Monday

                            Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“This whole rock and roll thing is very over rated. Take away the sex, drugs and booze and what do you have left?”

                                                   Chrissie Hynde

                                 History of wedding rings

It seems that the ritual of rings with a special meaning goes back to about 2,500BC, perhaps further back than that but there is no written language earlier than that explaining the meaning of rings in spite of corpses from previous eras wearing rings. The first ring with a written confirmation of its meaning came from the finger of a mummy that is about 4,000 years old. The ring was made of plant fibers and was a complete circle. A poem on the wall in the mausoleum in hieroglyphics said something on the order that the fibers are made from the earth and in a never ending circle as our lives were intertwined. Evidently the Egyptians were a romantic bunch. This is not the case with the Romans. The Romans put a ring on the fingers of those beings they felt they owned. This included all their slaves, gladiators, soldiers and wives. The Romans were a pragmatic bunch. I read a story about Hannibal Barca, the famous Carthaginian warrior, where he defeated five Roman legions in three battles and gathered the gold rings off the dead Roman soldiers and took them back to Carthage as a prize of war. According to the number of soldiers killed, Hannibal collected about 350 pounds of gold. Then with the Greeks the ring was simply a token of friendship. It was after the ritual of the rings reached Western Europe (Germans, Spanish, French, English, Scandinavians, etc.) that the rings had a meaning associated with matrimony. It is believed that the ritual was reinforced by the Catholic Church and other religious organizations to discourage polygamy, but that is just a supposition.

           This Date in History   November 6

1528 Earlier Spanish conquistador Alva Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and his army of 300 had been exploring north Florida but insects, disease and persistent attacks by the Indians drove them into the sea with only 80 to 90 men left. They built five flimsy boats and set sail westward. They suffered from the lack of food and water and when they tried to land to acquire fresh water and food they were driven back into the sea because the ubiquitous Indians were watching them all the while. On this date, they crashed on a beach in what is now Texas, probably near Galveston. These were most likely the first white men to see Texas. They were immediately captured by the Indians and made virtual slaves. But with Cabeza’s rudimentary knowledge of medicine, he was able to attain the title of medicine man and he and his survivors were released after two years. By now they were down to only Cabeza and three others left out of the 300. Cabeza and the others set out traveling west across New Mexico and Arizona heading for Mexico City that was by now under the control of the men left by the Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortez. After a torturous trek, they ran across a Spanish unit out hunting for slaves. This meeting took place near Sinaloa, Mexico. With help of these men, Cabeza finally arrived in Mexico City and told his tale of survival that enthralled all that heard it. The unbelievable story of Cabeza and his men made its way to Europe and the rest of the world. But his story of the inhospitable lands and hostile Indians did not deter anyone and soon a flood of honkies began arriving in the America. Now this flood of honkies is accompanied a deluge of the progeny of the Spanish conquistadors. Their ancestry goes back to the Maya, Inca, Olmecs and Aztecs but they do not speak Quechua or any other language of their ancestors, they speak the language of their conquerors, Spanish. It is kind of funny that at no time was there ever more than 600 Spanish soldiers in one place at one time but the Natives could not kick them out. The Spanish had a few things that made a difference. They had shoulder fired weapons, war dogs, armor and horses. The natives had never seen a horse before the arrival of the Spanish. The Spanish also had natural immunity to measles, small pox, tuberculosis, etc. that he natives did not. It was disease that conquered them; it was not the military expertise of the Spaniards.

1906 On this date United States President Theodore Roosevelt departed on a diplomatic mission to Panama and Puerto Rico. This is the first time that a sitting United States president had departed the contiguous United States on a diplomatic mission. He really went to Panama to visit the Panama Canal that was still under construction and to Puerto Rico it being a United States possession. Remember that citizens of Puerto Rico can vote in elections and have representatives in Congress. I have a friend of mine that lives in eastern Pennsylvania that says the local Puerto Ricans are the one complaining the loudest about the flood of illegals into their “hood” and have “discouraged” them on more than one occasion. Anyway, Teddy Roosevelt as far as I am concerned, is the best president we have had since A. Lincoln. I have some “unreconstructed” friends out there that are breathing smoke out their ears upon hearing this, but had it not been for Lincoln we would be two, maybe four, nations rather than one. We are better off united. Everyone knew where Teddy stood on any issue and all had respect and confidence in him. He was what I call “a stand up guy”. You knew where he was coming from all the time and you could believe anything he said as being the truth. Those virtues are few and far between since him. I might have said the Dwight Eisenhower would have been except he lied about the Francis Gary Powers spy flight that he later recanted. Harry Truman was close but he was a politician first and a patriot second. We need more like Teddy. Teddy contracted Malaria while on the trip to Panama and it contributed to his demise at relatively early age. Whatever happened to “stand up guys”?

1861 Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama. Like A. Lincoln he was born in Kentucky but in the year of 1808. He attended West Point and graduated in1828 and fought in the Black Hawk War. In 1832 he married Sarah Taylor who was the daughter of General (and future President) Zachary Taylor. Davis and Taylor remained close friends though out the rest of their lives. Soon after Davis and his new bride Sarah settled on Brierwood Plantation in Mississippi. Just a short time Sarah came down with malaria and died from it. In 1845 he married Varina Howells. After the southern states began seceding Davis thought that they may come to him for the Presidency. After his election Davis made this statement “Upon my weary heart was showered smiles, plaudits and flowers. But beyond this I see troubles and thorns innumerable.” Indeed Jeff, indeed.

1887 Land near Toccoa, Georgia was bought for the purpose of building a Christian and Missionary College. An earthen damn was built across Toccoa Creek creating a small but deep lake with the college downstream of the dam. On this date in 1997 an examination of the dam was made and declared safe. Just hours later, the dam failed and a wall of water moving at 120 MPH arrived at the College. There were 38 students and teachers drowned and many injured. One teacher grabbed hold of a passing roof truss and held on and was washed a mile downstream. Her two children were not so lucky and were included in the 38 victims. Two days later First Lady Rosalyn Carter showed up and offered any assistance she could. I do not know what happened to the dam inspector.

1943 US humorist Jon Carroll is born. He said “Everyone should live to be 92 years old, have an orgasm and drop dead.” That is cold, y’all.

1836 French King Charles X died. He said “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” What can you do with that rock hard logic?

              Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow