Monday

                         Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not necessary.”

                                  Edward Dennings

Trivia question of the day:

Who was Pocahontas' husband and what happened to her? Answer at the end of the blog. (I am not talking about Elizabeth Warren)

About 4:00a on a Monday morning the Charlotte PD received a burglar alarm at the Robinson Middle School. The cops showed up and found a broken window. Upon entry they found 56 year old Janice Shields of Chesnee, South Carolina. They were momentarily taken aback because Janice was naked as a jaybird and drunk as a Cooter Brown. She was arrested and charged with a B & E (breaking and entering). The cops were glad to find Janice because they had been looking for her because her involvement in a fight earlier. What a sight that must have been for Janice is no Demi Moore.

Over in Merry Old England 62 year old Mike Edwards was riding in his van across the rural countryside when out of the blue, a 1,300 pound hay bale began rolling down a steep hill and ended up in front of him and he crashed into it. Mike was fatally injured. He was the cellist in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra better known as ELO. It was definitely Mike’s time to go because what are the odds of Mike’s van and a rolling bale of hay arriving at the same spot in the universe at the same time? I really enjoyed ELO’s music.

Over in Spartanburg County South Carolina Kathryn Thomason had been out with her friends and arrived back home in the wee hours of the morning and flopped down on the couch. Her 20 year boy friend Jamie Earnhart began shouting at her and eventually struck her in the face. At this point Kathryn’s children came in the room, jumped on Jamie and wore his butt out. The cops came and carted Jamie off to jail, including the recent wounds, and charged him with criminal domestic violence, second offense. Let’s do some math here. Jamie is 20 years old and his girlfriend has children old enough to be able to kick his butt. That makes Kathryn not a cougar but a Smiladon (Saber Tooth tiger) .

                    This Date in History September 10

1897 Even without a breathalyzer test, George Smith is arrested for DWI in London. This is the start of legal entanglements for years to come that caused attorneys to jump for joy from that day to this. However, the statistics show that even the severest of penalties do not seem to deter the driving imbibers. Each year there is an average of 16,000 deaths, 500,000 injuries and $1 billion in damages. We are a very hardheaded bunch.

1921 Germany opened the autobahn. The autobahn being the first minimum access highways in the world with no speed limit. It closely resembles 1-385 at 5:30p near Greenville, S.C. and Independence Blvd in Charlotte, N.C. at about the same time.

1942 President Roosevelt decreed the advent of gasoline rationing for the duration of the WWII. What we really need to do is outlaw any vehicle that cannot produce at least 25 MPG in the city and 28 MPG on the road and that means the SUV's like the Tahoe, Explorer/Expedition and Grand Cherokees, etc. will be parked until pre-Katrina production levels are resumed.

1993 On this date is the final episode on Tonight with David Letterman on NBC. Dave's final guest was Tom Hanks. After the retirement of Johnny Carson it was a seesaw battle between Dave and Jay Leno to be Johnny's replacement. Jay won and Dave moved to CBS. Dave originally outdid Jay in the polls but eventually Jay prevailed and has been ahead ever since.

1989 Hungary allows the East Germans that had been in refugee camps to return to West Germany if they wanted to which was opposed to Soviet policy. The president of Hungary said "We cannot be a nation of refugee camps." This unanswered act of defiance was a sure indicator the Russia's influence was circling the drain.

1977 Charlene Williams and Gerald Gallego met in a Sacramento Bar. Thus beginning one of the most sordid tales in the history of serial killers. These monsters decided that Gerald's sexual and sadistic appetites were the equal of Charlene's and so they went on rampage of capturing runaways and raping, torturing and killing them. They had done in 10 teenagers before finally being caught in an Ingles parking lot asleep in a stolen car in Greenville, S.C., tried and convicted. Charlene rolled on Gerald and got 20 years, Gerald got life without parole. In my opinion that ain't good enough, I wish we still used the rack and the Iron Maiden so we could get medieval on their collective asses.

1881 Tensions rise in Cochise County, Arizona after a stage robbery is investigated by Wyatt Earp and his brothers. By looking at some boot prints in the dirt, Wyatt decided that Frank Stillwell and sometime sheriff John Behan had done the deed and arrested them. Both Frank and John were supporters of the Ike Clanton and John McLaury families. These 2 families felt that they controlled the "range" country where they could do pretty much as they pleased including rustling other peoples cattle and horses, and the Earp brothers controlled the town. All this tension came to a head in October at the OK Corral. The Earp brothers and Doc Holliday prevailed.

Born today:

1487 Pope Julius III. When speaking to an aide he said “Do you not know, my son, with what little understanding this world is ruled?” Hey Julius, hell yes I know what you are talking about. Nothing has changed in 523 years.

1885 US writer Charles Van Doren. He said “Yes, it is hard to write, but it is harder not to.” I concur, Charles.

1890 French/Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli. She said “Women all over the world dress the same: they dress to be annoying to other women.” Women are strange critters, y'all.

1929 US golfer Arnold Palmer. He said “The road to success is always under construction.” Arnie had one of the fiercest competitive spirits ever seen in sports.

1934 US columnist (and one of my favorites) Charles Kuralt. He said “Thanks to the interstate road system, we can travel coast to coast without seeing a damned thing.” Unfortunately, this North Carolina native left this earth at the age of 63. What a damned shame.

Answer to the trivia question:

Pocahontas was married to tobacco plantation owner John Rolfe primarily because Rolfe wanted a truce with the very powerful indian chief Powhatan, Pocahontas was his daughter. Pocahontas, John and their infant son Thomas sailed to England.   She was the hit of King James I court. She got aboard a ship in London to sail back to the New World. When the ship was just a few miles down the Thames she fell ill and died near Gravesend. It is not known what killed her but her symptoms indicate TB, pneumonia, dysentery or small pox for she had no natural immunity to any of these. She was buried in St. George Church graveyard in Gravesend.

               Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow