Monday OYSTERS

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Quote of the day:

“Sometimes I get a feeling that the whole world is against me, but on second thought I suspect some of the Balkan countries are neutral.”

                                     Stanley O’Brien

I read about a small pond near Windsor, Ontario, Canada where the caretakers found 20 dead ducks that were residents of the pond. An autopsy revealed that all of them died of starvation or malnutrition. What as the cause? It was because of the public throwing bread at them. A duck will eat bread and it will fill their bellies...but they can't digest carbohydrates and gain no nutrition from it and starve. With rare exceptions, wild animals need to be left the hell alone because without exception they are all opportunists meaning they will take advantage of anything that is easiest to obtain whether it is good for their health or not. It really, really bothers me to learn about people that put out corn to attract deer because they think they are beautiful and want to look at them. Is it good for the deer, dumb ass? The deer begin to associate easy food with the scent of humans and lose their natural fear making them easy prey. By the way, corn will also attract wild boars. If the family dog or cat attacks one of them they don't run for long, they turn and attack...goodbye Fido and/or Fluffy.

                    This Date in History February 8

1777 On August 12, 1739 Timothy Bigelow was born in Worchester, Massachusetts. After helping remove some of the dead Patriot soldiers from the field after the battle of Lexington, he joined the Continental Army. He is one of two majors with General Benedict Arnold on that ghastly march from Maine to Quebec, Canada. Many Continental soldiers died of starvation and exposure during this ordeal. The attack on Quebec was not successful and Bigelow was captured and was imprisoned by the British from December 1775 to August 1776 and then released. On this date after returning to the Continental Army he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. Bigelow was a dedicated and very efficient soldier. He was present at some of the most important battles in United States history. He was there at the Battle of Saratoga, a Patriot victory that persuaded France to come to our aid, the Battle of Monmouth, and most of all he was with the Continental Army at the battle of Yorktown where the entire army under British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered. After the war Bigelow went back home to Worchester and resumed his profession as a blacksmith. He fell into financial ruin and was jailed for failure to pay his debts. He died in prison on March 31, 1790. He left a wife and five children. What the hell can you say about this disrespect of a tried and true veteran? Does it sound familiar?

1587 In 1542 Mary is six days old when her father James V, the King of Scotland died making little Mary the ruling Monarch of Scotland. After reaching an appropriate age Mary is sent to be raised in France. She ended up marrying the dauphin (apparent heir to the French throne) and he eventually became King Francis II. Francis died the year after becoming King and Mary returned to Scotland to assume her position as the ruling monarch, Mary Queen of Scots. Mary married her cousin Lord Darnley but has a lover in Lord Bothwell. Lord Darnley is killed in a mysterious explosion and three months later Mary married Lord Bothwell. The Scottish nobles call baloney on that action and accused Mary and Bothwell of assassinating Lord Darnley to get him out of the way and called for Mary to step down. Mary refused and civil war broke out with the army that was loyal to Mary (Catholics) against an army raised by the Scottish nobles (Presbyterians). Mary’s army had the crap kicked out it and Mary had no choice but to flee the country. She went to England seeking refuge from her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Mary’s son James became the King of Scotland as James VI. Elizabeth welcomed Mary and offered refuge. Later on it was discovered that Mary had conspired with the French and lot of Catholics to assassinate Elizabeth so Mary can rise to the throne of England. Queen Elizabeth is not pleased and in 1568 sent Mary to Fotheringay Castle for imprisonment. She stayed imprisoned for 19 years and on this date, Mary Queen of Scots had a meeting with the ever present big guy with a big axe and a black hood. Mary went to meet her maker in two pieces. Mary’s son James calmly accepted his mother’s execution and cools his heels waiting for Elizabeth to expire and sure enough, in 1603 Elizabeth passes away and James VI of Scotland became the King of Scotland, Ireland and the King of England and is titled James I. This is the first time all three countries were under one rule.

1692 Previously the good Reverend Samuel Parris had purchased two slaves in the Bahamas and brought them back to his home in Salem, Massachusetts. The two teenaged girls living in his house were his niece Abigail Williams and his daughter Betty. The girls were beginning to act a little weird so the Reverend took them to see a doctor. On this date the doctor diagnosed the girls as being under the influence of an “evil spirit.” The Reverend immediately suspected his slaves as being the culprits so he took his slaves, Tituba and John Indian aside and administered a severe beating to them both trying to get them to confess to being witches/warlocks. Neither one of them confessed. One of the neighbors suggested making a cake with the girls’ urine and fed it to the dog. The logic was if the dog began acting strangely, then the girls were under the influence of a witch. Fortunately for Fido, that idea was scrapped. But the girls kept having what appeared to be fits and convulsions and said that they had seen Tituba in their hallucinations. Then other girls that had visited Abigail and Betty began having fits and convulsions. This set off the well documented panic in the fear of witches in the town of Salem. Soon everyone was pointing fingers at others with which they had a grievance. On February 29 an arrest warrant was issued for three other women as being witches and the panic was in high gear. In the summer of 1692 the first of the Salem witch trials began with Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wildes. All were convicted and sentenced to hang on July 23. While these women were on the gallows all but one forgave those that convicted them. The one woman said to the executioner Nicholas Noyes who read them the order of execution for being witches “You are a liar. I am no more a witch that you are a wizard and if you take my life, God will give you blood to drink.” Nicholas Noyes died a few years later bleeding from the mouth. Eventually the credibility of the accusers went away and the good people of Salem came to their senses, but not before hanging 19 and imprisoning over 100 and the Governor stepping in and putting a stop to it. The most important family in Salem was the Proctor family. The powers that be chose to hang John Proctor as a warlock but spared his life because his wife was pregnant. People are fools at times, in fact, most of the time.

Born today:

1828 French writer Jules Verne. He said “Whatever one man can conceive another man can achieve.” Jules was one of the first authors to write about space travel.

1931 US actor James Dean. He said “Dream as if you will live forever, live as if you will die today.” James was a rising star in the movies when he was killed in a car wreck at the age of 24. He only made three movies, Giant, East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, but he is a legend to this day.

             Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow