Wednesday oysters

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“When I was young I thought money was the most important thing in the world, now that I am old I know it is.”

                                                      Oscar Wilde

Head football coach Steve Spurrier of the South Carolina Gamecocks has retired. I think it was time. His zeal for the game was not what it used to be and the recruiting is sub-par. He will go down as the best football coach in Gamecock history.

Here is something I have been mulling for quite a while. Why is it that most of us work for at least 50 years hoping to accrue enough assets to retire comfortably for about 10 years? My Dad put me to work at the age of 14. The average person in the United States dies at the age of about 74. This means that many of us that retire at 65 only live for an average of 9 years. My father told me one day when he was very ill that soon after he had retired he had wanted to take he and my mother to Hawaii on vacation but they decided that they did not want to spend the money. They still had the money but now both of them were not in good enough health to do hardly anything. They are both not with us anymore. What is the message here? The message is to enjoy life every day that you can as soon as you can. Every tick of the clock increases the chances of the arrival of a debilitating physical problem that would disallow anything on your “Bucket List”. You would have cheated yourself of places, things and events that the memories of them would keep you warm at night or keep you awake with excitement. Don't get me wrong, your occupation can be exciting and fulfilling but as Henry David Thoreau once wrote “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation”. He said “most” not “all” and I am sure this applies to women also. Life is finite, there is a beginning and an end, make use of what is between. My advice: Do it now, time's a'wastin, I have never heard of anyone being buried or cremated checkbook in hand.

Several years ago a powerful cyclone showed up on the coast of Bangladesh. It stalled out with half of the eye over land and the other half over the ocean. This allowed this monster to keep replenishing itself from the warm ocean waters. The flooding in Bangladesh was so severe that over 130,000 people that were drowned were never found....but the tigers found them. The tigers feasted on the corpses and developed a taste for human flesh. It took a generation before the tigers decided that they preferred the prey of yore and ceased hunting humans.

This Date in History October 14

1947 On this date United States Air Force ace Captain Charles “Chuck” Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time in history. Chuck was USAF test pilot driving a Bell X-1 rocket plane that was taken to 40,000 feet attached to the belly of a B-29 and then released whereupon Chuck fired up the rocket engine and began climbing and accelerating at a hitherto unheard of rate. At about 60,000 the plane achieved 663 MPH which was the speed of sound at that altitude. This event was so secret that it was not announced until a year later. Previously aircraft “experts” believed that the speed of sound was not achievable because the drag on the airframe would tear it apart. That just goes to show you what so-called “experts” know. Anyway, Chuck made several other supersonic flights successfully. By the way, Chuck was a P-51 fighter pilot during WWII and was indeed an ace meaning he shot down five or more enemy aircraft. He was shot down himself over France but was concealed by the French underground and hustled back to his base in England to fly again. In the early days of supersonic flight it was pretty much a contest between Chuck and civilian test pilot Scott Crossfield as to who would fly the fastest. I do not remember who won this contest but all the flights originated at Edwards Air Force Base out on the California desert. No one with the knowledge will admit to this day where the high flying SR-71 Blackbird capable of Mach 3 (2,500 MPH) and altitudes above 60,000 feet or the F-117 stealth fighter was developed but it wasn’t at Edwards. The only other explanation would be at the infamous Area 51 (Groom’s Lake) on the southwestern Nevada desert which its very existence has been denied since 1964. I recently opened up Google Earth and zoomed in on that area and found Area 51 on a satellite view. The US government that denied its existence before now says that they have closed the base. When I zoomed in close I could see one or two aircraft on the ramp. They looked like C-130's. Maybe they were there picking up some leftover furniture. Yeah, right.

1066 On this date William, The Duke of Normandy (France) landed on the south coast of England near Pevensey along with 7,000 troops and a company of cavalry to claim his right to the throne of England. Earlier about 1051 William claimed that the King of England, Edward the Confessor, had promised the throne to William upon his death because he had no heirs. However, on his deathbed Edward named Harold Godwine as his successor. Harold was a member of a very influential family in England. He was titled Harold II, King of England and assumed the throne. A few weeks before the arrival of William, England was invaded from the north by a combined force of William’s brother Tostic and an army of Vikings. Harold and his army met the Vikings at Stamford Bridge in northern England and administered a severe ass-whipping to the Vikings almost to the point of annihilation and they did it the hard way with swords, pikes, axes and clubs. Anyway, the Vikings gathered up what they could, ran like rats to where their boats were beached on the Humber River and sailed their young asses back to Scandinavia. About the time the battle ended, a messenger arrived and told Harold about William and company landing on the south coast. Harold began a 29 day forced march toward Pevensey gathering recruits along the way. Harold arrived in the area of Pevensey and found William’s army within a rocks throw of the town of Hastings thus that is why it is called the Battle of Hastings. Harold dug in on the high ground to minimize the effect of the cavalry and awaited Williams attack. William did not disappoint and began a general assault. But Harold was right, the steep flanks of the hill diluted the cavalry’s effectiveness but William skillfully redeployed his archers and infantry and began again. During this attack, Harold received an arrow in the eye but was not killed. Then a French mounted knight broke through Harold’s defensive line and beheaded Harold with one sweep of his sword. After this the English army melted away. William continued to London and went in unopposed. He was crowned the King of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day thus ending the lineage of Anglo-Saxon rule in Britain. William did not forget Harold’s bravery and had an abbey erected where Harold died with the high altar over the very spot. As usual, a village grew up around that abbey and that village is named Battle.

1976 A man named Marshal Cummings, Jr. is charged with attempted robbery in a purse snatching incident in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cummings rejected a court appointed attorney and decided to act as his own attorney. His actions later reinforced the phrase that “He who acts as his own attorney has a fool for a client.” Cummings called the victim to testify and the first question he asked was “Did you get a good look at my face when I snatched your purse?” Marshal went to the slammer for 10 years.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow