Friday OYSTERS

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Quote of the day:

During WWII shortly after D-Day the Allies invaded southern France near St. Tropez to drive out the Germans. After a short but intense battle the Germans retreated. A Canadian soldier reported that through the smoke and mist came a Frenchman in a tuxedo. He was carrying a silver tray with several tulip glasses and a bottle of champagne and said “Welcome, but if I could offer a little criticism...you are late.”

Speaking of WWII, I once did an essay on the bombing of Hamburg, Germany in the summer of 1943. The Germans had bombed London for 73 straight days hoping to break their bulldog spirit but they failed and discontinued the raids. In retribution the English and American air forces mounted a horrendous raid on Hamburg. They sent over 1,000 bombers both day and night and dropped a mixture of high explosives and incendiary bombs making firefighting useless. An unbelievable firestorm resulted with the temperature reaching over 1,000 degrees and the wind rushing into the center of the blaze at 120 MPH. Children and small adults were swept into the center. It was so hot that the asphalt on the roads liquefied making escape impossible. There were instances of people running away just igniting like a torch and disappearing. Hundreds of people died of asphyxiation because all the oxygen was being consumed by the fire. About 45,000 people died that day in Hamburg. The Germans cordoned off the city so others would not see this hell on Earth and be discouraged. It was the day that Hamburg died.

I addition to the book Guns, Germs and Steel I am also reading Mayflower by Nathan Philbrick. This book was also the winner of a National Book Award. It goes into the minutest detail as to what happened to the Pilgrims that settled a village in 1620 that later became Plymouth, Massachusetts. The fresh water source for the village was named Town Creek. The creek emptied into Cape Cod Bay and had seasonal rushes of spawning fish that were easily caught. The mouth of this creek was also a stopping point for ducks and geese on their migrations north and south. The governor of the Pilgrims was William Bradford, a gifted and “hands on” administrator. His most important duty was to make peace with Massasoit, the chief of the local Indian coalition. To do this he needed a translator and that turned out to be a native of this area named Squanto. How Squanto learned English is a story in itself and will come a little later on. On one occasion an Indian covered with sweat from running arrived at Plimouth (their spelling) and told Bradford in sign language that Squanto had been captured and was probably dead. He also said that without a “tongue” (translator) to be used with the other tribes the settlement was doomed. Bradford agreed and he and his second in command along with the fiery Miles Standish and ten armed men set out for the village where Squanto was captured by the local “sachem” or chief. It was about 40 miles and was tough going without horses. The Pilgrims arrived at night during a steady rain which muffled their movements and they surrounded the house where the majority of the tribe slept. Standish and company burst in and demanded the sachem and/or Squanto. The sleeping Indians awoke in a panic and told them that the sachem was not there and Squanto was indeed alive and delivered him to Bradford. Bradford returned to Plimouth with Squanto in tow and the settlement was somewhat safe once again. After that first horrible and deadly winter, Bradford made peace with Massasoit and the villagers were taught how to survive in this strange land and there was a celebration. It was late September or early October that Bradford sent Massasoit a large pot of stewed English peas as a show of appreciation for his help. Bradford knew that the settlement was there to stay and sent five men to paddle out into the bay and do some “fowling” meaning shooting down whatever ducks and geese they could. The fall migration was underway and the sky was black with birds. In a half day the “fowlers” returned with enough birds to last the settlement a week. The fowlers used “fowling pieces” which is now known as shotguns. The next morning Massasoit showed up with over a hundred of his warriors and five freshly killed deer as thanks for the peas. A feast ensued with the deer and the birds on spits over an open fire. There also were turkeys and fish along with recently harvested vegetables. Over 150 years later this became known as Thanksgiving. I can assure you that there was no picnic tables with white tablecloths and silverware. They sat on the ground around a fire and ate with their fingers and knives. But as I said, they were there to stay.

On another occasion two servants became angry with each other and engaged in a duel. Both were injured but not killed. Bradford knew that he needed men and could not risk losing anyone and sentenced these guys to be tied together at the feet and neck for a week which forced them to cooperate with each other. That sentence had an effect and duels went away in the settlement while Bradford was alive.

           This Date in History January 1

1781 On this date 1,500 infantrymen known as the “Pennsylvania Line” serving under Patriot General Anthony “Mad Anthony” Wayne gathered up their gear near Morristown, N.J. and headed home because their enlistments had expired. I forgot to mention that more than half of them were drunker than Cooter Brown. Anyway, soon after they left Wayne they were approached by emissaries from British General Sir Henry Clinton offering them a complete pardon and all the back pay the US owed them if they would join the British army. Instead they turned south and attacked and captured Princeton, N.J. They then headed toward Philadelphia and the US Congress. But before that they sent some emissaries back to see General Wayne who had been following them. They had not given up on the Patriotic cause but felt they had grievances. When they met with Wayne they handed over the emissaries sent by British General Clinton and Wayne promptly hanged them. At the meeting with Wayne, it was agreed that those with expired enlistments could go home but Wayne offered a 30 day furlough and a handsome bonus for those that re-enlisted. Nearly half of them accepted the offer to re-enlist and were sent to fight with the Southern Army. A week or so later a group of about 200 Patriot troops from New Jersey heard about this deal and decided to mutiny themselves and barter for the deal that Wayne issued. Only this time the troops were under George Washington and George rounded up the two ring leaders and stood them up in front of a firing squad. That kept the Continental army together for the present. But even at that, there were more colonists fighting with the British than with George Washington. What enormous character this man must have had to have continued and prevailed. I must believe he was not here by accident.

1973 On this night a 28 year old school teacher named Kathy Cleary decided to bring in the New Year at Tweed’s Bar of the upper west side of Manhattan, while there she met a man named Joe Willie Simpson. Simpson was dangerously disturbed but appeared to be a pleasant and affable young man to young Miss Cleary. Kathy and Joe Willie agree to go to Joe Willie’s place for the rest of the evening; it was there the other Joe Willie emerged. It seems that Joe Willie is a suppressed homosexual at heart which makes him a hater of women. Joe Willie ended up strangling Kathy and stabbing her numerous times then sexually mutilated her. This event was the theme of the book and movie titled “Looking for Mister Goodbar”. The book was written by Judith Rossner as a warning about what could happen during the so-called “sexual revolution”. By the way, before Joe Willie Simpson came to trial he hanged himself in his cell.

           Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow