Good
morning,
“More
wag...less bark.”
A
recently seen bumper sticker.
I
think all of you know about someone holding up two fingers spread
apart in a “vee” shape with palm outward...but what does the same
symbol mean is the palm is turned inward? It has very old historical
significance. Answer at the end of this edition.
It
was a pretty busy time during this past weekend here in the land of
the Gamecocks...and others.
Recently
down near Anderson, SC there was a meeting involving a man 25 years
old, his father age 51 and his grandfather age 72. For reasons not
explained an argument arose between the 25 year old and the other
two. Eventually the 25 year old pulled knife and began cutting
himself and advanced toward the other two. The grandfather retrieved
a .38 special and put down the kid with one shot to the right thigh.
The cops came and arrested the kid and he went to the hospital .
The cops are waiting until he is released so they can arrest him on
an attempted murder wrap. He is very lucky. In almost every gun
school it is taught that if you have to use a firearm in defense of
your life you aim at the largest part (torso) of the other
person...there would be less chance of a miss or a non-disabling
wound. A wounded person can be a deadly as someone not wounded.
Back in the day, some people that were involved in a knife fight
would pretend one of their arms or hands was wounded when they
weren't to deceive their enemy into relaxing their defense.
Out
on the east coast of North Carolina the cops were chasing a man that
was a suspect in two armed robberies and a carjacking. A high speed
pursuit ensued but ended when the cops trapped the car with no escape
possible. The suspect chose to try and batter himself out of the
trap and damaged several cruisers. The cops finally got fed up and
one of them shot through the windshield and capped him. There comes
a time when temporary surrender is the correct path.
Last night I was browsing the Americans that helped shape our country especially Alexander Hamilton. It is believed that the law demanding that the President be native born was aimed at Hamilton by his enemies. Hamilton was born in the Bahamas. He was killed in a pistol duel with his main political adversary, Aaron Burr. Hamilton saw Burr as nothing but an opportunist and opposed him at every turn. He might have been right because when the United States bought the Louisiana Purchase Burr went to one of America's best military officers and suggested that he invade the new land, capture it and set him, Aaron Burr, up as “king”. Burr finally got fed up with Hamilton and challenged him to a duel. Dueling pistols was the weapon of choice and 10 paces (each...meaning 20 paces) was the distance. At the appointed time the men took their steps, turned and fired. The men that were there with Hamilton said that he just aimed his pistol up in the air and fired...Burr aimed and put a round in Hamilton's abdomen...he died the next day. The men that were there with Burr said that Hamilton did indeed fire at Burr but missed. We will never know what really happened.
Have
any of you ever wondered what time is? The way I see it on this
planet it is a measurement of distance. Time on the planet Earth
measures how long it takes for a rotation about its axis and its
orbit about the Sun. Why is a day 24 hours? It is because the Earth
is about 24,000 miles in circumference and the Earth is rotating on
it axis at about 1,000 MPH at the equator. I say “about” because
the rotation speed is not exactly 1,000 MPH and the revolution around
the sun is not exact...that is what leap year is all about. I was
just musing.
This
Date in History July 25
1955
On this date the impossible happens. Two ocean liners collide off
shore from Nantucket. The
Andrea Doria
was outbound and the Stockholm
was inbound to New York. As y'all may know or not know there are
definite “rules of the road” in the marine world. What ships do
when approaching at 90 degree angles, when overtaking, when
approaching head-on, etc. are set so each ships captain knows what to
expect from the other ships. The trouble here was that the navigator
on the outbound ship was navigating by radar and misinterpreted what
he saw on the screen. He thought the other ship was crossing his
path when it was going to pass to his right with plenty of clearance.
The navigator ordered a turn to the right into the path of the
Stockholm.
The bow of the Stockholm
plowed into the side of the side of the Andrea
Doria
inflicting a fatal wound. The Stockholm
was damaged but was still able to sail. The Stockholm
stayed
with the Andrea
Doria
and was responsible for the rescue of many of the passengers. Not
only that, the luxury French cruise ship the Ile
de France
that had left New York earlier, turned around and rescued many of the
passengers also. The Andrea
Doria
finally rolled on her side and slipped to the bottom. This ship is
in waters that can be reached by amateur divers and is considered the
“Mount Everest” of sport diving. But the divers are faced with
very cold water, heavy current and hundreds of Great White sharks.
Not this horse.
1963
On this date Bob Dylan performed at the Newport Jazz Festival and
a new type of music was born. Bob was able to blend jazz, folk and
rock and roll into one genre. He was born Robert Zimmerman in
Duluth, Minnesota in 1941 but he changed his name because he was an
admirer of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. While in high school he formed a
band but eventually dropped out of school to pursue his musical
career as a performer/songwriter. His life changed when he went to
New York and met folk music legend Woody Guthrie several times. It
was Woody’s semi-protest song writings that influenced Bob the
most. It was Dylan that gave us “Blowin’ in the Wind” which
was a monster hit for “Peter, Paul and Mary”. The next hit was
“Times they are A-changing” which was the keystone hit of a very
successful album. Bob Dylan has been a world recognized songwriter
for over 40 years now. He remains very secretive and reclusive when
it comes to his personal life. When was the last time y'all have
read anything scandalous about Bob Dylan? In fact, when is the last
time you read anything at all about Bob Dylan?
1853
A Mexican immigrant named Joachim Murrieta had moved to
northern California during the gold rush of 1849 and staked a claim
on the Stanislaus River. According to unsubstantiated stories
written by a San Francisco newspaper reporter, Murrieta and his
family were treated severely by the other prejudicial gold miners.
It was said that he was beaten and whipped, his wife repeatedly raped
and his children killed. Because of this, Murrieta organized a gang
of thieves and began a reign of terror throughout the gold fields of
the area. Finally the state of California got fed up and put out a
reward of $6,000 on the head of Joachim Murrieta. They also hired
professional gunman Harry Love to hunt down and bring Joachim in,
dead or alive. Harry hired 20 men to accompany him on his search.
Love finally located Joachim and his gang camped out on Cantua Creek
in Calaveras County. At sunrise Harry Love and his posse attack
Joachim and his gang of seven others and kill them all including
Joachim and his right hand man “Three fingers Jack”. As you
might suspect, Jack was missing a finger on his right hand. In order
for Harry and his men to collect the $6,000 reward they had to prove
that they had killed Joachim. Rather than bring Joachim’s body in
they decided to bring his head in instead. So they beheaded poor
Joachim, put the head in a large glass jar and fill it up with
whiskey. On this date the head of Joachim Murrieta was put on
display in Stockton, California and Harry and the boys collected the
$6,000. As a show of class, Harry had cut off the right hand of
“Three Fingers Jack” and had it dangling by a string for all to
see.
1861
On this date the US Congress passed the Crittenden-Johnson
Resolution. This document stated that the purpose of United States
fighting the Civil War was to keep unity and was not for the
abolition of slavery. John Crittenden felt that this resolution was
necessary to keep the slave-holding states of Missouri, Delaware,
Kentucky and Maryland from seceding. Even though these were “slave”
states they had not joined the Confederacy. At the beginning of the
war most northerners felt that the war was necessary for unity but
did not give a damn one way or the other when it came to the issue of
slavery. Even this attitude changed after the US armies had suffered
one ass-kicking after another including a rout at the Battle of
Manassas. Then the northern attitude was “To hell with it. Stop
the slaughter and let the Confederacy become their own country.”
Even though the resolution had good intentions, the whole meaning was
compromised two weeks later when Lincoln signed the Confiscation Act
which allowed for the seizure of the property (including slaves) from
any rebellious person. This really upset the slave owners in the
afore mentioned states and it took a lot of dancing around to stop
them from seceding.
Born today:
1902
US philosopher Eric Hoffer. He said “Passionate hatred can give
meaning and purpose to an empty life.” I guess that is the reason
that I see so many agitated people.
1905
Bulgarian writer Elias Canetti. He said “Whenever you observe
an animal closely, you feel as if a human being is inside making fun
of you.” Sometimes I think my brother’s dog “Kaylee”, a
yellow Lab is doing exactly that.
1973
Brazilian soccer star Ze Maria. He said “The pain is very
painful.” Ze, shut up.
Died today:
1834
English writer Samuel Coleridge. When speaking about a fellow
writer he said “Gibbon’s writing style is detestable, but that is
not the worst thing about him.” Sam, I like your style.
The
answer to the trivia question in the beginning of this edition is
this:
During the Hundred
Year wars the English and French armies engaged in a couple of
historical battles. They were the battles of Crecy in 1346 and
Agincourt in 1415. Both battles were fought in northern France. The
English won both of these engagements and inflicted severe damage in
the process. They did it mostly with the long bow. The English had
developed the long bow that had range of over 200 yards which was
much further than any other bow of the time. They could shower their
enemy at long range using arrows that had “bodkin” arrowheads
that could penetrate chain mail. It was a massacre at both locations
both times. The French were able to capture a few of the British
bowmen and hold them for ransom. But before releasing them they
would cut off the forefinger and middle finger of the hand used to
draw a bow so they would not have to face him again on a battlefield.
From then on the Brits will raise their forefinger and middle finger
in a “vee” shape, palm inward as a show of defiance meaning, “I
still have my fingers.”
Thanks for
listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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