Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“Happiness
cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is
a spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and
gratitude."
Dennis
Waitley
I
will start another crock pot stew Monday. It will be 2 cartons of
beef broth, four cans of Ro-tel mild tomatoes (I am considering 8 or
9 diced Roma tomatoes instead), onions, celery, okra, mushrooms,
sliced and sauteed kielbasa and a can of cream of mushroom soup. I
will add Stax seasoning, cumin, thyme, oregano and salt and pepper.
There will be a splash of Tabasco on every bowl consumed. I don't
know how to make cornbread but I can hardly wait anyway.
Some
of you have read this before...here it is again.
This
is the tale of Heidi. She is small of stature but had the heart of a
lion. No one knew her real name because she was named Heidi by a
receptionist at a doctor’s office. She was found roaming the
streets in near Lexington, South Carolina in 2005 by a citizen who
called the officials to come and pick her up because she was crippled
and barely able to move. Heidi was found and taken to a safe shelter
for the time being. Little Heidi is a dachshund whose spine had been
damaged and her hind quarters are inoperable. The Lexington County
Animal Control called a member of Dachshund Rescue of America who
lived in nearby Columbia, South Carolina. This dedicated member
gathered up Heidi and took her to a veterinarian for an examination.
The vet said that surgery would not cure Heidi’s affliction and she
should be euthanized because of the lack of a “quality of life”
in her future. It is the policy of this particular Dachshund Rescue
group that before a dachshund under guardianship of a member can be
euthanized, it must be voted on by the President and the Board of
Directors. After the President had a conversation with the vet, it
was decided euthanasia was not necessary. Heidi remained in this
member’s house even though Heidi would move around dragging her
hind quarters. As you might suspect, Heidi did not have control of
her bodily functions so the member fitted her with children’s
number 3 diapers and cut a hole in it which allowed her tail to stick
out. I met Heidi and on out first encounter it was obvious that she
did not know she was handicapped. She ran around playing with the
other dogs and responded to any actions by the people there. In
fact, there was an obvious touch of vinegar in this dog’s attitude.
She was advertised for adoption on the Dachshund Rescue website
which is www.DRNA.org. Later on a lady from Canada admired Heidi’s
obvious spirit and will to survive and adopted her. Through a series
of transfers from one member to another, Heidi made her way to Canada
and the ownership of the lady of faith. This fine person fitted
Heidi with a small carriage with wheels that lifted Heidi’s hind
quarters off the ground and allowed her much more mobility. The lady
from Canada reported that when she took Heidi to a dog park she
thought she was in command by running around and trying to herd up
the other dogs. Heidi became a Canadian celebrity from her sheer
courage and spirit. She eventually became a mascot that is taken
from facility to facility that cared for crippled people and homes
for the elderly to show that life is not over when a wheelchair is
required. She is loved by all who has seen her. Her “wheelchair”
has a checkered race flag and the word Heidi
painted
on it. She is an inspiration for us all. I am glad I got to meet
her. Heidi has since left us and crossed the rainbow Bridge. By the
way, the rescuer and guardian was my daughter Mardy, in whom I am
well pleased as I am of all of my children.
This
Date in History February 6
1820
On this date the first ship carrying freed slaves out of the country
left New York harbor for Freetown in the West African country of
Sierra Leone. This voyage was sponsored by the American Colonization
Society led by Robert Finley but the United States Congress had
kicked in $100,000 for the expenses. These former slaves were those
that were brought to the United States illegally after the passing of
the American Law in 1808 that forbade slave trade. That’s right
folks, slave trade in America was forbidden after 1808. This meant
that slaves could no longer be brought into the United States. That
did not mean that you could not keep the slaves you had and trade,
buy or sell them within the boundaries of the United States. So the
“illegal slaves” that were brought here after 1808 had the option
to go back to Africa. The American plan was based on the English
plan whereby the slaves that fought for England during the American
Revolutionary War and were unhappy with what was given them in Canada
and were allowed to go back to Africa. In 1787 England sent 300
former slaves and 60 white prostitutes to Sierra Leone. Very soon
after their arrival they died of disease or in warfare with the Temne
tribe. However, in 1792 a second fleet of ships departed but now it
had 1,100 former slaves that had fought for England during the
Revolutionary War plus thousands that had fled the West Indies and
other parts of West Africa and came under the leadership of Thomas
Clarkson to the new found country of Liberia and the capitol of
Freetown to establish an independent nation. Between 1822 and 1861
15,000 Africans moved to Freetown and the new nation of Liberia was
granted independence in 1847 and received diplomatic recognition from
the US in 1863. Liberia is the first democratic black nation in
history.
1891
On this date the Dalton Brothers tried unsuccessfully try to rob a
Southern Pacific railroad near Alila, California. Previously the
Dalton Brothers, Grat and Bob, had left Oklahoma headed for
California to meet brother Bill to rob banks and trains and had left
behind their younger brother Emmett because they felt the was too
young. On their first unsuccessful try, they boarded the train and
asked the engineer where the money was but he refused and Bob shot
him in the stomach. They three found the safe car on their own and
ordered the guard to open the door. But the guard began firing
through a small hole in the heavy door and the Dalton’s left. The
Daltons were four of a family of ten brothers. Their brother Frank
was a deputy US Marshal that was killed by bootleggers and bother Bob
was selected to take his place. So Bob hired his brothers Grat and
Emmett as his deputies. The brothers used this opportunity to use
the law to their advantage and began rustling cattle and horses
unencumbered. They even killed a man that was hitting on Bob’s
girlfriend. The law enforcement hierarchy got fed up and fired them
all. They did not do any hard time, however. After this they went
into a system of train, stagecoach and bank robberies. Then finally,
they did a stupid thing. They tried to rob two banks at once in
Coffeyville, Kansas. They rode into town in disguise but were
recognized anyway and the good citizens of Coffeyville armed
themselves and waited for the Daltons to come out of the banks. They
came out and made it back to an alley where they had their horses
tied but the citizenry blocked them into the alley and opened up with
a withering fusillade. They all were killed except Emmett and he
suffered twelve wounds. Emmett finally recovered from his wounds and
was sentenced to 16 years in the slammer. After his release he moved
to California and became a land speculator and contractor and became
a very wealthy man.
Quotable quotes:
“There are only two
types of men on this beach, those that are dead and those that are
going to be. Let’s get the hell out of here.” Story attributed
to US General “Dutch” Cota but was probably made by Colonel
George Taylor on Omaha Beach, 1944.
“Who the hell are
you guys?” ”The 5th
Rangers, sir”. “Well 5th
Rangers, lead us the hell out of here.” Assistant Division
Commander of the US 29th
Division, Brigadier General Norman “Dutch” Cota, Omaha Beach,
1944.
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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