Monday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quotes of the day:

“Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'”

                                      John Greenleaf Whittier

 

“Men would sleep with a bicycle if it had the right color lip gloss on. They have no shame. They are like a bull elk in an open field. They locate what they want by scent.”

                                                       Tori Amos

Last Friday a friend from the Four O' Clock Club and I was discussing US politics. He was really upset that John Boehner was resigning from the Speaker of the House and Congress in general effective October 30, 2015. My friend felt that it was because the “Tea Party” and members of the “ultra right wing” had leaned on him so heavily that he felt he was no able to gather the Republicans against the Democrats making him ineffective. He also felt that Boehner had “sacrificed his life” in the service of his country. I am not sure that “sacrificing his life” is the correct term. He and his family has had a phenomenal life with him as a professional politician and his retirement will not be drudgery. The benefits that he and his family have and will receive are light years more than the average person gets in their lifetime including me. But perhaps my friend is right. Boehner is a devout Catholic and therefore I believe he is deeply disturbed with the Planned Parenthood issue. I don't know the real reason and neither does my friend, the reason for his resignation is known only to Rep. John Boehner. I personally think that he realized that the rank and file Republican Congressmen have lost faith in he AND Mitch McConnell. He is an emotional man and has been observed several times in tears deciding the route to take on given issues. So have I...and so have all of you.

A while back a friend of mine said that he was going to start taking Karate lessons because it was getting dangerous out on the streets. I told him that instead of that he needs a course on How to Meet and Greet People given by people like Colt, Smith, Wesson, Remington, Rossi, Glock, etc…They have something that barks over here and bites over there.

A few days ago a 73 year old man in a South Carolina prison was found dead in his cell. He had been murdered. Saverio Piazzola was serving a 10 year sentence for criminal sexual conduct with a minor. In most prisons in America men that are incarcerated for sexually abusing children live short lives. I have no sympathy.

The United States delegation to the United Nations walked out on a speech given by that moron from Iran, Ahmadinejad. This jackass suggested that it was the United States that orchestrated the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center to help insure the survival of Israel. If I had been in that delegation I would not have been able to contain myself. I would had to have called him something I heard from a drunk sailor in Biloxi. It was not complimentary and very descriptive.

This Date in History September 28

1991 Trumpet virtuoso Miles Davis died at the age of 65. Miles was born to a privileged family who gave to him a good education including the renowned Julliard School of Music where Miles soared with his virtuosity. Miles was basically a jazz musician but was not restricted to that. He was not afraid to venture out into or mix different genres of music. He had a monkey on his back most of his adult life as did his roommate Charlie “Yardbird” Parker. Charlie was a gifted musician on the alto sax. Miles and Charlie played many, many sets together. If I am not mistaken, Charlie Parker died of a heroin overdose. Miles was finally able to kick the habit and produced several jazz milestone albums before going to the great trio in the sky.

1863 US Generals Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden are given the blame for the severe ass-kicking that was received at Chickamauga at the hands of CSA Gen. Braxton Bragg and CSA Gen. James Longstreet. It was the flanks held by McCook and Crittenden that were shattered by Longstreet’s Rebs resulting a panic and rout of the Union left. The Union right flank under the command of US Gen. George Thomas stayed cohesive and withdrew in an orderly manner. It was the Union overall commander US Gen. Rosecrans that did the finger pointing to take the heat off him. McCook and Crittenden were relieved and sent to the Indiana area to menial jobs. Rosecrans did not dodge the bullet and he also was relieved and the command of his army was given to US Gen. George Thomas known as “The Rock of Chickamauga.”

1066 One of the most important events the history of western man occurs on this day. William of Normandy set foot on English soil near Pevensey in Southeast England to stake his claim for the English throne. However, he wasn’t the only one who had eyes for the throne. Three days before William’s brother Tostic and King Harald III of Norway joined forces and had attacked England from Scotland but were met by King Harold of England and his army at Stamford Bridge. The English army annihilated Tostic and Harald III and their army. The destruction was total. King Harold of England was told of the landing of William at Pevensey and turned his army in that direction. He marched the 250 miles to Hastings battlefield in 29 days gathering volunteers as me went. Once there he and his army dug in on a hill to minimize any cavalry movements and awaited Williams attack. William did not disappoint and struck hard at Harold’s center. Harold was correct in assuming the hillside minimized the effect of the cavalry and the fight was mostly with infantry. A chronicler wrote that “William’s forces looked as a dancer in their movements whilst Harold’s army appeared to grow out of the ground unmoving.” A French mounted knight got through Harold’s lines and swept by and beheaded Harold with one swipe of his sword. After this the English forces scattered. Harold of England’s army was soundly defeated and William was crowned King of England the following Christmas. William got his claim to the throne by being the illegitimate son of one of the natural heirs to the English throne who had died. William was from a long line of Scandinavians meaning Vikings. His crowning marked the end of Anglo-Saxon England and the French speaking people from Normandy melded their languages into what now is modern English. William from this day on was known as William the Conqueror. I have a separate essay on William the Conqueror I think y’all would find it interesting.

Born today:

555BC Chinese philosopher Confucius. He said “Have no friends not equal to yourself”. Hey Confucius, not equal to yourself doing what?

1902 TV host Ed Sullivan. He said “If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time because a dose of joy is a spiritual thing, it transcends all barriers.” That is pretty deep thinking there Ed.

1909 US cartoonist Al Capp (Li’l Abner). He said “Young people should be helped, sheltered, ignored and clubbed if necessary.” You can’t do that any more, Al.

1972 US actress Gwyneth Paltrow. She said “Beauty to me is being comfortable in your own skin, or maybe a kick-ass red lipstick.” This girl has great lips.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow