. Chico’s father had just tricked a huge chunk of land near San Diego from the unfortunate Pio. In one of her songs, Lastania made fun of Pio and the stupid land deal he made with Chico’s father. Bad feelings began to surface so Chico and Lastania left and went to a fancy hotel. As men will do on occasion, Chico told Lastania that he would marry her if she would have sex with him. Lastania agreed. Afterward Chico left saying he was going to get a ring and a Padre to marry them. As you might guess, he never showed up again so Lastania and her sister hit the road looking for Chico. They found him at a horse track and gathered up his young ass, put him in a carriage and the three head for a preacher. At one point Chico jumped out of the carriage and began walking away. Lastania is right behind and tells him to stop because she has a gun. Chico turns around and sure enough, she has a revolver pointed at this head. Chico says “You aren’t going to shoot.......“ Lastania put a .38 caliber bullet through Chico’s right eye killing him instantly. At the trial, Lastania’s lawyer was able to convince the jury that Lastania was in “her time of the month” and as everyone knows, a woman’s blood flow is disrupted during this time and the blood in Lastania’s brain was clogged and she wasn’t thinking clearly. The jury bought it and Lastania was released and immediately disappeared. All you guys out there keep this in mind if some woman promises marriage if you will sleep with them, and if betrayed, you cannot shoot them and use a defense of it was my “time of the month”.
1903 One of the most colorful characters in the history of the American west died. It was Judge Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas. He was the self proclaimed “Law West of the Pecos.” Bean was born somewhere in Kentucky in the 1820’s. In 1847 he and his brother Sam left home and went to Mexico and lived a rogue’s life until he got into an argument with another man and ended up killing him. This forced Bean out of Mexico and he ended up in San Diego. As usual, Bean got into a fight in a bar and ended up killing anther man so he had to skedaddle out of there and ended up in Los Angeles. He got into a fight with a Mexican General over a woman and shot and killed the General. The General had a lot of friends and they took Bean to the closest tree and strung him up. The woman who he had the fight over ran to his rescue and cut him down in the nick of time. He carried the scars from that rope for the rest of his life. Bean decided that California just ain’t the place to be and he moved out into the wilds of New Mexico and Texas. For about 16 years he was a prosperous and legitimate business man in San Antonio. In 1882 he moved to southwest Texas and built his famous bar “Jersey Lilly”. Eventually he founded the town of Langtry, Texas named after the actress Lilly Langtry as was his bar. Bean became a justice of the peace in Langtry and was famous for dispensing justice using common sense rather that the letter of the law. He once fined a dead man for carrying a concealed weapon. But on the down side when a man shot a Chinese rail worker, Bean let him go saying that he could find no law against shooting a Chinaman. Bean fell ill and died in November of 1903, just 10 months before the real Lilly Langtry came by for a visit to his famous saloon.
Born today:
1751 American President James Madison. He said “The truth is that all men of power should be mistrusted.” Right on, James. I learned my lesson with Richard Nixon.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
Quote of the day:
“Thou beeth what thou seemeth,” Meaning you are what you appear to be.
Some guy sitting at the bar in Don Julio's
At one point in my life while I was in the US Air Force I was chosen to teach a class on “Surviving a Nuclear Attack”. After reading the supplied material I determined that I am not sure that I want to survive a nuclear attack. The “half-life” of weapons grade U-235 Uranium or U-238 Plutonium is several lifetimes...on the average is 24,100 years “Half-life” is the time it takes for the radioactive material to decrease in toxicity by one half. If PU-239 or PU-240 is engineered then the half life is over a billion years, y'all. Our Ameican nuclear engineers have already created weapons grade nuclear cores called Americium and Curium. These scorpions in a bottle are capable of producing a “yieId” equal to weapons grade Uranium and Plutonium at half the volume. In case of full scale retaliatory strikes world wide with these beasts, the atmosphere would be so toxic that it would be unbreathable for centuries upon centuries. If the minutest amount of the dust is ingested through the mouth or nose it is curtains, sooner or later. That is a possibility in Japan. At the most severely damaged nuclear power plant in Japan that has four reactors, three have experienced explosions and the leakage of radioactive material. The difference is that the fuel used in nuclear power plants are far less toxic that weapons grade Uranium or Plutonium, et al. There is a scale used to quantify the severity of a nuclear accident and leakage into the ground water or atmosphere. Three Mile Island was rated a number 3, Chernobyl was rank a number 7 (the most severe ranking). The accident in Japan is a number 6. This means that the area around those reactors will be uninhabitable for at least 30 years for a radius of at least 20 miles. After the Chernobyl explosion and resulting fire, the building was so radioactive that there were no safety suits available that would protect the firemen enough to save their lives but the fire had to be extinguished. The Ukrainian officials told any volunteer firemen that went into that inferno that they would surely die from radiation poisoning but their families would receive unlimited care for the rest of their lives. Enough firemen volunteered and the fire was indeed extinguished. Three months later all the volunteer firemen were dead. That, my friends, is grace under fire.
Up in Sharon, SC a 53 year woman did not show up for work and her fellow workers sent someone to her house that she shared with her 47 year old boyfriend for seven years. The doors were locked and no one answered their yells and knocks so they forced their way in. They found both of them sitting on the couch dead as fried chicken with a bullet to the brain. The cops determined that the man capped the woman and turned the weapon on himself. How can things get so bad that a murder/suicide appears to be the only answer? My philosophy is that life is a smorgasbord, try to take a little taste of it all.
This date in history March 16
1751 On this date future president James Madison is born on a Virginia plantation. James led a privileged childhood and attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and graduated after only two years. After college in 1771 Madison returned home very ill and it took him until 1776 to sufficiently recover to return to politics where he became a member of the Virginia legislature. James was a drafter of the United States Constitution and was a chronicler of the Constitutional Convention. His notes of the Convention are the most accurate of any records of that immortal meeting. But Madison forbade any of his notes to be made public until all those in attendance had died. It was he, John Jay and Thomas Jefferson that authored The Federalist Papers which foster the idea of a larger government being better capable of the protection of individual rights. The most important of these was Federalist Paper #10 authored by Madison alone. James married Dolley Payne Todd who proved to be one of the finest hosts in Washington of all time. While James Madison was Secretary of State under the widowed Thomas Jefferson, it was Dolley that arranged and hosted the White House frivolities in behalf of Jefferson. After resigning from public office he became rector for Thomas Jefferson’s beloved University of Virginia. Later on he became the president of Virginia State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. The college eventually became James Madison University. Madison was yet another man that showed up at the right place in the right time in history with the right skills and determination to contribute to the success of this great experiment in freedom known as the United States of America. We need many more men/women of this caliber.
1985 On this date Associated Press Beirut bureau chief is kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon. American journalist Terry Anderson was leaving his hotel when he was whisked into a waiting car, blindfolded and taken to the basement of a destroyed house in southern Beirut where other western journalists were being held. Terry stayed in different houses in Beirut until November 2, 1991 when he was released by his Hezbollah captors, meaning 2,455 days wearing a blindfold the whole time. No one to this day knows to what end these journalists were captured. What the hell did Hezbollah want from these journalists and/or their employers? Israel and the other free nations are supposed to negotiate with these jackasses. Negotiate what? They never really said what they wanted in exchange for the journalists. By the way, Terry was one of a very few that got away from these hyenas. The greatest majority were assumed killed and were never seen again. After being released Anderson sued Iran and received several million dollars in recompense. In 2002 wrote a book about his captivity named “Den of Lions.” He ran for Senator from Ohio but was defeated.
1881 On this date on of the most famous gigolos in Los Angeles, California is found shot to death through the right eye. Francisco “Chico” Forster was the most eligible bachelor in the Los Angeles area when he happened into the pool hall owned by Jose Abarta. Jose’s daughter Lastania was singing there. Chico was smitten by this raven haired Latino beauty and began to pay her much attention. On March 14 Lastania was invited to sing at a party given in honor of the outgoing Governor of California, Pio Pico the last Mexican Governor of California. Chico’s father had just tricked a huge chunk of land near San Diego from the unfortunate Pio. In one of her songs, Lastania made fun of Pio and the stupid land deal he made with Chico’s father. Bad feelings began to surface so Chico and Lastania left and went to a fancy hotel. As men will do on occasion, Chico told Lastania that he would marry her if she would have sex with him. Lastania agreed. Afterward Chico left saying he was going to get a ring and a Padre to marry them. As you might guess, he never showed up again so Lastania and her sister hit the road looking for Chico. They found him at a horse track and gathered up his young ass, put him in a carriage and the three head for a preacher. At one point Chico jumped out of the carriage and began walking away. Lastania is right behind and tells him to stop because she has a gun. Chico turns around and sure enough, she has a revolver pointed at this head. Chico says “You aren’t going to shoot.......“ Lastania put a .38 caliber bullet through Chico’s right eye killing him instantly. At the trial, Lastania’s lawyer was able to convince the jury that Lastania was in “her time of the month” and as everyone knows, a woman’s blood flow is disrupted during this time and the blood in Lastania’s brain was clogged and she wasn’t thinking clearly. The jury bought it and Lastania was released and immediately disappeared. All you guys out there keep this in mind if some woman promises marriage if you will sleep with them, and if betrayed, you cannot shoot them and use a defense of it was my “time of the month”.
1903 One of the most colorful characters in the history of the American west died. It was Judge Roy Bean of Langtry, Texas. He was the self proclaimed “Law West of the Pecos.” Bean was born somewhere in Kentucky in the 1820’s. In 1847 he and his brother Sam left home and went to Mexico and lived a rogue’s life until he got into an argument with another man and ended up killing him. This forced Bean out of Mexico and he ended up in San Diego. As usual, Bean got into a fight in a bar and ended up killing anther man so he had to skedaddle out of there and ended up in Los Angeles. He got into a fight with a Mexican General over a woman and shot and killed the General. The General had a lot of friends and they took Bean to the closest tree and strung him up. The woman who he had the fight over ran to his rescue and cut him down in the nick of time. He carried the scars from that rope for the rest of his life. Bean decided that California just ain’t the place to be and he moved out into the wilds of New Mexico and Texas. For about 16 years he was a prosperous and legitimate business man in San Antonio. In 1882 he moved to southwest Texas and built his famous bar “Jersey Lilly”. Eventually he founded the town of Langtry, Texas named after the actress Lilly Langtry as was his bar. Bean became a justice of the peace in Langtry and was famous for dispensing justice using common sense rather that the letter of the law. He once fined a dead man for carrying a concealed weapon. But on the down side when a man shot a Chinese rail worker, Bean let him go saying that he could find no law against shooting a Chinaman. Bean fell ill and died in November of 1903, just 10 months before the real Lilly Langtry came by for a visit to his famous saloon.
Born today:
1751 American President James Madison. He said “The truth is that all men of power should be mistrusted.” Right on, James. I learned my lesson with Richard Nixon.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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