Tuesday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“Men have always been able to read maps better than women. It takes a male mind to understand the concept of 1 inch equals 5 miles.”

Roseanne Barr

I received yet another treatise making fun of us southerners. I deleted it with much scorn. Here are a few of my thoughts. In spite of what is believed by many the sun does not rise in Long Island and set in Yonkers with Manhattan being the center of the universe. Anyone that automatically assumes that a person's intelligence is based upon the location of their birthplace relative to a degree of latitude is way more stupid than Junior Sample. If anyone would look into the history of this great nation they would realize that if it were not for those wild and crazy guys from the southern Appalachians taking care of business during the American Revolution we all would be speaking with an English accent. Back when I was working I was offered a job and a lot of money but the job was in New Jersey just across the river from Manhattan. I refused because I just did not want to endure the unmitigated arrogance that I have experienced in the past once my accent was detected. I had that problem when I took an engineering job in Reading, Pennsylvania. After a week or so the natives would say things like “Don't let his accent fool you, he is no dummy.” My accent? Someone's intelligence is determined by an accent? Who are the dumb-asses here? From this day on I am going to believe that anyone born north of the 74^th parallel is a dumb-ass because of where they were born. That makes sense doesn't it?

Here is the completion of the rise of Mary I as Queen of England. She did indeed marry Phillip II of Spain and soon thereafter her appetite changed, her belly began swelling and had “morning sickness” and accordingly everyone thought she was knocked up. Later on even Princess Elizabeth was called into witness the birth. But Mary was not pregnant, it was a false pregnancy and her appetite returned to normal and her belly shrank back to normal. Mary was Queen until she died in 1558, probably of uterine cancer...remember the swelling of the belly?...It happened again but this time it was fatal. This would make one think that Phillip II would become King of England and he was indeed titled as the King of England and Ireland...but there was a provision. Phillip would retain this title for as long as he was married to Mary so when she died it was all over for Phillip. Before she died, Mary named her half-sister Elizabeth as heir to the throne since there was no issue of a son by her and Phillip, in fact they had no children at all. During her five years, Mary had about 250 protestant dissidents burned at the stake. Bloody Mary indeed.

As incredible as it seems, the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was in Charleston, SC making a speech at a NAACP convention. That woman in a classy town like Charleston is like seeing a mule in the Kentucky Derby.

A while back the Carolina Panthers played the Cincinnati Bengals at home. The Bengals arrived in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. Before their arrival, Bengal wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (his maiden name was Chad Johnson) tweeted that he would spring for dinner downtown for some of his fans in Charlotte. No one knew what restaurant would be chosen so all of the fancy restaurants downtown had people standing around out front. Ochocinco showed up at the Brazilian Steakhouse (been there) on South Tryon Street and picked up the tab for 85 dinners. That, my friends, is at least $50 a plate. You do the math.

This Date in History    September 30

1955 Actor James Dean and his mechanic Rolf Wutherich are killed in a head on collision in Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder while enroute to a road race. Dean, even though only making 3 movies, became an icon of the restless generation and its convoluted lifestyle. He never could get a handle on his unbounded energy and lust for speed even trying motorcycle racing. I remember him best as Jett Rink in the movie Giant. What an amazing performance he gave us. But what made the movie especially good was that Elizabeth Taylor was co-starring. I have been in love with her for centuries. I guess he is best known for his first movie Rebel Without a Cause where he played a tortured man that is pretty much like himself. To me he seemed like a person going fast down a hill and don’t know how to stop. His death was a great loss for us all.

1930 Louis Armstrong arrived in New York to join Fletcher Henderson’s jazz orchestra as second horn. Louis had been playing in King Oliver’s band in Chicago for the previous 12 years honing his skills and now he was going to the most famous jazz ensemble in the world. Louis was immediately recognized for his ability to play solo and to harmonize with others in the brass section. He rose to be recognized worldwide; in fact he died being the most important influence in the history of jazz. A great talent and I miss him.

1938  British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime minister Eduardo Daladier meet with Hitler in Munich and sign a pact with this monster that they would not intervene when Hitler “annexed” Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain is elated that war between England and Germany had been averted even though Czechoslovakia was offered up as a sacrificial lamb. Daladier in really pissed off about it but he knew that the French army could not stand up to the German war machine and did not want to have his country destroyed. It happened anyway. The next day the German army rolled into Czechoslovakia. Shortly thereafter Germany invaded Poland and Chamberlain has to announce that England is going to war against Germany. The Germans also invade France and France capitulates without a fight. So what else is new? Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield one said “Going to war with France as an ally is like going duck hunting with an accordion.”

1962    A black man named James Meredith accompanied by U.S. Marshals tries to register at the University of Mississippi. James had previously been accepted but the acceptance was rejected once it became known that James was black. It is needless for me to say what happened next. There was day and night rioting that was subdued only by the arrival of 3,000 paratroopers from the long suffering 82^nd Airborne. Even then there was sporadic violence but James was finally admitted and began classes. James graduated with a degree in political science. After this James chose to make a march from Memphis to Jackson in protest the unequal treatment of blacks. On the second day he was shot from ambush by a sniper. He wasn’t killed but was hospitalized for long while. Other black leaders showed up and continued the march much to their own peril.

1924    Author Truman Capote is born in New Orleans. Truman was aflame but achieved much success and wealth from his writings primarily with In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s both of which were made into movies. He did not how to handle his fame very well and began a life of jet setting and party, party. Truman died at the age of 60 after a life of excesses.

