Monday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“There are four questions of value of life…What is sacred? Of what is the soul made? What is worth living for? What is worth dying for? The only answer is love.”

                                         Johnny Depp

Shortly after I left Pensacola the Okaloosa County (next county east) Sheriff's office was called about a disturbance at a firing range up near Crestview, Fl. There was no disturbance, the caller was waiting in ambush and killed both officers that answered the call. The Okaloosa Sheriff's Office went into a frenzy looking for the shooter who was finally cornered near Ft. Walton Beach, Fl. and was killed in a shootout. The sheriff was interviewed later and the reporter said “I know you are glad this is over but why was the shooter found with 64 bullet wounds?” The sheriff said “Because we ran out of ammo.”

It appears that some of you have tired of me using excerpts from one particular book. It is the most interesting book I have ever read but the report indicates it is getting repetitive. Therefore, I am going to break my own rule and read a book of fiction and send y'all some excerpts. The book I have selected is 50 Shades of Grey. The first couple of chapters are not promising.

Here are some interesting facts...to me at least. Back in the mid 19^th century the remains of a humanoid was found in the Neander valley of Germany. From that time on these beings were known as the Neanderthal. Much study has been done of this species and it has been determined that they existed from 100,000BC to about 250,000 BC, give or take. Also found a little later was drawings in French caves along with remains of those beings that drew them. These beings were named the Cro-Magnon. Both the Neanderthal and the Cro-Magnon had the ability to speak but it is unknown if they did. These groups of beings were not related. The Cro-Magnon is our ancestors for sure and the Neanderthal for sure were NOT. Where did the Neanderthal come from and where did they go is a mystery yet resolved. All that is known is that the Neanderthal and the Cro-Magnon had a common ancestor but of different branches. The Neanderthal and the Cro-Magnon overlapped in time meaning that they may have had encounters. The skulls of both the Cro-Magnon and the Neanderthal have been restored and they are not very similar. The Neanderthal had a low sloping forehead, deep set eyed and a deep nose bridge, the Cro-Magnon had more aquiline features. It is unlikely that they interbred because they probably were repulsive to each other...and beer had not yet been invented.

This Date in History May 11

1934 On this date the phrase “Dust Bowl” in the United States came into being. The farmers in the southern plains had repeatedly plowed under the prairie grass to make room for their crops and turned their cattle loose on the range also. It was the prairie grass that held the topsoil and moisture in place but the farmers that settled on the Great Plains came from farms in the deep South or middle America where ground cover was not an issue and crop rotation was not practiced. There had been a three year long drought and on this date the mother of all dust storms occurs in the southern plains, primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico, and 350 million tons of topsoil is blown 1,500 miles to the American east coast. In fact, ships 350 miles at sea in the Atlantic found their decks covered with dirt. The combination of the drought and the dust storms that depleted the richness of the soil forced many of the farmers to pull up stakes and west to California seeking a fresh start. These immigrants were known as “Okies” no matter where they came from. Bakersfield, California became a favorite destination of the displaced farmers because of the rich agriculture in the area. They found the situation in California was nearly as bad as it was back home because of the lack work from the effects of the Great Depression. It was a dark time in the history of America.

1987 Earlier during World War II a German monster named Klaus Barbie was made head of the German Gestapo in Lyon, France. Barbie was equal to the task and had no problem with sending Jewish Frenchmen to concentration and outright death camps. He also was known as a master torturer in his own right. At the end of the war Barbie was captured by the American army but they did not turn him over to the French but hired him as an agent to gather information about the Communists. Eventually, Barbie went to Bolivia and was hired by the leftist government as a security specialist. This jackass held this job for nearly 40 years. Finally a more liberal government was elected and Barbie was handed over to the French where he went on trial for crimes against humanity. The trial began on this date and he was charged with implementing the death of 7,500 and the torture of 4,000. On one occasion he found a group of elementary school children and two teachers and sent them all to the notorious death camp of Auschwitz. In July of this year Barbie was convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment which was the most severe penalty available at the time. He died of cancer in prison in 1991 at the age of 77. He was known as “The Butcher of Lyon”. Indeed.

1944 On this date the Allied forces in Italy attack the German defenses known as the Gustav Line. This line of defense was designed by the brilliant German commander Alfred “Smiling Alfred” Kesselring. The defense was formidable and it took five days for the Allies to break through at a terrible cost. Kesselring had seen to it that any and all things that could be used to hide behind, or used a camouflage was eliminated putting the attacking forces out in the open. But the Allies prevailed due to the grit and determination of the American soldier. Thank God for our military.

Born today:

1894 US dancer Martha Graham. She said “The only sin is mediocrity.”

1927 Canadian comic Mort Sahl. He said “George Washington could not tell a lie, Richard Nixon could not tell the truth and Ronald Reagan could not tell the difference.”

1933 Black leader Louis Farrakhan. He said “Never exalt people because they are in your family, never exalt people because they are your color, never exalt people because they are your kinfolk, only exalt people because they are worthy of it.” Louis, I don’t like you but these are good words.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow