Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“When
you feel you are going through hell, keep putting one foot in front
of the other. Eventually you will come out on the other side or you
will find a road sign that will give you direction.”
This
is composite of quotes by Winston Churchill and Hunter Thompson.
Trivia
question of the day:
What
NFL defensive lineman was known as “Tooz”? Answer at the end of
the blog.
The
Saga of Robin
Back
in 1955 a woman child was born in the vicinity of Norfolk, Virginia.
The exact location and last name are not known by me but it doesn’t
seem to matter much. Robin had a hard time growing up because of a
dysfunctional family. She was very unhappy and ran away from home
more than once. Soon she was in a reform school for a period of time
and eventually was released at the age of 15. Her refusal to go back
to her parents put her on the streets and made her a prime target for
junkies and dealers. She became addicted to alcohol and heroin and
did share needles. In addition to this she became addicted to music
and taught herself to play the guitar and harmonica. During the next
few years she played on the streets of cities like Richmond,
Virginia, Detroit, Atlanta and Coconut Grove, Florida. She played on
the streets and coffee houses for tips and an occasional club date.
Most of the time she slept under park benches, abandoned cars or
service station rest rooms, etc. She spent several years in south
Florida and played mostly club dates. At the age of 34 she decided
to give up the drugs and moved to Gastonia, North Carolina to get
away from the drug influenced life style. She connected with a
guitarist named Tony Rogers. Robin had steady work in the clubs
around Gastonia and her deep, rich contralto blues notes sent chill
bumps down Tony’s arms and he told her that she needed to get out
on her own. So Tony and Robin were married in 1998 and formed the
“Robin Rogers Hot Band” with Robin doing the vocals and
occasional harp with Tony on guitar and a drummer and an upright
bass. Soon after that Tony and Robin tried to get life and health
insurance and the resulting physical indicated that all was not right
with Robin’s liver and she was rejected. But Robin and Tony
continued with their beloved blues and Robin was soon recognized as a
superior blues vocalist and several tours and CD’s were launched.
The sun was finally rising on Robin’s world and she and Tony basked
in its warmth…until September 2, 2010. Robin began bleeding from
the mouth and the diagnosis was Hepatitis C. Several procedures were
attempted to no avail and the doctors reported that she could not
stand surgery because of her condition. She was sent home in the
care of hospice. It was not long for this woman of soul and sure
enough she has passed. Look her up on Youtube.com and let her rip
your heart out like she did mine.
This
Date in History September 17
1932
Speed demon Sir Malcolm Campbell (no relation that I know of) sets
a land speed record of 76.035 MPH. Think about that folks, that is
about the average speed traveled on nearly all of the Interstate
highways today. Anyway, Sir Malcolm at the age of 50 broke the 300
MPH barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats, that’s better. Sir
Malcolm also was interested in the speed record over water and did so
on several occasions but his last try resulted in a gust of wind
getting under his hydroplane and sent it airborne at which the
hydroplane disintegrated killing Sir Malcolm. If anyone had the”need
for speed” it was Sir Malcolm.
1950
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis make their debut on the TV show The
Colgate Comedy Hour and are an immediate smash hit. They stayed
together until 1956 when they decided to go their separate ways.
Dean went on the nightclub circuit, especially in Las Vegas. Jerry
made 3 or 4 movies that were a flop here in the US but were very
popular in Europe where he is considered a comic genius. Dean teamed
up with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop
forming what was known as” The Rat Pack”. They were a nightclub
act that was very popular for a long time. Dean also had a TV variety
show for 9 years. After Peter Lawford died Dean was asked what had
Peter died from, Dean responded with “Peter died of vodka”. Sad.
Dean died in 1995 ending a remarkable life.
1862
The bloodiest single day in American history occurred on this day
near a small town in Maryland named Sharpsburg and near a small creek
name Antietam. There were actually 3 separate battles; Dunker
Church, West Woods and Miller’s cornfield. At dawn US Gen. Joseph
Hooker unleashed an attack on the Confederate troops under the
command of CSA Gen. Stonewall Jackson near Dunker Church. Hooker’s
attack is stemmed by a ferocious counter-attack by the Confederates
at which there was a ghastly number on casualties on both sides. The
worst attack came when US Gen. Edwin Sumner was able to get artillery
pieces aimed down a sunken road where the Confederates had a line of
infantry lying down and shooting over the embankment. The slaughter
was unbelievable. This road from then to this day is known as
“Bloody Lane”. This battle was a tactical draw but it did force
Lee back into Virginia to refit. The total casualty count was
22,807. What can I say here?
1957
Louis Armstrong had been asked to go to go on goodwill tour to
Russia for the US and he agreed. On this day he angrily refused to
go because of the happenings in Little Rock, Ark. It seems that a
federal judge decreed that Central High School in Little Rock must be
integrated. 9 black students showed up to go to school and were met
by an angry white mob and the Arkansas National Guard sent there by
Governor Orville Faubus to stop them from entering the school. Well,
after hearing about this debacle Louis told the people responsible
for the goodwill tour to take this tour and shove it even though
President Eisenhower had sent in the airborne to get those kids in
the school. Louis was not impressed and said words to the effect
that “How can I go promote goodwill between the US and Russia when
blacks are treated like that?” Indeed.
1868
A large contingent of Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attack US Maj.
George Forsyth and 50 frontiersmen in Colorado. Maj. Forsyth lead
his men to a sandbar in the middle of Arikaree River and there they
made a stand. They were able to hold off the initial onslaught of
the estimated 600 warriors because of the 7 shot repeating rifles
they had. Forsyth knew that he and his men would be annihilated if
he did not get help. Two of the frontiersmen volunteered to sneak
out at night and go through the Indian lines and get help. The
battle continued for 5 days until Forsyth saw that he had only 10 men
still able to fight and that many of them were wounded and would die
if they did not get medical help and soon. The Indians left figuring
they had done enough damage. Early in the afternoon the 10th
Colorado Cavalry showed up with a wagonload of food and medical
supplies which saved many of the men. By the way, the 10th
Cavalry was an all black unit known as “Buffalo Soldiers”.
Born
today:
1931
US actress Anne Bancroft. Anne was going to get married to Mel
Brooks when Mel called his Jewish mother and told her that he was
going to marry a Catholic woman and his mother said “OK, bring her
over, I will be in the kitchen....with my head in the oven.” Now I
know where Mel got his sense of humor.
Answer
to the trivia question:
The
NFL player known as “Tooz” was John Matuzak of the Oakland
Raiders.
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
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