  

1949   The Berlin Airlift ends. Let me tell you folks, as an ex-air traffic controller this was the greatest logistical operation ever achieved. Russia had blocked all ground accesses to West Berlin leaving those folks with no way to get anything for survival. So the allies, primarily the good old USA, began flying supplies to the beleaguered city. The Airlift began 15 months previous and those airmen flew 250,000 flights and hauled 2 million tons of supplies into West Berlin. I have seen movies on how this was done without planes running over each other. It was a miracle that there were very, very few instances of danger. After seeing that the allies could supply West Berlin indefinitely the Russian said “To hell with it” and opened the roads and rails.

1889. The state of Wyoming enacted a law that allowed women to vote and was the very first one to do so. There was a lot of speculation as to why a remote western state would be the first and the consensus of opinion was that this was a reward for the pioneer women that helped settle this wild frontier. By 1914 there was a definite pattern emerging because every state west of the Mississippi had woman suffrage and none of the states east of the Mississippi did. What’s up with that? Anyway, all is cool now.

Born today:

1207 Afghan mystic Jalal-ud-din-Rumi. He said “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” Sounds like the stock market to me.

1921 Scottish actress Deborah Kerr. She said “I came over here (Hollywood) to act, but turned out that all I had to do was be high-minded, long-suffering, white gloved, and decorative.” This girl was dynamite in two movies, From Here to Eternity and An Affair to Remember.

1924 Playwright Truman Capote. He said “Life is a moderately good play with a poorly written third act.” Truman was a notorious homosexual who died at the age of 60 probably of AIDS but he burned the candle at both ends while alive.

1931 US actress Angie Dickenson. She said “I dress for women and undress for men.” Hey Angie, you talk a lot. As the country song goes “A little less talk and a lot more action”.

               Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Monday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“Scientists have found that the drug Prozac is effective in combating the adverse effects of PMS in women, but it is not in the form of a pill. The husband injects his wife from a distance of 50 feet using a dart gun.”

                                                        Dave Barry

As y’all may or may not know late night “comedian” Stephen Colbert testified before a Congressional committee advocating the possibilities of alien migrant farm workers finding a way to become an American citizen rather than the usual route. I will venture to say that he set back that campaign several years with his inane ramblings trying to be funny which he is not. The committee was not amused nor was I. I was incensed because this jackass was born in Washington, DC but spent the majority of his formative years on James Island (near Charleston), South Carolina. I certainly do not claim him. He wears his ego like a tiara. By the way, how do we tell a Latino farm worker from a soldier in the Guadalajara drug cartel?

A while back three men in their early twenties chose to do something daring as men that age will do. They chose to jump off the Highway 17 bridge into the Ashley River west of Charleston, South Carolina. It is a drop of at least 50 feet. Two of the jumpers were able to swim to a nearby marina but the third one never showed up. It was 22 year old Jackie Washington that was missing. He apparently got caught in the current and drowned. A search was begun that evening and two days later Jackie’s corpse was located. They never said where these men were from but the famous military academy known as The Citadel is about 2 miles away.

The Mexican Consulate opened a temporary office for one day in Concord (near Charlotte) North Carolina. Their expressed purpose is to supply the illegal aliens in the community with the necessary documents to get back across the border into Mexico when/if they decided to return and would not be dealing with American documentation. It is logical that anyone entering this country illegally would not have a passport, work visa or student visa, etc. Officials from ICE and INS said that they would not have a presence. The local police and the NCHP was indeed in attendance because those citizens that are fed up with the avalanche of illegal aliens promised that they will indeed have a presence and promised a vigorous demonstration. I would like to see a show of hands that believes that Mexican documentation is all that the Consulate has in mind.

This Date in History September 29

1908 Gene Autry is born in Tioga, Texas. At a young age his family moved to Oklahoma where Gene became a railroad telegrapher. One day while sitting in the train station strumming his guitar and singing, a stranger walked up and listened for a while and suggested that he should try singing on the radio. The stranger was the world famous Will Rogers and Will told Gene he should go to New York and who to contact. Gene did not succeed in The Big Apple and came back to Oklahoma and started a radio show that ran for many years. He started a successful TV show also along with making many B Grade movies. Gene was a wise investor and became one of the wealthiest men in America. Gene went to that great ranch in the sky in 1998. By the way, his horse’s name was Champion.

1964 The Republic of North Vietnam declared that any pilot captured would be considered as a war criminal rather than prisoners of war thereby bypassing the laws of the Geneva Convention for the treatment of POW’s. Hell ensued. The first American pilot captured was Navy Lieutenant Everett Alvarez. He was captured August 5, 1964. The person spending the longest time was Green Beret Captain Floyd Thompson who was captured March 26, 1964. The American POW’s accounted for 766. The Paris Peace Accord allowed for the release of 565 military and 26 civilians. There are to this day more than 2,500 missing in action. What a freaking nightmare that was.

1864 In an attempt to break the stalemate at Petersburg, US Gen. U.S. Grant ordered US Gen. Benjamin Butler to attack the Confederate lines at a place called New Market Heights. Butler scouted the lines personally and decided on a two pronged attack led by US Gens. Ord and Birney. Both attacks failed only because the Confederates had built several trenches one behind the other so that if one trench was overrun the defenders would just move back to the next trench. The Confederate lines were bent but not broken. The US had 3,300 casualties out of 20,000 engaged and the Confederates had 2000 out of 11,000 engaged.

1862 In Louisville Ky. US Gen. Jefferson Davis (not the President of CSA) and US Gen. William Nelson got into a screaming argument in the lobby of a hotel. Nelson losses it and slaps Gen. Davis and headed upstairs. Davis followed him and pulled out a pistol and capped Nelson. Davis was never taken to trial for two reasons and that being Davis was a recognized as a superior military leader and the Governor of Indiana intervened in Davis’ behalf. The Governor was with Davis when the shot was fired. Davis went on the serve with distinction in the Chickamauga/Chattanooga campaign among others.

1748 The legendary British hero Horatio Nelson is born in Burnham Thorpe, England. If there ever was a military leader that needed to be canonized it was Nelson. Nelson joined the British Navy and went to sea as a midshipman at the age of 12 and became a Captain at the age of 20. In their seemingly unending battles with Spain and France Great Britain gave Nelson command of the 64 gun frigate HMS Agamemnon to beef up the naval forces. He immediately showed his peers his bravery and skill in naval warfare and I could spend an entire lesson on the adventures of Nelson. His life was one that would make a great novel. But briefly he won several important naval engagements that prevented Spain or France from invading England. During these battles he lost and eye and his right arm but kept his command. He had a lover who was the wife of a British diplomat along with a wife of his own. His lover’s husband Lord Hamilton allowed the tryst because of Nelson’s importance in his country. Finally he was in command of the frigate HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar where his navy crushed the French navy that was in support of Napoleon stopping him from invading England. During this battle Nelson was shot in the shoulder and chest by a French sharpshooter. Knowing he was close to death Nelson uttered the famous phrase “Thank God I have done my duty.” After he died, his body was put into a barrel of rum to preserve it while reroute back to England for a heroes burial. He was buried at the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. I have been to St. Paul’s and have seen the statue of Nelson at, you guessed it, Trafalgar Square. From that time on the rum kept aboard ships was known as “Nelson’s blood”

Born today:

1547 Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. He said “Where there is music there can be no evil.” Miguel is the author of “The Man of La Mancha” better known as Don Quixote, one of the most read and beloved creations of literature in history.

1810 English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. She said “I’ll never listen to reason. Reason means that you are listening to what someone else has to say.” Good thinking, Liz.

1889 German author Martin Heidegger. He said “Man acts if he were the shaper and master of language, when in fact language remains the master.” Hey Martin, did you say something?

1903 US actress Greer Garson. When speaking about Marlon Brando she said “Actors like him are good but I do not like people that try to communicate with their armpits.” Marlon was one of my favorites but he has gone to that great sound stage in the sky.

1935 US rock and roll pianist Jerry Lee Lewis. He said “If I go to hell, I will go playing a piano.” Jerry Lee married his 14 year old cousin at one time. A lot of people remember Jerry Lee for the song “Great Balls of Fire” but I think his rendition of Hank Williams’ “Born to Lose” is his best. It really gets to me.

1943 Polish leader Lech Welesa. He said “I must tell you that the supply of words worldwide is increasing, but it appears the demand is falling.” I agree with you, Lech.

      Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Goodbye from the land of tall pines, huge Magnolias and short politicians.

Thursday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

When told by Xerxes, the King of Persia, to surrender his weapons he said “Come and take them”.

                   Leonidas, the leader of the Spartans at Thermopylae

I have decided to do a brief essay on the different adventures of Ulysses as written by Homer in his immortal book The Odyssey. By the way. Ulysses is also known as Odysseus. He was the King of Ithaca which was a Greek island. One of his first adventures on his way home from the Trojan War was an encounter with Polyphemus. This critter was a titan, meaning he was the issue of a God and a mortal human...in addition to being very large, Polyphemus was a cyclops meaning he had only one eye and it was in the middle of his forehead. Ulysses and the crew of his ship stopped on an island looking for fresh water and food. Unfortunately, this island was where Polyphemus resided and he captured Ulysses and his crew. I forgot, Polyphemus was also a cannibal and the crew he had just captured was herded into a cave where there also was a herd of sheep. Ulysses and his crew was not the first humans to be captured as evidenced by a pile of human bones in the cave. A huge stone was rolled into the entrance of the cave blocking any exit. Ulysses was known for his guile and he knew that they would need Polyphemus to move the stone to escape. Ulysses found a long tree limb in the cave and was able to sharpen one end and hardened it with fire. He then had his crew kill some of the sheep and skin them. They covered themselves with the skins and began slowly crawling toward the entrance. Polyphemus thought his sheep wanted out to graze and pulled back the stone. Ulysses stabbed Polyphemus in the eye with the fire hardened stick blinding him and he and his crew scrambled out and escaped. They reached their ship carrying the sheep carcasses and barrels of water they stole from Polyphemus and sailed away. They were not out of the woods yet. Remember me telling y'all about Polyphemus being the offspring of a God and a mortal? The father of Polyphemus was Poseidon, the God of the Seas and he was not pleased about what Ulysses had done to his son. He made life miserable for Ulysses and crew while at sea for quite a spell. There a variations of the details of this tale dependent upon the translation but the results are the same.

This Date in History September 25

1864 CSA President Jefferson Davis traveled from Richmond to Palmetto, Georgia to visit with CSA Gen. John Bell Hood to find out why Hood’s mighty Army of Tennessee received a major ass whipping at the Battle of Atlanta. As usual when an army gets almost destroyed the military leaders start finger pointing to avoid the blame for the failure. In this case it was Hood pointing at CSA Gen. William Hardee one of his three Corp commanders. From the outset of the war it was apparent that Hardee should have had command of the Army of Tennessee but President Davis would not admit a mistake and left Hood in command. On his way back to Richmond Davis made a speech in Columbia, S.C. trying to pump up the morale of the people and mentioned that Hood “Had his eyes on farther horizons”. US Gen. William Sherman read this in the newspaper and correctly assumed that Hood was on his way back to Tennessee to try to cut Sherman’s supply lines. There was an army waiting on Hood and the Army of Tennessee was eliminated as an effective fighting group. Davis should have kept his mouth shut.

1957 Nine black students are escorted by the 101^st Airborne into Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. Previously the US Supreme Court had ruled that separate but equal schools were unconstitutional. There were some 500 blacks within Central High School’s district that expressed interest in attending Central. Through a series of interviews and mind-changing the 500 were whittled down to nine. Gov. Orville Faubus being a staunch segregationist ordered the Ark. National Guard to prevent the blacks from entering the school to avoid bloodshed. This ploy did not sit well with Federal District Court Judge Davis and Davis ordered the black kids be allowed to attend the school, National Guard not withstanding. Finally President Eisenhower had had enough of Faubus and sent in the 101^st to enforce the law. It was not until the 70’s that blacks were socially accepted and the on and off violence abated. Hatred has no limits.

1942 The damned Nazis invade and conquer Norway looking for that country’s iron ore and it being a good location to mount attacks on allied shipping to England and Russia. The government of Norway had fled and set up a government-in-exile in London. The Norwegians were not happy about this and started giving the Germans some crap. The Germans responded with setting a puppet government with a Norwegian monster named Vidkun Quisling in control. This jackass sucked up to the Germans and even sent some his fellow Norwegians to German concentration camps. To this day the word Quisling means a hated government. The Germans also set up a Gestapo headquarters in Oslo and other cities to intimidate the populous into behaving. On this day the RAF (English Air Force) bombed the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo and sent the Germans running. But it was for naught because the Gestapo came back and murdered innocent people in reprisal. I cannot express enough my hatred for the Germans and Arab terrorists. (See the last sentence in the previous paragraph) They are all pig- sucking cowards.

1897 William Faulkner was born in Oxford, Miss. Faulkner was one of the most celebrated authors in American history. His first success was his book The Sound and Fury but he made his mark being a screenwriter in giving us the movies To Have and Have Not with Humphrey Bogart starring and The Big Sleep also starring Bogie. In 1949 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature and the next year his book Collected Stories was awarded the National Book Award. He was a true talent but left us when he had a heart attack and died at the age of 55. It is interesting to note that he and his wife Estelle bought an old ante- bellum house near Oxford and refurbished it. I can see him now on the columned front porch in a cane bottomed rocker sipping a little bourbon and branch water.

1957 Little Augie Carfano is shot to death on the street in New York. Augie was a soldier in the army of mobster Meyer Lansky and was caught not giving Meyer an appropriate amount of tribute after a successful score. Meyer didn’t play, y'all. It was estimated that Meyer had accumulated over $300M by the early 70’s but even with that the Feds could never come up with enough solid evidence to can his ass. His friend Bugsy Siegel with great vision had borrowed $6M from Meyer and opened the Flamingo, first casino in Las Vegas. It was an instant success but it looked like he wasn’t interested in paying Meyer back. Bugsy came down with a 30.06 caliber headache from which he never recovered. Almost appropriately Meyer disintegrated and died from lung cancer in 1983.

1867 Cattle baron Oliver Loving died in Ft. Sumner, New Mexico of gangrene. Ollie was also a great visionary. He and his friend Charlie Goodnight decided that it was a bummer to have to drive their cattle to a rail head somewhere in Kansas where a middle man would be involved and cut into their profits. So they decided to make cattle drives from west Texas through New Mexico and on up into the burgeoning cities and towns in Colorado and sell their cattle directly to the meat houses. On their first drive they lost 400 cattle but were able to deliver about 1,600 and walked away with $12,000 in gold an enormous amount in those days. They had one major problem, the Comanche. They were not happy with these honkies passing through their lands and demanded tribute in the form of cattle. Ollie and Charlie struggled with this problem until one day about 500 Comanche caught Ollie out by himself and hacked on him a while. Ollie was able to get back to Ft. Sumner with the most severe of his wounds being one of his arms. When his arm started to fester Ollie asked the local doctor to amputate it. The doctor said that he had never done such a thing and he wasn’t going to start now. So Ollie died a few days later because a freaking doctor had no nerve. There are markers out there to this day showing the Loving-Goodnight Trail from New Mexico to Colorado. The trail was used for many years by other drovers.

Born today:

1207 Afghani mystic and poet Jalal-ud Din-Rumi. He said “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” That sounds the stock market to me.

1924 American playwright Truman Capote. He said “Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.” As with a lot of people, he got rich and partied himself to death.

1931 US actress Angie Dickenson. She said “I dress for women and undress for men.” She sure is/was a sexy woman.

Died today:

0420 Italian religious leader Saint Jerome. He said “When the stomach is full, it is easy to talk of fasting.” Jerome, you sound like a wise man but for me fasting is out of the realm of possibility.

1628 English writer Fulke Grenville. He said “No man was ever so much deceived by another as himself.” You know Fulke, I think we all are guilty of that from time to time.

1985 German actress Simone Signoret. She said “Chains do not keep a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.” That is a very profound and true statement, Simone. I guess I just ran out of thread, or never learned how to sew.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Goodbye from the land of speech slow as molasses, thought even slower...but fast women...sometimes.

Wednesday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

This quote is the type that daughter #2 appreciates:

“I organized a band named '999' megabytes'...but we never had a gig.”

                                                Woodie Paige

I am going to catch y'all up on the action after the death of Henry VIII and the discovery of a conspiracy in which Henry's son, King Edward VI was murdered. All of those that were actively involved had a fatal meeting on the lawn of the Tower of London with a big guy in a black hood toting a big ax. Henry's daughter Mary I ended up on the throne even though she was a devout Catholic. Catholics were not allowed to be King or Queen after Henry had a squabble with them and formed his own church. After Lady Jane Grey was seated on the throne and the murder of Edward came to light, the English people rose up and an army of nearly 60,000 was formed and marched on London and it was then that the beheadings took place and Mary was seated as Queen. Almost immediately the politicians leaned on Mary to take a husband so there would be a King also. The first choice was an Englishman named Courtney that Mary had known since she was a child but he did not have the approval of the politicians of power. The head of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V leaned on Mary to marry Prince Phillip of Spain. I forgot to mention that Phillip was the son Charles V, also a Spaniard. Being a devout Catholic, Mary took the word of Charles V to heart and agreed to marry Phillip and a letter of provisions was being composed to that effect. Remember the English people rising up and forming an army of 60,000? They did it again, but with only 7,000, when they found out that a Spaniard was going to become the King of England. Spain and England had been fighting since recorded history. That is as far as I am going at this point. Stay tuned.

I don’t know y’all, but this upcoming full moon apparently having an effect. Down in Batesville, South Carolina a high school band director was caught in the band room teaching a 14 year old girl on how to play his trombone, if you get my drift. He got five years in the joint. I can assure you that he will find out what playing an instrument is all about in a South Carolina slammer.

Then about 150 miles away in Boiling Springs, South Carolina a 44 year and a 42 year old woman threw a party for their students and furnished vodka and pot. The 44 year old did the nasty with anyone that would sit still for it from 11 to 15 years old. But the 42 year old used a little logic and only bedded the boys that were 17 years old or older. In this state consensual sex with anyone 17 or older is allowed meaning no statutory rape charge. However, she was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for the booze and drugs. They were both fired. We never had anything like that in my high school...dammit.

All of you may remember the Susan Smith case 15 years ago over in Union, SC. To those of you that were in a cave in Mongolia during that time and do not remember it, I will give a brief vignette. Susan fell in love with a man other than her husband. Her lover did not want children so Susan chose to strap her three and five year old boys into their car seats, then she ran the car into a nearby lake where the boys drowned. She then called the police and said that her car with the boys aboard had been carjacked while she was in a convenience store. A police dragnet was quickly began but in the span of three weeks nothing was found. Then the sheriff of Union County, Harold Wells, called a news conference and said that Susan had confessed to drowning the boys and told him where the car was. Sheriff Wells was very composed and spoke with a very professional demeanor. Later on Harold Wells was convicted of loan sharking and witness tampering. He spent 90 days in the joint and paid a fine of $3,600. His days as an honest law enforcement officer are over. In fact, his days as an honest person are over.

                      This Date in History    September 24

622AD On this date Muhammad arrived in Medina after being kicked out of Mecca. This trip is known in the Muslim world as the Hegira. In fact, the completion of this trip begins as year 1 on the Moslem calendar. Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570AD. His father died before he was born and his mother died when he was six so he went to live with his grandfather. His grandfather died when little Mohammad was 8 years old so he went to live with his uncle Abu Talib. When he was 25 years old he married a wealthy woman 15 years older than he. They had issue of six children, 2 boys and 4 girls. Both of the boys died in childbirth, however. For reasons known only to Muhammad, once in a while he would go to Mount Hira near Mecca and sleep in a cave. On one particular occasion Mohammad heard a voice saying “You are the messenger of God”. Mohammad later said that he was sure it was the archangel Gabriel that gave him the message. Anyway, Muhammad went back into Mecca and began his evangelizing with his new found faith. He leaned heavily on the rich merchants who he declared as evil for scamming the poor people for fun and profit. He also says that the religions with more than one God are of the devil, that there is only one true God. He also declares himself as the last true prophet of the Judeo-Christian religious sect. He gathered himself about 100 followers but his reputation as a trouble maker, especially to the rich merchants, has become well known and the local constabulary in Mecca came after him and his entourage. So Muhammad and the boys slipped out and make the 200 mile trip to Medina and arrived on this date. Eventually Muhammad and the people of Mecca made their peace and the people of Mecca also became followers of Muhammad. After a few years Muhammad got the nation of Islam on its feet on the entire Arabian Peninsula and the rest is history. By the way, Islam translated means “surrender to God” and Muslim means “those who have surrendered.” Also the Koran was a series of thoughts and revelations experienced by Muhammad or by others then relayed to Muhammad. Both Mecca and Medina are in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad died in June of 632 and his successors continued with the expansion of Islam...up to a point. About the year 800 a division occurred in Islam that exists today and that being the Sunnis and the Shiites. One branch insists that the leader of Islam must be a direct descendent of Muhammad and the other branch believes that the leader of Islam must be a descendent of a series of Caliphs. They have been squabbling ever since. By the way, the last provable direct descendent of Muhammad was Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran.

1776 On this date a select committee of the Continental Congress assembled to hammer out the basics of a treaty with France. We needed arms, ammunition and military expertise. France had been providing some of the above covertly already but it was proving to be insufficient. The French did not want to totally commit unless they were reasonably sure the Continentals would be successful in their separation from England. The first negotiator was Silas Deane who went to France secretly. Next came the suave and debonair Benjamin Franklin and a few others followed by a smashing victory by the Continentals over the British at the Battle of Saratoga which convinced the French to sign a formal treaty. This was hurried along when the British Navy opened fire on a French warship in international waters without a declaration of war. The signing of the treaty meant that the France had declared war on Great Britain and even though there were several years of bloodshed ahead, our ancestors knew that victory was within their grasp.

1890 After several years of squabbling between the United States and the Mormon Church, the United States finally put its foot down and stated that if the Church did not abandon the “plural marriage” belief the US would seize all the Church’s lands in the Salt Lake City area and deny them statehood which would prevent any protection of the United States Army from the hostile Indians all around them. So on this day the Church of Latter Day Saints edicts that the church no longer fosters “plural marriage” and from then on all marriages must be singular. If you read into the laws and tenets of this church you will find that the church is pretty dominate in the day in and day out operation of the individual family unit. I don’t know if that is good or bad, but there it is.

1971 On this date Game Warden Neil LeFeve showed up missing. He was a warden in the Sensiba Wildlife area of Wisconsin and was known to be as tough as nails especially with poachers. A huge search was begun and Neil’s body was found headless with several .22 caliber bullets in his torso. Soon thereafter they found his head with three .22 caliber bullet holes in the back. LeFeve was known to deal harshly with those that he had arrested; the police asked those he had previously arrested and without alibis to take lie detector tests. Even though there was a lot of grumbling all of them did except for one and that was Brian Hussong. LeFeve had recently arrested Hussong for shooting pheasant out of season. This was not the first time Hussong had been arrested for the same thing. With a court order the police obtained a phone tap on Hussong’s phone and heard him to tell his grandmother to hide all of his guns. The police immediately went to the grandmother’s house with a search warrant and found the .22 rifle used in the murder. Both Hussong and his grandmother denied the phone call but Voice Identification technology proved it was indeed both of them. Hussong was tried, convicted and sentenced to life without parole.

Born today:

1717 English writer Horace Walpole. He said “Nine tenths of the people were created so they would enjoy being with the other tenth.” Indeed, Horace.

1896 F. Scott Fitzgerald. He said “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, and then the drink takes you.” 

                             Been there, done that.

Died today:

1981 US actress Patsy Kelly. She said “I laughed from the time I got to the studio until I left at night. I sometime felt guilty for taking a paycheck. Some years I could do no wrong and some years I could do no right. I owe everything to show business, it owes me nothing.”

 

  You don’t hear that very often from the egotistical bastards of today.

1991 Theodore (Dr. Seuss) Geisal. He said “Adults are just obsolete children.”

             Yes Doc, we are.

Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Tuesday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“Enjoy when you can and endure when you must.”

Johann Von Goethe

Here in my home town a recent “letter to the editor” was published by the local mullet wrapper known as the Greenville News. Some ignorant redneck sent a letter to the paper lambasting Starbucks for publishing an item saying that they are not going to forbid anyone from entering any of their cafes bearing a weapon but request that their customers do not. This lunatic sent in a letter to the editor saying that Starbucks might as well put a sign on their doors saying “robbers welcome”. Using logic this lunatic obviously believes that if you put a sign on a front door saying “no guns allowed” it will stop any armed robberies. The bad part was that the Greenville News published this baloney. Ads and notifications in the newspapers will have no effect on crime but they published it anyway. It just shows you how anti-gun this local rag is. It is disgusting. By the way, the downtown area here has become a tourist mecca because of an increase in fancy restaurants and bars. This increase in people obviously with a few dollars in their pockets has attracted an increase in the criminal element...in fact the frequency of crime in the downtown area has doubled in 10 years. This puts a hell of a lot of pressure on the Chief of Police but there is no end in sight. The city and county councils got together and obtained an old railroad right of way and made it a jogging/biking trail that is approximately 13 miles long. Guess what happened. Rapist and muggers have shown up hiding in the bushes along the trail. If someone were to shoot one of these bastards while protecting themselves a lot of hell would be raised by the tree huggers, and the Greenville News.

A friend leaned on me for condemning Jimi Hendricks because Jimi chose to commit suicide with drugs rather than bless us with his God given talent for a longer period of time. My friend said that I should just acknowledge what contribution Jimi made and let it go at that. He is right...if just aggravates me that many, many talented people die from self inflicted wounds or fatal habits. Perhaps I should just take a pill and chill...maybe not the pill. Thanks Pete.

A few days ago I sent y’all a vignette about the Battle of Thermopylae in eastern Greece. In spite of the heroics by the Spartans, the Persians did eventually prevail and went through Greece burning, raping and pillaging. They did not prevail in the long run and here is why. It was because of two battles, one by sea and another was a land battle…here they are:

Salamis

After the defeat of the Greeks at Thermopylae, the Persian army marched almost unopposed and began the razing of many of the city-states in Greece including Athens. Earlier the Athenians began evacuating to the Salamis peninsula across the Sardonic Gulf from Athens. Following the Persian army was the Persian navy of about 750 ships. The only way for the Athenians not to be captured or cut off was to prevent the Persians from blockading Salamis. The Greeks assembled about 378 triremes (warships) to combat the 750 ships in the Persian fleet. The Persians were lured into a small estuary in a light wind with the Athenians slowly retreating. The Persians did not learn a damned thing at Marathon. The Greeks do not withdraw unless they have a mission in mind, especially if Spartans are involved. After a while the wind began to freshen and blew the Persian ships right at the Greeks. The Greeks were not interested in fighting ship-to-ship as the Persians; they use their larger and slower ships as nothing more than platforms for their infantry and catapults of “Greek fire”. Greek fire is mentioned in many manuscripts throughout the ancient world. No one knows exactly what it was but Herodotus tells us that is was probably a mixture of tar and naphtha, poured into a clay jar and set afire then launched toward the enemy by catapults. The burning tar sticks to nearly everything it touches and since all the ships were made of wood, the fire was deadly. If that didn’t work, they would throw grappling hooks to the enemy ships, pull them together and send the wild-eyed Spartan Hoplites aboard the enemy ships to take care of business with spear and sword. The Greeks knew that the winds would increase and from what direction and set up for the Persian to be blown right into their laps. The retreat was just a delaying tactic waiting on the winds to come, and come they did. The Persians finally figured out what the Greeks were up to and tried to retreat but the prevailing wind prevented it. Before the battle was joined, King Xerxes set a chair out on a bluff overlooking the battle site and watched as over 200 of his ships were destroyed or sunk. After this, Xerxes boarded one of his ships and sailed his young ass back to Persia. It is thought by many historians that this was the most important military victories in history because it prevented a Persian presence in Europe. The next major battle was a land battle...see below.

Plataea

The final defeat of the Persians

in Greece

After Salamis Persian King Xerxes returned to Persia and left his military commander Mardonius in command of a reinforced army of 300,000 to oversee their captured lands. Mardonius met with the Athenian leaders and offered them autonomous government and Persian aid in rebuilding Athens that had been partially destroyed. The Athenians refused and the destruction of Athens was completed. Athens sent emissaries to Sparta and told them what had happened and warned them against the possibility of Athens and the Persians making peace and what a threat that would be for Sparta, remembering the Peloponnesian wars between Athens and Sparta. The Spartans were reluctant at first but saw the light eventually and realized the possible threat. The Spartans and the Athenians got together once again and summoned help from the other city-states in kicking these illegal aliens out of Greece. They eventually gathered a force of 110,000 to combat the 300,000 Persians. The difference here was that 38,700 of the Greek army were Spartan Hoplites or Greek professional soldiers, recognized as the meanest and most capable warriors on the planet and this was the largest group of them ever assembled. The combined armies were commanded by the veteran Pausanias. After hearing about the consolidation of the Greeks, and especially about the Hoplites, Mardonius completed the razing of Athens and covered the rubble with earth, and then withdrew to the Asopus River where he fortified his position. The Athenians sent 8,000 and joined with a Spartan force along with many smaller city-states and established a base in hilly terrain where Persian cavalry would be ineffective. Mardonius sent a cavalry unit anyway under the command of Masistius to see if a cavalry attack was possible. He found out that the hilly terrain did indeed neutralize the cavalry. Masistius was killed early on and the rest of the cavalry retreated. Finally the two armies spread out and lined up for a massed attack. Pausanias put the Spartans on the left flank and the Athenians on the right flank with warriors from the other city-states in the middle. The Persians used heavy wooden shields while the Greeks used heavy bronze ones. At the onset of the battle the Persians unleashed a maelstrom of arrows which made the Greeks cover up and they kept this up for an extended period. Eventually the center of the Greek lines got fed up and attacked which forced the Spartans and the Athenians to attack also and they succeeded in an envelopment (surrounding) of the Persians. Once the combined forces of the Spartans and Athenians met in the middle it was all over. The slaughter was total. Out of the original 300,000 Persians, there were a group of 40,000 Persians refused to join in the battle because they did not like Mardonius’ tactics. That left 260,000 Persians actively engaged. From this number, only 43,000 Persians survived to head home. The number of casualties for the Greeks was 1,340. That’s right folks, there were over 220,000 Persian corpses left on the field. The surviving Persians were not out of the woods yet. They were picked off a few at a time all the way back to the Hellespont and on into Asia Minor. This was the end of the illegal aliens in Greece.

Quotable quotes:

“Behind every successful man there are a lot of unsuccessful years.”

Bill Brown

“Behind every man is a woman, with absolutely nothing to wear”

James Stewart

“I am not a vegetarian but I eat animals that are.”

Groucho Marx

When asked how many husbands she has had, Zsa Zsa Gabor said “You mean other than my own?”

“I have been accused of vulgarity. I say bullshit to that.”

Mel Brooks

“A study shows that men are hit by lightening four times as many times as women and it is usually after saying “I’ll call you.”

Jay Leno

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Monday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

"We are all captains of our own ships; if your ship sinks you go down with it.”

                                                           Winston Churchill

I saw J.J. Watt interviewed a few days ago. He is a monster of a man that is a defensive end for the Houston Texans. The interviewer eventually got around to all the bad news we are reading since the Ray Rice episode came to light. J. J. acknowledged that domestic violence is not to be tolerated but he also said something that I have been crowing about for years. He said that all we see in the media is bad news and scandal because it is this kind of news that sells air time, magazines and newspapers, but hundreds of players in all professional sports sponsor many, many charities and worthwhile endeavors that is never mentioned. All of us read about murder, rape, assault, robbery and many other crimes but it is rare that we read good news. It used to be that journalists like Walter Cronkite were considered to someone almost sanctified because we trusted then to tell us the WHOLE truth. In my humble opinion those days are over...it is a matter of reporting mostly, if not totally, the scandals and bad news because it is more profitable. I trust very little of the mass media because they obviously have an agenda or are in bed with the present political junta and slant the news accordingly. We all can see that to a lesser extent at the local level. OK, I am off my soap box.

By the way, the term “soapbox” came from England. There is a place called “Speakers Corner” in Hyde Park in London where people make speeches about a variety of things. In the past the person standing on the highest platform had the advantage over others and the park became cluttered with platforms of various heights and structural material . A law was passed that when making a speech in this park the platform could be no higher than 9 inches and had to be taken away after the speech. A wooden box used to transport one particular brand of soap was about 9 inches high and was in demand as a platform for the orators. It was the right dimension, strong and portable thus “Soapbox”.

Down in Litchfield Beach on the South Carolina coast the police watch a 49 year old woman taking photos of a 7 year old girl who had pulled down her pants and was bent over with her rear facing the photographer. They obtained the camera and recalled a series of similar pictures taken of the same girl. The photographer said that she was a professional and the little girl was a model. The photographer is in the joint.

Down in Mobile, Alabama a former attorney plead guilty to wire fraud. This jackass was a civil attorney and on one occasion he collected a check for over $70,000 from the sale of his client’s ex-husband’s house and put the money in his personal account, went up to Auburn and bought a diamond ring. On another occasion he settled a law suit for over $90,000 and put that in his personal account and never told his client of the settlement. He was dis-barred and will spend nearly 3 years in the joint. By the way, he spent most of the money by putting dope up his nose.

This Date in History September 22

1989 Irving Berlin died at the age of 101. What can be said that hasn’t been said already? He was a Russian immigrant and came to New York in 1893. His father died early and little Israel Balin (Irving Berlin) began trying to help his mother and his 7 siblings by doing a sidewalk entertainment show. He sang, danced, told jokes, etc. for whatever coins that were tossed his way. But later he changed his name to Irving Berlin and began writing song and plays and was soon recognized for the genius that he was. Just a few of the songs he gave us: God Bless America, Dancing Cheek to Cheek, Puttin’ on the Ritz, White Christmas, Blue Skies and many others. He was drafted during WWI and went uncomplainingly into the infantry. While in the army he wrote Oh How I hate to get up in the morning. He was a truly gifted individual.

1964 Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona is running for president against LBJ and says that if the US is not willing to go in and conquer North Vietnam it would be better if the US withdraws completely. He also recommended using low yield nuclear devices at all country borders so they would be impassable for years to come. He called LBJ a liar and said that LBJ is indeed committing the US to what is essentially a private war. LBJ and the Democrats rose up in unison and called Goldwater a bloodthirsty warmonger. Within weeks after Johnson won the election he ordered the 1^st and 5^th Marines among others into Nam and very soon there 80,000 American troops on Nam and the numbers were still climbing. Maybe LBJ was indeed lying. But I ain’t sure low yield nuclear devices are the answer either.

1862 A. Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation whereby all slaves in the states in rebellion would be freed. This essentially was a course reversal for the policy of the Lincoln Administration. The policy of the Administration at the outset of the war was that the states must remain united no matter what. After several military setbacks the Lincoln administration saw that they were losing the support of the people because of it, decided to use a moralistic basis for prosecuting the war and that be the freeing of the slaves rather than unity. The irony of all of this is that there were slave holding states not in rebellion such as Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and Missouri. What about them? Anyway, Lincoln had to have a basis for prosecuting the war other than unity. Unity as a basis wasn’t flying. The legislation banning slavery everywhere was enacted a couple of years later.

1995 Ted Turner has agreed to the buyout of Turner Broadcast System by Time Warner for a mere $7.5 Billion. 7.5 BILLION Y'ALL!!!! Oh my God, lawyers started coming out of the woodwork wanting a piece of this action including those from the Federal Trade Commission. The lawyers knew better than to screw directly with Ted because he was a notorious hard ass and would cuss you out in a heartbeat. After several years of haggling the number was cut to $6.5 Billion. I guess the bloodsucking lawyers split up the $1 Billion. Ted went to one of his ranches in Montana and hung out for a while. It is reported that Ted collectively owns enough land to equal the state of Rhode Island. You don’t screw with Ted.

1961 JFK brings the Peace Corps into existence. Originally thought to be used a weapon against Communism, it evolved into an agency to improve the education and well being of the less fortunate no matter who or where and that is what it is today.

1598 The famous poet and playwright Ben Jonson killed another man in a duel and this ain’t the first time. He killed another one in 1594 during an “affair of honor”. But a few months later his play “Every Man in His Humor” debuts and is an immediate success with William Shakespeare in the lead role. During this time, William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson were equally famous.

1554 The Spanish conquistador Coronado died never having achieved his dream of finding the Seven Cities of Gold full of precious gems as told in mythology. He was lead on an expedition to what was said to be the city but it turned out to be a small Zuni village of adobe huts. Another Indian came and said that his tribe has a city like he was looking for and off they went on yet another trek. They went through what is now Texas, Oklahoma and on into what is now Missouri. No golden cities were found. So Coronado returned to Mexico, Vera Cruz in particular. Even though he found no gold, Coronado had the sense to map the areas he went through and these maps proved to be very valuable to those that followed.

Born today:

1694 English statesman Lord Chesterfield. He said “I recommend that you take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves.” There is another adage that says take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

1791 English scientist Michael Faraday. When trying to explain the usefulness of electricity to Prime Minister Gladstone he said. “Why sir, it is likely that soon you will be able to tax it.” Hey Mike, you have no idea how accurate you were.

1927 Baseball manager Tommy Lasorda. When talking about his catcher Mike Scioscia and his speed he said “If he got into a foot race with his pregnant wife he would come in third.” That’s cold, Tommy.

1958 US rocker Joan Jett. She said “I use to stand in front of a mirror and pretend I was Janis Joplin”. Janis sang not with her voice but with her heart and soul.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

I have a songwriter friend who penned this line in one of his songs “They warned me about the wild Texas rattlesnakes, they warned me about the wild Texas rivers, but they didn’t warn me about you.” That reminds me of a girl I met in Houston.