Thursday

                     Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“If the cops have to run you down you can be sure they will bring an ass whipping with them.”

                                           Chris Rock

There is a man made lake complex in eastern South Carolina that may be the largest east of the Mississippi River. It is known as Santee-Cooper. It is two giant lakes connected by a canal. The eastern most lake is labeled Lake Moultrie and the entire area is surrounded by very thick swamps that contain a myriad of wildlife including full grown American alligators. A while back a 56 year old man staggered into a picnic area on Lake Moultrie minus a left arm up to the shoulder. Fortunately for him, there were five nurses present in the picnic area and the staunched the blood flow with ice and called 911. The EMT’s showed up and transported man to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. A Wildlife officer also showed up and found out an alligator had taken that unfortunate man’s arm off. A team of Wildlife officer went on the search for the Gator and found an 11 foot, 550 pound gator at the spot described by the victim. They dispatched the reptile and open up its stomach and retrieved the man’s arm and immediately put it on ice and sped it to the MUSC just in case it could be re-attached. That 56 year old victim is the luckiest man on the planet to have found a group of nurses immediately after such a trauma as that. He is lucky to be alive...if this tale is not urban legend.

The unluckiest man, or maybe the stupidest, man on the planet is the moron that called the Myrtle Beach, SC cops and reported a home invasion where he was wounded in the hand. The cops came and began dusting for prints to identify the invaders. What they found in addition to the prints was a large stash of cocaine belonging to the home owner. This moron is in the joint charged with possession with the intent to distribute. If he had had about half of what the cops found it would be simple possession, but no, he had a large stash and invited the cops over. Holy dummy, Batman!

            This Date in History August 4

1892 On this date the Fall River, Massachusetts police are called to the home of Andy and Abbie Borden. The two had not been seen or heard for several days. Upon entry the cops found Andy in the downstairs living room where someone had chosen to part Andy’s face down the middle with an axe. The police were stunned, that is until they go upstairs to one of the bedrooms where Abbie was lying in a pool of blood. This girl had been struck several times on her skull also with an axe. According to the police Abbie’s head had been literally crushed from multiple blows. Well, the only possible suspects that could have committed this massacre were a daughter Lizzie or the housekeeper. Abbie was Lizzie’s step-mother and the word on the street was that they were not very friendly toward each other. The police arrested Lizzie for murder. She was tried and acquitted in spite if the evidence. In those days it was inconceivable that young lady could muster up such a rage and deliver a hacking like that, especially on her parents. There is little question that Lizzie did the deed but the good people from Massachusetts did not want to admit that one of their young ladies were capable of such a slaughter.

1961 On June 21 three civil rights workers were scanning the countryside in and around Meridian, Mississippi in an attempt to resister to vote many black people that had never voted before. Two of them were from New York named Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman. They were accompanied by a local black man name James Chaney. On June 21 they were riding away from the jail in Philadelphia, Mississippi where they had spent a couple of hours for a trumped up charge of speeding. What they really went to jail for was so the Sheriff could notify the KKK and they could prepare an ambush when they left. The ambush was indeed sprung and all three of the civil right workers were killed. The parents of the New Yorkers got concerned when they did not hear anything from Michael and Andrew for several days and notified the local police and the FBI. The local police were not interested in pursing the case but the FBI was very interested. They moved into Philadelphia, Mississippi in force and began an investigation that was somewhat less than gentlemanly. The local rednecks responded with more and more heat being applied to the blacks. Finally the FBI bribed a local Klansman into telling where the bodies of the three workers were buried. They were in the bottom of an earthen dam that was under construction and the corpses were unearthed on this date. Several Klansmen went to trial fro murder but were acquitted by a very prejudicial jury. The FBI re-arrested them and put them on trial for violation of their civil rights, a federal offense. They all did hard time but not what they would have gotten if they had been convicted of murder. Mississippi declared that their people don’t think that way any longer and they are out in the sunshine now. I certainly hope so.

1864 Earlier Confederate General John Bell Hood had launched three separate attacks against the troops of US General William Sherman in his attempt to protect Atlanta, Georgia. All three attacks were repulsed with heavy losses causing Hood’s army to become ineffective from then on. Sherman sent US General Schofield and his Corp around to cut the railroad supplying Atlanta from the south and southwest. He also sent US General John Palmer to help Schofield. Then egos got in the way. General Palmer was very sensitive as to who had seniority, the mission be damned. Palmer would only accept orders from US General George Thomas (a Virginian, by the way) and because he felt that Schofield was his junior the mission came to a standstill in spite of the fact that it was Schofield’s assignment. Palmer refused to accept orders form Sherman also so Sherman took the bull by the horns and declared that Schofield was senior to Palmer whereupon Palmer resigned and went home to Illinois (are you listening, Jim?) This squabbling allowed the Confederates to re-group and reassemble. When the Union soldiers resumed their attempt to take the railroad the Confederates were ready and delivered a bloody repulse and heavy casualties. As usual, this meant that the over inflated egos of Generals cost the lives of the men in their commands. So what else is new?

1873 Lt. Colonel George Custer had been assigned the task of protecting a survey party that was laying out the Northern Pacific Railroad. This route took them through the Sioux territory of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull but the Indians seemed to not pay any attention to them much to Custer’s chagrin. Custer was hungry for combat. Since there was no action, Custer took this opportunity to go hunting for buffalo, elk, deer, etc. On one occasion he found himself far from the rest of the troops. He was near the Tongue River hunting when a considerable force of Sioux Indians shows up on the horizon and attack. Custer was asleep and when awakened he was able to form an effective defense and the Indians withdrew. From this Custer developed the idea that the Indians would rather run than fight. He had this attitude three years later at Little Big Horn when he attacked without reconnaissance and was massacred. The Indians did not run this time.

         Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow