Friday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“The world is a dangerous place not because of those that are evil; but because of those that do nothing about it.”

                                       Albert Einstein

The Republican Presidential candidate debate from Boulder was a joke. The moderators offered up nothing but absolute baloney when questioning the candidates. Trump and Cruz jumped them for this and they should have. Even a person that is on the opposite side of the political tracks said that Saturday Night Live should have waited until after the debate before casting those moderators. The questions they asked were not aimed at learning a candidate's position on issues but was intended to put them on the defensive and then bore in to embarrass them. This debacle proved without a shadow of a doubt that the present day media is not interested in the impartial distribution of facts but they are intent on pushing their own agenda. They suck...especially CNBC.

               This Date in History  October 30

1775 The Continental Congress decided that if they are going to war with England they will need more than two war ships to combat the mightiest navy in the world. So they decided to form a seven man committee headed by Esek Hopkins to do something about it. Esek and the others first start by trying to find naval commanders and crews with combat experience. This was a tall order because this young nation had never been at war before that required a navy. But they round up seven men with sailing experience including a young Scotsman named John Paul Jones. They finally rounded up seven warships in the Alfred, Columbus, Andrea Doria, Cabot, Hornet, Wasp and the Fly. These vessels were in no way the equal of even the smallest British war ship but it was a start. The plan was to use these vessels to surreptitiously board British vessels, murder the captain and most of the crew and abscond with the warship. In other words, they were to utilized open piracy to advance the strength of their country’s navy. It was soon discovered that the best at this strategy was the young Scotsman John Paul Jones. After a time the fledgling Continental Navy had increased their navy to 40 warships and toward the end of the war were able to more than hold their own against the British warships one-on-one. After the war was over in 1781 these ships were decommissioned and the Captains and crews furloughed. It was not until 1798 that it was decided that a permanent United States navy would be preferable. This was caused by the constant harassment and capture of United States merchant ships by pirates off the west coast of Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea near the North African coast, especially near the coast of Tripoli. If you listen to the Marine Corps hymn and the phrase “to the shores of Tripoli”, this is the Tripoli they are talking about. That’s right; the ubiquitous Marines went ashore and took care of business. No more pirates.

1938 Communications genius Orson Welles and distinguished actor John Houseman formed a radio program named the Mercury Radio Theater. They would put on weekly plays using guest actors and actresses. Keep in mind that Orson was still a teenager. At the beginning of the show on this date, Orson stated that everything the public heard in the following show was fiction and wished everyone a Happy Halloween. The show started with a mystery play and about five minutes into the show, a voice broke into the play and announced that he was a news reporter and was observing the following. An alien spaceship had landed on a farm in central New Jersey and was moving across the countryside vaporizing everything and everyone in sight. The US Army was on site and had nothing that could stop the space ship. It looked like it was the end of the world. He went on telling what carnage the ship was producing and how impotent the military was. People from all over the country ran out of their houses screaming for divine intervention from this apparently unstoppable foe. After about 20 minutes of this nonsense the “reporter” bade his farewell to the audience because the spaceship was nearly on top of him and the “death ray” was coming his way. After this Orson came back on the air and said that he wished that all had enjoyed the program on this Halloween and wished them a good night. Only then did America realize it was a ruse. I am a loss for words at this, after all it was Halloween. It was Adolph Hitler who said “The more preposterous the suggestion, the more likely it is to be believed.”

1735 One of the heroes of the American Revolution, John Adams, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts. Braintree is now part if Quincy, Massachusetts. He was the third son of John and Susanna Adams and was recognized at an early age as an intellectual. He attended Harvard at the age of 16 and graduated at the age of 20. For a while he worked and studied in the law firm of James Putnam and taught school at Worchester, Massachusetts. He was admitted to bar at the age of 26 and married Abigail Smith at the age of 29. Abigail was the daughter of a Weymouth, Massachusetts congregational minister. From the start of the marriage John and Abigail developed a deep trust and respect for each others thoughts and opinions and Abigail was not afraid to express hers even if it was the opposite of John’s. John and Abigail were eyewitnesses to the Battle of Bunker Hill that was fought literally in their back yard. John became a ridgepole in the support of the cause for American independence. He was never in the military but his political guidance was instrumental in the machinations of our government. It was he that brilliantly mapped out the three branches of Federal Government; Legislative, Judicial and Executive. He also saw the Legislative branch with two sections (House and Senate). This man had incredible vision and ideas that are in practice to this day. He had a problem with the Federalists party under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton who wanted a Federal Government stronger than Adams had envisioned. But that problem dissolved when Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr. It was said that Madison was an intellectual, Jefferson was the unquenchable idealist, and Franklin the most charming and versatile but is was Adams that was the most captivating of all of out founding fathers on most counts. Even though the Declaration of Independence was primarily drafted by Thomas Jefferson, Adams was among the group of people to offer help to Jefferson in the phrasing. The Declaration of Independence was introduced as a resolution to the Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee and that resolution was seconded by John Adams. After the Revolutionary War he was elected as representative to The Court of St. James in 1787. This today is known as the Ambassador to Great Britain. Adams was responsible for beginning the healing of the wounds inflicted to both sides in the Revolutionary War that had ended in 1781 and establish a friendship and rapport between the United States and England that exists to this day. Adams played a very important role in establishing the United States as a major player in the world politic, especially in Europe and Holland. The Dutch were major worldwide traders in those days and Adams saw the market for American goods being shipped on Dutch vessels as an advantage for both America and Holland. There are so many contributions that Adams made to his country, including the first Vice-President and the second President, that it would take a book to fully cover this man’s life and indeed there are many of them out there. It would be worth all of out times to read about this giant in the history of the United States.

                  Thanks for listening I can hardy wait until tomorrow

Thursday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“We all suffer hills and valleys in our lives and have to deal with them. The problem is our struggle to get to the top of the hills is overwhelmed by the avalanches into the valleys.”

                                                         Al Campbell

I made up my mind a while back that my support for our next President would have these qualifications. I am up my eyeballs in professional politicians that may or may not keep their constituents in mind in proposed legislation. It is apparently dependent upon whether or not they keep their jobs and the feathering of their nests. Not only that, in my opinion this Democratic administration is the most divisive in history. So all of this means that it will have to not be a politician nor a Democrat. That leaves me with the choices of Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson and Donald Trump. I prefer Carly because she knows how to hire a staff of experts (see Hewlett-Packard) and how to run a business. The same can be said about the bombastic Donald Trump. Carly was indeed fired as CEO but she said that when she proposed changes that would decrease the number of people on the Board of Directors they got scared for their jobs. It is agreed by all that the the US Government should be run as a business. Ben seems the most sincere but lacks the previously named assets. I think we all agree that the most dangerous pot boiler today is the turmoil in the Middle East...in my opinion Armageddon could be on the horizon if this problem is not resolved tactfully. I saw an interview with a Syrian Ambassador who was asked who was behind ISIS. He said that he believed it was a conglomeration of Israel, the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey...especially Turkey. The world will eventually have to deal with the Muslim countries that are in turmoil. As we all know, the Muslim countries do not hold women in very high esteem...that one fact gives me pause about Carly and especially Hillary. But on the other hand we cannot let other religious and tribal law dictate who our President will be. After all Israel survived with Golda Meir as Prime Minister and England with Margaret Thatcher. Both countries were challenged militarily during their terms in office primarily because it was believed that women were not as tough as men. They were wrong. I am still weighing all of this...you should too.

I am back to the textbook on the history of the Comanche. For over 80 years these guys were recognized as the finest light cavalry in the world. They were aboard fiery Spanish ponies that had escaped the Spanish conquistadors and ran wild and bred for a couple of centuries. The Comanche were the first to capture and train them. Both the Comanche riders and the ponies could last longer without rest, food and water than anyone chasing them. The ponies were in great demand to the other plains tribes for running down bison. Eventually the Comanche realized that if they were going to expand their influence they needed firearms and metal tipped axes, lances and arrows, etc. They decided that the answer was kidnapping people, especially the Spanish and the Apache. Why them? They had horses. The would kidnap these people and hold them as hostages and trade them back for at least three horses per person. They would take the extra horses and trade them to the illegal gun runners for firearms and metal tools. In many cases they would take the extra horses and trade them to the other plains tribes for bead work, gold and silver and use that as currency. Eventually the US cavalry entered the picture and they needed horses also and business boomed because the horse ranchers and illegal gun runners needed even more horses to sell to the US cavalry. But finally the US cavalry began indiscriminate slaughter of the plains tribes. In a stunning display of logic, these tribes determined that there were more members of their tribe that were dying or disappearing than were being born and if that continued they would be annihilated. They decided that they needed replacements for their women and children that were murdered or died from the white man's diseases. The plains tribes felt that if the honkies were responsible for the death or disappearance of their women and children then the honkies should be responsible for replacing them and the human slavery business increased exponentially for the Comanche. The beginning of the end for the Comanche came when the US Cavalry ceased trying to track down the warriors and began a wholesale slaughter of horses wherever they found them. Without horses the Comanche had nothing to trade and no way to run down bison. The tribes as a whole did not believe that anyone would indiscriminately try to annihilate animals just to subdue other human beings. They were wrong.

This Date in History October 29

1777 After a prolonged illness, John Hancock resigned as president of the Continental Congress. Hancock is famous for his large and flowing signature on the monumental Declaration of Independence that was signed on July 4, 1776. He was present in one capacity or another at nearly every important document signing in this country’s fight for independence. He was a very wealthy man and had much to lose if the rebellion had failed. After resigning he went back home to Massachusetts and started his recovery from his illness. By 1780 he had recovered enough to run for the Governor of Massachusetts which he easily won. He served for five years and then refused to run again in 1785 and went back to his home. Two years later in 1787 he ran for the Governorship again and won. He served in this capacity until his death in 1793. His tenures as Governor of Massachusetts proved this man’s great leadership and administrative skills. Not only that, he was a feisty devil and the British knew it and had a bounty on him. After signing the Declaration of Independence, Hancock said about his signature, “Now the British can read it without their spectacles, their bounty be damned.” I like his attitude.

1901 The assassin of US President William McKinley is executed in the electric chair. Leon Czolgosz went to meet his maker medium rare courtesy of the electric chair. Leon was in a receiving line waiting to shake the hand of President McKinley at the World’s Fair. When it came Leon’s turn, he had a handkerchief tied around his right hand hiding a small revolver. McKinley thinking that Leon was crippled reached out with his left hand and Leon pumped two rounds into McKinley’s abdomen. Leon was immediately disarmed and arrested. Of the two shots, one went all the way through and caused very little damage but the other one lodged near his liver and had to be removed surgically. It looked like McKinley was going to be OK but after a couple of days her started getting worse and soon died. It was gangrene that had set up inside his abdomen that was undetected. Leon was unrepentant to the end. His last words were “I am not sorry, he was an evil man.”

1619 English explorer and bon vivant Sir Walter Raleigh had a fateful meeting with a big guy with a big axe on the lawn of the Tower of London and went to meet his maker in two pieces. It seems that Sir Walter had been a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I and she was quite fond of him. She sent Sir Walter on several exploratory trips to the new world including the fateful settlement on Roanoke Island, North Carolina of which not one scrap was ever found after a supply ship arrived two years later. After returning to London Queen Elizabeth found out that Sir Walter had been having a liaison with a Scottish beauty named Bessy Throckmorton, one of the Queen’s Maids-of-Honor, and the Queen became enraged and threw Sir Walter and Bessy into the Tower. Sir Walter coughed up enough money to bail them both out . Sir Walter and Bessy were married and they tried their damnedest to stay out of the way of the Queen. Elizabeth died in 1603 and James I rose to power. James accused Sir Walter of opposing him becoming King but allowed him to live so he could send Sir Walter on some more expeditions. Sir Walter finally returned from an expedition of establishing a village near a gold mine in South America. James I evidently felt that Sir Walter had outlived his usefulness and wearied of paying him his pension as a knight. He resurrected the alleged crime of 15 years before and on this date in 1618 had him beheaded. Sir Walter Raleigh was 66 years old and had spent the greatest part of his life in the service of his country. In But as the saying goes “What have you done for me lately, Walt?”

Sir Walter once said “All men are evil and will declare themselves so if the occasion occurs” including James I.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Wednesday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“The degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being.”

                                                     Dalai Lama

Here is the root of our celebration of Halloween:

                           The History of Halloween

This pagan celebration of Halloween goes back more that 2000 years to the ancient Celts of present day Ireland, England and northern France. The original name of the festival was Sawhain pronounced “sow-in” and was to celebrate the harvest and prepare for the upcoming harsh winter. The Celts celebrated November 1 as the beginning of a new year and the evening before became known as “All Hallow’s Eve” which was corrupted to Halloween. It was the only day of the year that the boundary between the living and the dead became clouded and on this night the dead walked the earth. It was also believed that only on this night could one person predict the future of another. This was very important because of the rigors of the upcoming winter did indeed kill many of them. Every house extinguished the fire in their hearth because the Celtic priests (Druids) would cut down a sacred tree and build a gigantic bonfire for this night’s celebration. The people believed that if they could get a scrap of burning wood from this sacred fire and bring it into their homes, it would keep them warm throughout the winter. When the Celts approached the sacred fire they were costumed in animal heads and skins for ritualistic reasons. Upon the arrival of the Romans the rituals changed somewhat and Roman rituals were introduced as being part of the ritual. One of these rituals was the celebration of the harvest also except here they would honor the Roman goddess of fruits and trees, Pomona. Pomona is represented by the symbol of an apple. I guess y’all see where this is going. That’s right; it is the bobbing for apples and trying to bite an apple while it is hanging from a string that was the result of paying homage to Pomona. During the 8^th and 9^th century the Roman Catholic Church tried their damnedest to eliminate this pagan festival and make it a church related event and instituted all Saint’s Day on November 1 hoping to sway the existing pagans back under the umbrella of the church. It did not work. This pagan festival continues to this day. There is no written evidence for the rise of the event known as “trick or treat” except that on All Hallow’s Eve some of the dead that walked the earth were mean, spiteful creatures. I suspect that ritual was really fostered by candy manufacturers and costume makers. Anyway the colors that are associated with Halloween as being orange and black have a meaning. Orange represented the changing color of the leaves on deciduous trees and black meant winter, shorter days and death was on the horizon for some. It bothers me somewhat for different churches to sponsor a Halloween event. It means that they are fostering a pagan festival but it could keep some of the kids off the street.

               This Date in History   October 28

1775 The new British military governor, General William Howe, ordered that every citizen of the city of Boston cannot leave town until further notice. Additionally, he decreed that all the citizens were expected to combat that group of ruffians that threw the tea into the harbor and that rag tag militia that had killed 226 and wounded 838 of his majesty’s troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June of this year. The Continental Congress had elected Virginia planter George Washington as commander-in-chief of the army but he was having a hell of a time convincing his troops that this was not a game. They were used to being commanded like a militia whereby the leaders are elected by the troops and if the leader was not what they wanted they simply fired him. Not only that, they all went back to the farm at harvest time. It happened here and Washington had no choice but to wait until spring and recruit a new army. Only this time he would have a professional military trainer to whip them into shape. That man was the Prussian Baron Von Steuben who joined Washington at Valley Forge this winter. Von Steuben did indeed begin training the remainder of the troops soon after his arrival. It worked and a well trained and disciplined army emerged. Howe stayed in Boston until in the following March when Washington and the brilliant Henry Knox were able to get some captured British artillery on high ground overlooking Boston. Howe had no choice but to retreat and the Bostonians were free to travel about for the first time in six months.

1961 Rhythm and blues singer Chuck Berry went on trial for the second time for violation of the Mann Act. The trial was dubbed the “Apache Trial” by the media. It seems that Chuck had met Janice Escalante in a bar in El Paso, Texas. Chuck became enamored with Janice and invited her to join his entourage. Janice was a Mescalero Apache Indian. Chuck questioned her at length about her age and she insisted that she was 21 years old. After a few weeks Janice tired of the road and Chuck’s treatment of her and she went to the cops and complained and Chuck was arrested. At the trial the prosecution produced a birth certificate showing Janice as being only 14 years old. In spite of the fact that Janice lied to Chuck about her age, Chuck was indeed found guilty and was sentenced to three years and sent to Leavenworth. Later on he was sent to a jail in Saint Louis where he served his time until paroled. By the way, the Mann Act makes it a Federal crime to transport women across state lines for immoral purposes. It was meant to prevent interstate prostitution and white slavery. Does that mean if I take a woman from Greenville, South Carolina to Hendersonville, North Carolina, about 40 miles, to view the Autumn leaves or pick apples and we spend the night, am I am guilty of a Federal crime? I realize that leaf looking and apple picking is not immoral, but I probably would have had thoughts of spending the night from the start.

1999 Cyclone 05B comes ashore on the southeast coast of India. As y'all know, in that part of the world a hurricane is known as a cyclone. This bad boy was a category 4 when it came ashore. The only problem is that it never quite came ashore completely and stalled out with part of it still out over the Indian Ocean which kept feeding it warm, moist air and therefore the storm never broke up. It poured torrential rains for days which resulted in monumental flooding. After it was all over there were 10,000 dead or missing along with 406,000 head of cattle. The same thing happened like that earlier in Bangladesh. Some of the human bodies were not found right away...but the tigers found them. The tigers came out of the jungle and feasted on them. They developed a taste for it and began hunting humans as a matter of course. It took a generation for the tigers to get back to normal.

              Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Tuesday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quotes of the day:

“I shall pass through this life but once. Any good therefore that I can do let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

                                                  Etienne de Grellate

“The most rewarding sight a person can have is to see their children go to bed at night night with a full belly. The most depressing I can imagine is to see them to go to bed hungry.”

                                                          Al Campbell

A friend gave me a web site where it was reported that a group of about 1,100 SEALS had stated that if there was a Presidential order calling for the surrender of all fire arms in the USA they would assemble and not let that happen. I went to the web site and that was not there. However, I personally do not believe that any policeman or American in the military would kill or capture an American civilian for refusing to surrender their firearm. Perhaps I am foolish but nearly every American soldier and policeman has a private weapon of some sort in their homes and I do not believe they would surrender them without a fight. They would have to kill me...thousands of Patriots before me bled and died giving us the 2^nd Amendment and I will never forget it.

Up on I-26 in western North Carolina a tragedy occurred. There were 6 cars and three semis that had stopped for a wreck ahead of them in the eastbound lane. Another car rammed into the back of the last car in line and pushed them all together into a metal to metal meat grinder. There were four killed and several severely wounded. Even though this accident happened at night, I still do not see how someone that is the least bit alert could not detect that many cars that were at a standstill, especially the semis. That just goes to show you that there is danger not only in front of you but from all directions. Be alert.

                   This Date in History  October 27

1962 Earlier the US intelligence community had discovered Russian medium range nuclear missiles being installed in Cuba. President Kennedy asked for confirmation and several over flights were made to photograph the construction sites there. And sure enough, the confirmation came. The missiles if launched from Cuba could strike anywhere in the US, Central America, northern South America and all of the Caribbean. President Kennedy made a TV speech telling the Americans what was happening and what we were going to do about it. He also warned the Russians that any attack launched from Cuba would be interpreted as an attack by Russia and an appropriate response would be forthcoming. The big bombers and missiles of the Strategic Air Command went to “Defcon 4” status meaning that the next step would be nuclear war. President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of all ships headed for Cuba, only he called it a “quarantine”. Very soon thereafter a Russian cargo vessel with missiles aboard approached the naval blockade and the world held its breath. There was no doubt that had the ship attempted to break the blockade it would have been sunk and the risk of world war would have increased dramatically. But the ship slowed to a stop and eventually turned back to Russia. While all of this is going on, negotiations between the US and Russia kept the telephone lines hot. The final offer was that Russia would withdraw their missiles from Cuba if the US would promise to never invade Cuba and withdraw their missiles from Turkey. The US had already begun the dismantling of the missiles in Turkey so the deal was acceptable. On this date, the deal between the US and Russia was agreed upon by both parties and a potential world war was averted. I was sweating bullets that whole time. It was a scary thought to believe that this day on the planet could be your last.

1659  On this date William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson are hanged on Boston Common in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their only crime was their religious belief, they were both Quakers and were forbidden by law under the penalty of death to be in Boston. Both Robinson and Stevenson had come to the colonies in 1656 from England to escape religious persecution believe it or not. Rhode Island and several other New England colonies accepted the Quakers, but not the hard-assed Bostonians. That law was later repealed. I have no clue as to why those from Massachusetts hated the Quakers. As we all know, the Quakers are some of the gentlest people out there.

1873  On this date a man named Joseph Glidden from DeKalb, Illinois is granted a patent for barbed wire (known in Texas as Bob Wahr). Glidden had seen a semblance of barbed wire at an exposition but it was single stranded. Glidden improved this concept by twisting two wires together which held the actual barbs in position. From this day forward the method of raising cattle changed forever. There would be no more cattle ranging and grazing free across the Great Plains. There were young wars fought over lands that were fenced and blocked cattle from ranging free and from finding water. What a damned shame.

864AD  In this year the wild-eyed Vikings successfully attack Paris, Toulouse, Aix-la Chapelle and Worms. They came to these towns by sailing their dragon boats across the North Sea and then down the west coast of Europe and up the Rhine and Seine rivers. This was no easy trick. Those rivers had a considerable downstream current and being able to reach those towns deep inland took a lot of rowing. But they were equal to the task and conquered most of Western Europe and even Russia by sailing down the Volga River from the Black Sea. They were so successful with their rape and pillage that there little doubt that all of us that have ancestry from Western Europe have a drop or two of Scandinavian blood flowing in our veins.

Births and deaths:

1858  One of my heroes Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt is born in upstate New York. He said “I think there is only one quality worse that having a hard heart and that is having a soft head.” When asked what was going to be his philosophy on the Presidency, he said “Speak softy but carry a big stick.” We need more leaders like Teddy.

1874  Business giant Owen Young is born. He said “When it comes to modern business crooks are not feared as much as an honest man who does not know what he is doing.” Hey Owen, what about women?

1914  Welch poet Dylan Thomas is born. He said “An alcoholic is a person you don’t like that drinks as much as you.” I know several.

1963  Professional bimbo Marla Maples (Donald Trump's 2^nd wife) is born in Dalton, Georgia. When meeting Tina Louise who played Ginger on Gilligan's Island she said “I loved Ginger, I have patterned my life after her.” Marla has a great body and face but she is very, very short on ambition.

           Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Monday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“Many men go fishing all their lives not knowing that it is not the fish that they are after.”

                                  Henry David Thoreau

Food for thought:

Your President vetoed a defense bill that would have provided for a pay raise for the military. At the same time Sen. Harry Reid (D. Nev.) and his fellow Cretans have recommended a pay raise for Congress even though it is generally believed that the biggest threat to the United States is the out of control debt.

More food:

In spite of our Government hinting at capturing all the firearms in America, they have not even mention that nearly all of the mass killings were by those that were mentally disturbed or outright thugs. Your President also has failed to say that 60 people were murdered in Chicago (his home town) in the month of September. I personally believe that we have lost our patriotic and moral footing because of the failure of our country's leadership in the legislative, executive and judicial branches...I am concerned.

What is up with all the Syrians heading north into eastern Europe? Look at what is going on. The rebels that want to bring down President Assad are armed and financed by the good ole USA. The Russians are bombing the hell out of them because they want Assad to stay in power saying that Assad's behavior is predictable under a given circumstance and that would not be true if some unknown took power. They also say that if Assad leaves ISIS will have an open door. Both the Russians AND the USA and a few allies are bombing the hell out of ISIS coming south. The skies over Syria are crowded...and confused. Where does this leave the civilians? In Syria only the police and military are allowed to be armed. Is there a message here?

A while back down near Clinton, South Carolina a female

State Trooper stopped a car near the intersection of I-26 and I-385, there were two Latinos aboard. The trooper arrested and cuffed the driver who was driving without a license and asked the passenger to get out of the car. At the same time she called for backup and two deputies of the Laurens County sheriff’s department headed her way. The passenger refused to get out of the car and threatened the trooper’s life while producing an X-acto knife. The passenger then tried to slide over into the driver’s side but the trooper held on like a bulldog. Somehow the passenger was able to get the car into neutral and they slowly drifted down the road still struggling. Finally the trooper pulled her trusty .40 caliber Glock and capped him. I just have a few questions. Why not shoot one of the tires out? Did the late Latino believe that a woman would not use deadly force? Was he wrong?

This Date in History October 26

1948 Earlier Betty and Jerry Ferreri had been married for some time with Betty getting the worst of the deal. Jerry was the spoiled son of a New York family and gave Jerry enough income that he never worked and after moving to Los Angeles, bought him a five bedroom house in upscale Hancock Park. Jerry was a notorious and unapologetic womanizer and was a wife beater. He hit Betty so hard on the side of her face that it ruptured an eardrum and when he got the doctor bill he became infuriated and hit her on the other side of her face an ruptured that eardrum also. He said “Maybe the doctor will give a two-for-one now.” On this day the final straw came when Jerry brought a young model home while Betty was there. Betty produced a large wrench and ran them both off. Betty knew that when Jerry came back home it would be hell to pay so she conspired with her housekeeper, Alan Adron, to kill Jerry upon his arrival. Sure enough, Jerry came home and began dragging Betty around the house by her hair. As directed, Alan shot Jerry twice in the stomach and then the gun jammed but Jerry was still alive and kicking. It was then that Betty found a large meat cleaver and struck the staggering Jerry 22 times in the head and shoulders that resulted in his demise. Both Betty and Alan went to trial for first degree murder. It was touch and go until the defense attorney quoted the things that Jerry had done to Betty. Both Betty and Alan were acquitted. This just proves that some times people just get fed up.

1881 Earlier on October 25 Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury had come into Tombstone, Arizona for supplies. The Clanton-McLaury gang lived out of town on ranches and felt that the range was theirs to rob and rustle and the town of Tombstone was the Wyatt Earp’s domain. All throughout the day Ike Clanton and Wyatt Earp had been verbally sniping at each other and the atmosphere was very tense. The next day, October 26, Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne rode into town to help Ike and Tom. Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury went into the closest bar and the first person they met was Doc Holiday. Doc told them that Wyatt was about fed up with Ike’s mouth and there would probably be a fight. Billy and Frank immediately left and went to find Ike and Tom. In the mean time Wyatt Earp had assembled his brothers Morgan and Virgil knowing that a fight might be on the horizon. Wyatt’s close friend Doc Holiday also offered his expertise with a shotgun. At about 3:30p Wyatt had seen the Clanton/Mclaury bunch at the end of Fremont Street near the OK Corral and the four of them headed that way. When the men were about 20 feet apart Wyatt said “You sons-of-bitches have been looking for a fight and now you’ve got one”. No one knows who really fired the first shot but it is believed that it was Virgil that pulled his revolver and shot Billy Clanton in the chest. Almost simultaneously Doc Holiday unloaded both barrels of his shotgun into Tom McLaury’s chest. Wyatt got off a couple of rounds into Frank McLaury’s stomach, Frank did not go down right away and got off a couple of rounds at Wyatt before collapsing as did Billy Clanton. There were about 30 shots fired and it was all over in about 30 seconds. Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were dead. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran like hell and got their young asses back to the ranch. Sheriff John Behan, a supporter of the Clantons, had witnessed the fight and arrested the Earps and Doc Holiday for murder. They were all acquitted when the judge ruled that they “were fully justified in committing these homicides”. To paraphrase the judge, “they needed killin’.” Morgan, Wyatt and Doc were all wounded but survived.

1998 Earlier a tropical storm named Mitch had ambled in to the Caribbean Sea apparently without much punch and seemed to be headed toward the Nicaragua/Guatemala border. Soon thereafter it blossomed into a category 4 Hurricane and stormed ashore as such. Belize had already evacuated 70,000 people but the poor and indigent in Nicaragua and Guatemala did not get the word and even if they had, they had no transportation to escape. Mitch stalled out over Nicaragua and eventually dumped over 50 inches of rain. The flooding was the worst in 200 years as you might expect. Entire villages disappeared in gigantic mudslides. There was 10 feet of water in the Nicaraguan capitol of Tegucigalpa. No one knows for sure but it is estimated that between 11,000 and 18,000 people perished. In several villages that were buried in mudslides, the Presidents of Guatemala and Nicaragua did not even attempt to dig them out and just declared the whole area as a cemetery. In addition to this misery, the crops of both nations were destroyed by 60% making the agricultural workers in even more in a bind. Sometimes we think we have had it bad, but just think of these people. By the way Tegucigalpa (Tay'-goo-see-gal'-pa) is acknowledged to be to most drug gang ridden city in Central America.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Friday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

After being confronted by Xerxes, the head of the Persian army at the battle of Thermopylae Pass, Leonidas the leader of the Spartans was told by Xerxes that if he would acknowledge him as king of the world, he would make Leonidas the ruler of Greece. Leonidas, an acknowledged hard-ass said “I would rather die on my feet with my countrymen than to serve on my knees”. By the way, Leonidas would slaughter every messenger that came from Xerxes, and send a Greek back with his answer. Like I said, a hard-ass.

By the way, when Leonidas was informed about the arrival of Xerxes and his gigantic army and agreed to lead the Hoplites (acknowledged to be the meanest combat soldiers in the world) against the Persians he knew he would not return and told his wife, “Find a good husband and have good children.” He indeed did not return. The Persians beheaded him but recognized his courage and bravery and retrieved Leonidas' corpse and sent it back to Sparta for a hero's burial.

I have a friend that owns a restaurant in Greenville, SC. This man is Greek and only one generation from immigrants. His ancestors and he are from Sparta, Greece. He owns a house near Sparta that he visits on occasion. Behind this house there is a mountain that has a pretty steep cliff on one side. This cliff is protected and no one is allowed to visit this site. According to legend, many years ago if a Spartan child is borne that was not perfect in shape and form, it would be carried to this cliff and left to die. The Spartans had a very, very vigorous training program for every male beginning at the age of 8 and continuing until the staff of trainers were satisfied that he was ready to enter a combat unit. They wanted perfect female children also so it would be more likely that they would bear perfect children.

Nobody attacked Sparta for obvious reasons...except Athens. There was a war between these two from 431BC to 404BC known as the Peloponnesian War . Athens led a group of city-states that existed over on the Aegean Sea and Sparta led a group of city-states over on the Peloponnesian peninsula in southwest Greece. The war broke out when Athens tried to exert influence on some of the city-states under the umbrella of Sparta. They fought for 27 years. Eventually all of this nonsense came to an end when the Athenians received a severe ass-kicking at the battle of Aegospotami in 405BC. The Athenians asked for a treaty and one was signed and that slaughter of humans for power was ended. By the way, they did it the hard way then...axes, swords, lances, knives, etc. The Athenians did have “Greek fire” then. This was a flammable material, probably naptha, that was put into clay jars, set on fire and launched at the enemy with catapults. The clay jar would break and spread the flaming liquid. This method was excellent from ship to ship because of the slow moving vessels but maneuvering a catapult on a battlefield against fast moving troops, especially cavalry on horseback was too unwieldy...so they did it the hard way as previously described.

This Date in History October 23 

1965  The 1^st Cavalry division launched Operation Silver Bayonet in an attempt to drive the North Vietnamese Army out of II Corps (Central Highlands) in Vietnam. They met up with the North Vietnamese 33^rd and 66^th regiments. It was a week long bitter struggle and ended up being one of the bloodiest of the War. The fleeing North Vietnamese Army decided to make a stand and protect one of their supply depots on the La Trang Valley. This three day battle with the 7^th Cavalry engaged was the most savage of the operation. The final result was 834 North Vietnamese killed on this battlefield alone. In a related attack, 500 NV soldiers fell upon a company of American Soldiers waiting at a landing zone and the Americans were annihilated. The final result of this operation was 1771 North Vietnamese and 241 Americans/South Vietnamese killed.

 

1864  CSA Gen. Sterling Price attacked US Gen. Samuel Curtis’ infantry unit near Westport, Missouri. Price had entered Missouri from Arkansas and had raided several small Union detachments before reaching Westport in an attempt to draw away some of the Union forces from the Eastern theater. The war was not going well for the Confederacy and President Jefferson Davis ordered Price to try and spread out the Union Army. Price’s attack on Westport went well at first but he was unaware of US Gen. Pleasanton’s cavalry was closing in fast from another direction and he was going to be trapped and possibly forced to surrender. Price orchestrated a skillful withdrawal and escaped. The exhausted Union units failed to follow but if they had, the war would have been over sooner. There were about 1,500 casualties on both sides but this represented about 10% to the Union forces but 20% to Price. As usual, the Confederates were outnumbered about 2 to 1.

42BC  One of the conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, committed suicide after losing the 2^nd battle of Philippi. Brutus and Cassius had formed an army in an attempt to re-institute the Republic of Rome rather than an empire which was the reason for the assassination. They were opposed by Octavian and Marc Antony who wanted to preserve the empire. This was the same Marc Antony that got hung up with Cleopatra. Anyway, the first major engagement between these two armies was at Philippi at which Octavian and Antony defeated the army lead by Cassius and Cassius committed suicide. Then came the 2^nd Battle at Philippi and with Brutus in command and he was defeated also and committed suicide. After a while Octavian and Marc Antony started squabbling and they split up with Octavian taking the crown under the name of Augustus and the rest is history.

1942 Author Michael Crichton is born in Chicago. Mike evidently was from a pretty affluent family because he graduated from Harvard Summa Cum Laude. After this he went to Cambridge in England and taught anthropology. In the mean time he had turned out some fairly successful books and decided that writing was his calling and started doing it full time. This man cranked out some of the best books ever written by a modern day American author in: “Andromeda Strain”, “The Terminal Man”, “Congo”, and “The Great Train Robbery”. He wrote and directed the movies: “Binary”, “Westworld”, “Jurassic Park” and “Rising Sun”, at one point in 1993 he had four books on the best seller list. He was a very wealthy man and deservedly so.

Births and deaths:

1869 US Football coach John Heisman, for which the trophy is named, is born. John once said “It is better to die as a young man than to fumble”. He was a hard man.

1942 English writer Anita Roddick is born. She once said “If you think you are too small to have an impact, try going to bed while hearing a mosquito in the room.”

                Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Thursday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”

                                                   Benjamin Franklin

Down in North Charleston, SC a 33 year old woman was awakened at 6:30a by someone knocking on her door. She went and saw no one and returned to bed. This happened a couple of more time until she went out on her porch to see what he hell was going on. Suddenly a teenage boy appeared brandishing a knife and the woman tried to jump back in the house but the teen blocked the door and came in. They fell on the floor wrestling for a while until the woman was overwhelmed and was carried to a bedroom where he tried to take her shorts off. A well aimed kick to the crotch deterred him but just for a second. He pinned her down and stuck his tongue in her mouth. The woman said she bit down as hard as she could and heard a snap like eating a piece of beef jerky and she had a piece of his tongue loose in her mouth. This went a long way toward deflation of his...passion and he ran away. About an hour later the attacker's mother called the cops saying her son did not have a tongue and needed medical attention and that he was the Waffle House on Remount Road. The cops had already answered a call on the woman biter and had the tongue in a zip lock bag on ice. The cops arranged for a meeting of the attacker, his tongue, a doctor and themselves. I don't know if a reattachment is possible. How would it be to have a mouth full of stitches or staples for several weeks? This reminds me of a quote “Never kiss a fool...or let a kiss fool you” but in this case it was a rejected assault that he will carry the rest of his days.

Here is an event that makes you wonder.

Toward the end of the War of 1812 the British had defeated the American army at the Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland and marched into Washington, DC with intent of burning it to the ground in retribution for the US army burning a British building in Canada. They set fire to the Capitol and the White House. It was in late August with clear skies and warm temperatures. Soon after the fires were started a raging thunderstorm quickly arose and a deluge fell on Washington. The fires were extinguished but that ain't all. A tornado developed and headed straight for the encamped British troops and sent them scurrying away in terror. How did this happen? It had to be an act of God and the United States was meant to be here...for a while at least.

By the way, during the Battle of Bladensburg James Madison was on hand with an artillery battery. He was the President of the United States at the time and the only US President to be actively involved in combat while in office.

A good thing has happened in San Antonio, Texas. It is legal and common in the state of Texas for people to walk around with a long gun (shotgun or rifle) as long as they are not displayed in a threatening manner. The city of San Antonio has an ordinance that disallows the display of guns because it is discomforting to the tourists, at least that what it sounds like to me. A while back about 400 gun owners organized and gathered at the Alamo guns in hand. There were indeed tourists there and one couple from Ontario, Canada said they were very uncomfortable with all the weapons about. Another couple from Arkansas said they thought it was healthy, that this was a visual display of what America is all about. It would not bother me at all. What caused all of this was a man carrying long gun was arrested sitting outside a Starbucks in San Antonio drinking coffee. There were signs carried by some of the demonstrators reading “Come and take them”. That phrase is from two different sources in history. Before the beginning of the Mexican War, the Mexican Army had given the town of Gonzales, Texas a small cannon to help protect them from the Comanches. Mexican General Santa Ana sent a message to Gonzales telling them to bring him the cannon and the people from Gonzales sent a message back saying “Come and take it.” The other occasion was at the Battle of Thermopylae where 7,000 Greeks, including 300 Spartans lead by Leonidas were gathered. There was a face-down between the Greeks and over 300,000 Persians lead by Xerxes. Xerxes sent a message over to the Spartans demanding that they surrender their weapons. Leonidas sent a message back saying “Come and take them”.

For reasons I don't fully understand, the Grambling State University (Louisiana) football team failed to meet a bus that was to take them to Jackson, Mississippi to play Jackson State and the game was forfeited. It was a mutiny, y'all. I read that the team was not happy for several reasons. They were not happy that their head coach Doug Williams was fired. Doug was a graduate of Grambling and was a Super Bowl winning QB for the Washington Redskins. They were not happy about games being scheduled with teams from as far away as 900 miles and it was a bus ride both ways. They were not happy with the weight room floor in shambles and nothing was being done to fix it. The University has been indeed in need of funds but I can't say what all the reasons are for the mutiny but it is the first time I have ever heard of such a thing.

By the way here is a trivia question. What NFL Hall of Fame running back went to Jackson State?

An airline on-board cop has been arrested for taking pictures of women from the ground up into their skirts and dresses. I wonder what kind of weapon or dangerous device he was looking for.

A man and a woman on a flight from Medford, Oregon to Las Vegas were arrested when the plane landed in Vegas. It seems that the man was exposing himself to the woman seated beside him...the woman responded in a positive way in spite of the flight attendant's warnings. That would take some nerve y'all. Nothing like that has ever happened to me...well, once I was on a long Greyhound bus ride and.............

The answer to the trivia question as to what NFL Hall of Famer attended Jackson State...it was “Sweetness” or Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears, may he rest in peace.

This Date in History October 22

1975 On this date United States Air Force Sergeant Leonard Matlovich allowed Time magazine to put his face on the cover in uniform with the words “I am a homosexual” as a challenge to the Air Force ban on homosexuals. The Air Force immediately gave him a “General” discharge even though he was a decorated combat veteran. Matlovich immediately sued and the Air Force changed horses and gave Matlovich an Honorable discharge. Matlovich died at the age of 44 as a result of complications from AIDS. He was buried with military honors in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC and he wrote his own epitaph which read: “A gay Vietnam Veteran. They gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”

Died today:

1995 English writer Kingsley Amis. He said “It is not worth giving up the pleasures of life to spend two extra years in the geriatric ward.” You da man, Kingsley.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Wednesday Oysters

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

I came into work and the secretary was not there and I asked the boss where she was and he said “She called and said she would be late but she is out front now parking her broom.”

                                                 Harland Lore (deceased)

According to the New York Post this is what happened Tuesday morning. Hillary announced that she was dropping out of the Presidential race. After this Rep. Trey Gowdy announced the cancellation of the Benghazi hearing slated for Thursday. About an hour later Hillary announced she was rejoining the race and made plans for Iowa. She said that she was just trying to prove a point. Was her point to prove that Trey Gowdy et. al. are after her because she is running for President or was her point to prove she would get out of that inquisition anyway she could including lies and deception?. I think it is the latter...she is good at it. But keep in mind that all of this came to me on the Internet which has proven to be more fiction than fact.

From where I normally usually stay on Pensacola Beach to get to downtown Pensacola requires the crossing of two bridges. The first (Bob Sykes Bridge) is about 3/4 mile long. The second is the Pensacola Bay Bridge, it is 3 miles long. When coming from Pensacola and crossing this bridge eastbound, you will come to a small town called Gulf Breeze where the cops are very tense about speeders and the speed limit is 35 MPH. The speed limit on the bridge is 45 MPH. It aggravates the crap out of me that people will go 60 and 65 MPH (or more) on the bridge knowing that they had better slow their ass down to 35 before leaving the bridge and entering Gulf Breeze. On many occasions I have had people pass me on the bridge and behave in a very aggravated nature because I am going 45 only for me to pull up beside them at the first traffic light in Gulf Breeze and laugh at them. Somehow that seems to enrage them even more. Why hurry to get to a slower speed zone with traffic lights and mean cops? The same is true when crossing the Bay Bridge going into Pensacola. People will go 60 to 65 (or more) knowing that when the bridge ends there is a 35 MPH speed zone and a traffic light within 70 yards and mean cops. Some people are stupid.

During the reign of British queen Elizabeth I the realm expanded so it was said that “The sun never sets on the British Empire” meaning they dominated countries world wide. One of her greatest explorers was Walter Raleigh. He was responsible for gathering a fortune many times over in land, precious gems and gold for Elizabeth and the Empire. He was her favorite explorer and he was dedicated to her. He introduced tobacco to the British. Not only did they use the crap out of it by grinding it into a powder and sniffing it, they smoked it their clay pipes. That ain't all. The British all but cornered the market on tobacco and made a fortune that way also. Walter was knighted by Elizabeth for his contributions to the realm making him Sir Walter Raleigh. Elizabeth died and named a blood kin relative as her successor and that being James IV of Scotland who then became James I of Great Britain. James was a greedy bastard and sent Captain John Smith to establish British settlements in the New World and Jamestown (Va.) and Plimouth (Their spelling, Ma.) resulted. He sent Sir Walter to explore South America where he establish gold producing settlements for the empire. Raleigh came home and was aging. After a period of time and weary of paying him his pension, James found no further use for him and accused him of being against him becoming king. Keep in mind that James was named in person by Elizabeth. Anyway, James had Sir Walter beheaded at the age of 65. Like I say, “What have you done for me lately, Walt?”

From the past:

I went on a pilgrimage to Joe Patti's seafood market in Pensacola. I got 1 pound of sushi grade yellowfin tuna (my personal favorite for sushi), 2 pounds of 20-25 shrimp which I had steamed on site using Old Bay seasoning, a quart of select oysters and a slice of coconut cream pie from the deli. This held me for a few days. By the way Joe Pattis has a web site and they will ship.

This Date in History October 22

1779 On this date South Carolinian Henry Laurens is named as Ambassador to Holland. Soon thereafter he was on his way to Holland to negotiate a treaty to secure them as an ally against England. He took with him a proposal written by William Lee that was accepted and signed by Holland. On his way back to the US, Laurens’ ship was intercepted off the coast of Newfoundland by a British warship and he was arrested. While the British were going through Laurens’ personal belongings, they found the treaty signed by the Dutch. The British used this document to declare war on Holland and Laurens was sent to London, tried and convicted of treason and spent 15 months in the Tower of London. Laurens was eventually released in a prisoner exchange in return for the British retrieving Lord Charles Cornwallis that had been captured at Yorktown by US General George Washington. After returning to the US, Laurens retired to his plantation near Charleston, SC. He was approached several times to become a candidate for Continental Congress or the governorship of South Carolina but Laurens refused in each attempt and chose to stay down on the farm until he died in 1792. By the way, there is a county near Greenville named for Henry Laurens.

1805 Napoleon Bonaparte has the all of Europe under his heel and is looking into the invasion of England. Napoleon knew he must have an overpowering Navy of his own to keep the British Navy in check during any invasion. On this date, the British Navy, 27 warships strong and under the command of Lord Horatio Nelson, sighted the combined navy of France and Spain 33 warships strong off the coast of Trafalgar, Spain. The Franco/Spanish fleet deployed in a “line-of-battle” meaning that all of their ships were in a straight line sailing in the same direction. They were expecting Nelson to deploy his ships in a straight line and sailing in the opposite direction and they would exchange broadsides. Instead Nelson signaled his ships into two divisions and sailed into the enemy fleet at right angles. The British fleet took a few broadsides at the onset but when they broke through the Franco/Spanish line of battle, they delivered a series of devastating broadsides of their own. The Franco/Spanish fleet was all but destroyed with the sinking of 19 ships and the loss of 14,000 soldiers and sailors while the British did not suffer one ship loss but did lose 1,500 troops. The greatest loss was when Nelson’s flag ship HMS Victory was closely engaged in battle and a French Marine sniper up in the rigging found Nelson and delivered two shots into chest and lungs. Nelson was taken below and died soon thereafter. Before dying he was told about his victory and said “I am satisfied now. Thank God I have done my duty.” Nelson’s corpse was stashed into a barrel of rum to preserve him until they got him back to England. Nelson was acknowledged to have saved England from invasion in the destruction of the Franco/Spanish fleet. He was buried with honors in the cemetery at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London (been there). From this event the daily ration of grog (rum) to the English sailors is called “Nelson’s Blood”. There is a park in London that is known as Trafalgar Square with a column and statue of Lord Nelson at the entrance (been there, too).

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow