Thursday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“The cyberspace avenue is teeming with people looking for salvation or hope.”

                                      Pope Francis

Fer several years the Clemson football coach Dabo Sweeney has supported a local organization that promotes traditional family values and is vehemently opposed to same sex marriage. He is catching a hell of a lot of grief because of his support of this group in light of same sex marriage legalization being in the news . We will see how dedicated he is to his beliefs.

I may have told this tale about my blood kin before but here it is again:

Before the attack on D-Day during WWII, allied intelligence felt that there was at least two large pieces of German artillery on a cliff known as Pont Du Hoc on the French Coast. This position was perfect for the Germans to fire down the landing beaches. 225 of the 2^nd Rangers were assigned the task of destroying these guns. The only way to climb the cliff was to was to fire grappling hooks with ropes attached onto the cliff and climb up. After the first few minutes of US naval gunfire, the German knew an attack was coming and presented a formidable defense. After an enormous display of determination, courage and bloodshed the Rangers took control of the cliff. There were no guns. The Germans had moved them a few inland a few days before but the Rangers discovered them and they were destroyed. After a few days the area had been secured it was found that of the 225 Rangers that originally attacked there was only 90 still alive. One of them was my uncle Vincent. When he came back home after war he was a changed man. He was very hostile toward nearly everyone and preferred not to talk to us about his experiences but he did tell me about one. He said that he was caught out in the open during an artillery barrage and dove into a small artillery hole. Right behind him a German soldier jumped in beside him. They struggled with each other for a while but my uncle was able to grab his “boot knife” and stabbed the German in the throat killing him. We found out that after a while he had been promoted and was a platoon leader. We also found out that he had been captured and tortured for information but had escaped and rejoined his unit. He fought at the battle of Huertgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge. It was during this battle that he was captured once again and taken behind German lines and tortured for information. His platoon knew about where he was and sent a squad to retrieve him. He was indeed saved and was able to come back to the good ole USA after the war...but was deeply scarred. He went into the insurance business in Greensboro and was very successful. Later on he had a stroke that semi-paralyzed his left side but he recovered enough to resume work. After his kids were out on their on and self-sustaining, on a clear autumn day on dry road he drove headlong into a bridge abutment and was instantly killed. However, about 6 months before he had taken out an insurance policy on himself for $250,000 with a double indemnity clause in case of accidental death with his wife of many years the beneficiary...you do the math. True story y'all.

I am reading about research in New Guinea and discovered this. The size of towns and villages are determined by the amount of protein available. In New Guinea the towns and cities are a lot larger and more plentiful the closer to the coast they are. That is because there is readily available, easily obtainable and an unending supply of protein in the form of fish, shellfish, marine mammals, birds, birds eggs, etc. But further up in the mountains the towns become small villages and the further apart they become. This is because the available protein is much more scarce and harder to obtain. The remote villages average about 12 people and are several miles from another village. The villagers have determined the number of people they can feed and the amount of protein available within a days walk round trip. The were very reluctant to spend the night in the forest. Their prime source of food is the pulp of the Sago palm, wild pigs, monkeys and birds. They can exhaust the Sago palm supply and the monkeys and pigs are difficult to kill with primitive weapons. These villages have no chief. They do have a person called “big man”. This person is just acknowledged to be a very minor decision maker. His prime job is to determine the the distribution of a slain pig, any other decisions are made by the whole village. On occasion with no one in charge they will gather in a circle and those that have something to say are listened to until all talk has been heard, then a mutual decision is made. They have lived this way since before recorded history. Mother nature oversees this arrangement also. If they have too many people to feed, the intake of protein diminishes and so does the general health and some of them are more susceptible to diseases, especially Malaria, and this thins their ranks accordingly. All of this means that the people in the highlands are very interested in steel tipped weapons and firearms for a more sure kill of their prey. A wounded animal or bird that escapes does them no good. The people on the coast are far more interested in nets for obvious reasons and therefore did not seek steel tipped lances, arrows or firearms...that is until they became “civilized”.

Over in Union County, South Carolina a 16 year old boy had committed a crime and had been convicted. He was standing before a judge and a sentence was delivered. This kid went crazy as hell, broke and ran out of the courtroom but was caught by a deputy and a fist fight ensued. The kid was eventually subdued and brought back. When back in the courtroom the kid turned to judge and threatened his life using the M-F bomb. Lets do a recap at this point. He had already been convicted and sentenced for a crime and added to that is escape, striking a law enforcement officer and threatening a judge's life. How in the hell can a kid that young have such disrespect? That must come from no discipline at home. When I was 16 all I was interested in was girls, basketball, football, hanging out at Paris Mountain State Park all summer and girls...in that order.

This Date in History May 28

1521 The Spanish Armada under the command of Admiral Medina-Sedonia departed Spain headed for England with the intentions of invading, subduing, pillaging and enslaving. Fortunately for England, Sir Francis Drake had smelled out the assemblage and notified the Queen, Elizabeth I. This immortal leader ordered her entire navy to be prepared and prepared they were. The Spanish galleons were longer but lighter than the average English warship meaning they could out-maneuver the English but were a lot less capable in rough seas. Guess what happened when the Armada arrived in the English Channel. That's right, y'all, a kick-ass storm arrived and scattered the Spanish fleet and the English began picking them off one by one. The Spanish ran for cover but it was too late, the greater majority of the Spanish fleet plus over 30,000 Spanish soldiers went to the bottom. England was saved.

       Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow