Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“Music
hath the charm to soothe the savage beast, but have a revolver close
by just in case.”
Josh
Billings
As
some of you might know I am on the road headed for Pensacola Beach
for a well deserved month long vacation. I am writing this in a
LaQuinta motel room in Montgomery, Alabama. Thanks to the kind
graces of a good friend I am driving her 2016 Jeep Patriot. The Jeep
is rock solid but it is much larger that I am used to...it reminds me
of when I was driving a semi. It has satellite radio and I was able
to listen to some kick-ass blues the whole trip.
The
only problem with the Jeep is the size of the gas tank. It gets good
gas mileage. I went about 170 miles on 5.7 gallons (you do the math)
but that was nearly a half a tank. I sounds like the tank is 13
gallons. But in my case after going about 290 miles in 5 hours with
one pit stop, I was ready to quit. I guess I am not 10 feet tall and
bullet proof like I used to be. It is not that far to Pensacola
Beach from here, a leisurely buggy ride tomorrow morning.
I
am writing this on Saturday morning. The ride from Montgomery to
Pensacola Friday morning was an adventure. There was a line of
thunderstorms northeast bound up I-65 and I ran through them all. It
was exhausting. But now I am looking out the rear sliding glass
doors and see the wind is pretty stiff from the northeast and it is
pretty cool. I think an oyster Po-Boy from Peg Legs will make things
better.
A
literary legend:
Homer
No
one knows where Homer was born. There are several cities that claim
to be his birthplace and there is no hard evidence that he existed at
all. What we do know he (or maybe she) was a skilled writer who
wrote legendary tales that surfaced in the 8th
century BC. This was at the same time that the Greek alphabet came
into being. The two main pieces of literature were the Iliad
and the Odyssey
but there were others. What makes everyone believe that there indeed
was a Homer was that the writing style in both books was the same and
other writers near that era made mentioned of Homer in their
writings. The
Iliad
was the story of the Trojan War. Briefly, the main players were King
Menelaus, King Agamemnon, Paris, Helen, Achilles and Hector.
Menelaus and Agamemnon were brothers and kings of different Greek
city-states. Paris was a Prince of Troy in present day southern
Turkey. Helen was the wife of King Menelaus and was the foxiest
woman in the known world. Achilles was renowned as the greatest
warrior in the known world. Hector was the son of the King of Troy
and also a great warrior but not the equal of Achilles. While on a
visit to see King Menelaus, Paris hit on Helen and she is buying.
They got together several times during the visit and Paris talked
Helen into coming back to Troy with him. When Menelaus discovered
this treachery, he and his brother Agamemnon launch 1,000 ships to
Troy to retrieve Helen. The walls of Troy are formidable and
impenetrable to Menelaus and the boys so they start a ten year siege.
During this siege, Achilles' favorite nephew stole Achilles’ armor
and joined in one of the attacks. The nephew is killed by Hector.
Achilles is really pissed and goes to the outer walls of Troy and
calls out Hector for a one-on-one duel. Hector came out and sure
enough, Achilles killed him. A very enterprising Greek name Ulysses
recommended that they build a mobile monument shaped like a horse and
hide warriors inside. Then they would sail away beyond the horizon
indicating that they had given up on the siege...but they hadn't,
they sailed back the night after the Trojans pulled the horse inside
their walls. After the Trojans take the monument inside the city
walls the warriors inside sneaked out and open the wall gates and let
the others in, this is where the Trojan Horse legend originated. The
ruse works, Troy falls and Menelaus takes Helen back to the house.
The Odyssey
is the story of the ten year trip it took for Ulysses to get back to
his kingdom of Ithaca from Troy. During this trip Ulysses had all
kinds of adventure and encountered many strange critters. It would
be worth your time to read a translation of these books. They have
been favorites of the world since the day they were written. It has
been reported that Homer was blind and was accompanied by someone all
his life. In the 1930’s a German archaeologist named Fredrick
Schliemann discovered the ruins of a city in southwestern Turkey that
turned out to be Troy. So there was a city of Troy, but the other
writings by Homer are subject to anyone’s belief. All I can tell
you is that I believe there was such a man as Homer and he gave us
some of the most inventive and creative stories ever written.
This
Date in History April 1
1865
Throughout the Civil War the Governor of Florida John Milton had
done an exemplary job supporting the Confederacy as best he could.
After the Union forces had occupied forces much of Florida and it was
obvious to Milton that the war was nearly over in favor of the Union.
On this date he made a speech to the Florida legislature and said in
part.... “The Yankees have developed a character so odious that
death would be preferable than reunion with them.” He then went to
his plantation named Sylvania
and blew his brains out. I guess he meant what he said. He was 57
years old. By the way, the city of Milton, Florida is named for him.
1877
On this date Edward Schiefflein sets out seeking his fortune
prospecting in the San Pedro Valley about 70 miles east of present
day Tucson, Arizona. His fellow prospectors chided him saying “The
only thing he is going to find in that desert was his own tombstone.”
Schiefflein not only found his fortune, he found the richest silver
deposit ever found in the United States up until that time. He named
it the Tombstone Lode and founded a town near his mine and named the
town Tombstone. Schiefflein sold his mine for an enormous sum and
moved to more civilized environs. Needless to say, the town
flourished with fortune seekers of all segments of society. Included
were bad-ass gunslingers like “Wild Bill” Hickok, the Earp
brothers, Johnny Ringo, William “Curly Bill” Brocius (killed at
the gunfight at the OK corral) and Frank Leslie among many others.
The violence was so pronounced and long lasting that President
Chester Arthur considered instituting martial law but the town took
care of itself. The mine struck water and it was financially
impractical to continue mining and the rough and ready crowd left.
The town is still there and their motto is “A town too tough to
die”.
1945
On this date, after losing 116 ships and the damage of 3 aircraft
carriers, the United States 10th
Army, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. commanding, put
50,000 troops ashore on the southwest coast of the Japanese island
Okinawa. Prior to the landing the Japanese had sent over an
avalanche of Kamikaze aircraft trying to stop the invasion in the
sea. The Kamikaze action proved to be counter-productive because
they ran out of aircraft to combat the Americans once they were
ashore. The Japanese had 120,000 troops in the defense of the island
commanded by Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima. The Japanese tried
a different strategy this time. Rather than meeting the invasion at
waters edge, they allowed the Americans to come inland unopposed. In
fact the invading troops captured two airfields before meeting any
appreciable resistance. Then all hell broke loose. General Ushijima
unleashed a series of massive suicide attacks that eventually
inflicted 50,000 casualties on the Americans including 17,000 deaths.
If y'all do the math you will see that the casualties equaled the
invading force. In other words the invading force suffered 100%
casualties. This does not mean that there were no Americans left,
replacements were sent in as fast as the deaths or injuries occurred.
The Japanese troops fought with unparalleled savagery because
Okinawa was only 350 mile from the Japanese mainland. After the
island was secured, the Japanese had suffered 116,000 casualties and
4,000 surrendering. General Ushijima committed suicide in the
traditional manner, he opened up his abdomen with a knife. General
Buckner was killed just three days before the surrender. By the way,
he was the son of Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner. General
Buckner, Sr and was an instructor at West Point but resigned because
his presence at Sunday chapel was mandatory and he felt that was a
violation of his rights. He was also a Kentuckian meaning he could
not return home for three years after the end of the Civil war
because he fought for the Confederacy. General Buckner, Jr. was an
acknowledged vehement hater of blacks. No one knows why.
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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