Wednesday

                        Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“Patriotism is your conviction that you live in the greatest country in the world because you were born there.”

                                      George Bernard Shaw

Trivia question of the day:

Who was the first United States Vice President? Answer at the end of the blog.

A long time ago I as working in Pensacola, Fl. as an air traffic controller. Pensacola was a TRACON meaning a Terminal Radar Air Traffic Control facility. We were essentially responsible for providing air traffic control services to aircraft within 50 mile radius. That is an oversimplification but you get the idea. The skies were full of US Navy aircraft in training both on land and on aircraft carriers that were based there like the USS Lexington and later the USS Kitty Hawk. At times especially during hurricane evacuations the stress level was approaching unmanageable. The US Navy in Pensacola would send nearly all their aircraft to a navy base in Missouri to wait out a hurricane. They sent them all at once and brought them back all at once. We had a controller with us that was approaching the end of his career and we tried to protect him knowing that he was not as capable as the rest of us. It was suggested that he go to Mobile, Al. to finish his career but he said he did not want to take a pay cut. Back then in the air traffic control business your salary is based upon the traffic count. During one evacuation he was caught in a very busy and very difficult situation...he was over his head. He said that he was about to faint and laid down on the floor and his “coordinator” took over for him. He went to the hospital and it was determined that it was caused by stress and him hyperventilating. He very nearly died trying to keep working at the job. He went to Mobile but kept his house in Pensacola and commuted (about 65 miles). He eventually retired. The point I am trying to make is your health is not worth your job. By the way, a coordinator is a person that monitors what is being said between the controller and the aircraft and communicates with all the associated facilities on the land lines so all the controller has to do is talk with the aircraft.

           This Date in History   October 3

1781 British General Charles Cornwallis and 9,000 of his troops had been pinned up against the Chesapeake Bay by a combined force of 17,000 Patriot and French infantry at Yorktown, Virgina for about two weeks. The British had been able to persevere because they were being re-supplied from across the York River. Patriot General George Washington sent French Brigadier General Marquis de Cloisy and 1,000 infantry to cut that supply route. On this date Marquis de Cloisy was able to ambush the British supply wagons led by British Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Dundas and 800 infantry with complete success. With this the last supply route to the British encampment now cut, it was just a matter of time before they had to surrender and bring this war for independence to a successful termination.

1862 Confederate Generals Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price combined their forces and attempt of take back the city of Corinth, Mississippi that had been captured by US General William Rosecrans earlier. Corinth was an all important railroad center. The US forces had taken Corinth after the Confederates had been there for some time and had developed considerable breastworks. Rosecrans’s troops just reinforced what was there into an even more formidable embrasures. On this date the Confederates attempted three direct and flank attacks and were able to gain the first entrenchment but could not hold and withdrew with heavy casualties.

1995 On this date one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American history occurs in Los Angeles, California. Former NFL football star O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife Nichole Brown and an innocent passer-by named Ron Goldman. The trial had been underway for almost a year. In the past Nichole Brown had called 911 several times because Simpson had shown up at her house enraged and had beat the hell out of her at least once and threatened her many times. Ron Goldman was a waiter at an upscale restaurant where Nichole had eaten lunch a few hours before. Nichole had left her sunglasses at the restaurant and Goldman was dropping the sunglasses off at Nichole’s house on his way home when they both were murdered. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind, except for that jury, that O.J. was the murderer. O.J. was defended by a formidable crew of attorneys led by Johnny Cochran. I personally think that O.J. was acquitted because he was black, as was the majority of the jury. Take it from me bigotry exists on both sides of the race issue.

1895 One of the best and most influential novels in the history of American literature is published on this day. It is The Red Badge of Courage written by Stephan Crane. It is a novel about a group of young men that enlist in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, one young man in particular. When he encounters combat for the first time he runs away in terror. Then he has a talk with himself about self esteem and courage and returns to his unit. The book is an icon in annuls of American literature and is worthy of everyone’s time to read. Crane was born into poverty one of a family of 14 living in the New York/New Jersey area. Crane died in 1899 of tuberculosis at the age of 28. That’s right folks, he wrote this great novel at a very early age. What a damned waste of writing talent.

1873 Earlier a group of Modoc Indians got fed up with settlers moving in on their lands in Central Oregon and killed a few of them and ran up into the Cascades to hide. They stayed there for quite a length of time and refused several attempts to negotiate their surrender. It seems they did not trust us honkies at our word and I don’t blame them. Finally, the US Cavalry decided to send in high ranking US General Canby to negotiate thinking the Modoc would more readily believe him. Canby went in to negotiate but the Modoc were not impressed and capped all of the party except one who went back and told what happened. The US cavalry sent an overwhelming force and captured all the Modoc. On this day four of them were hanged for the killing of General Canby, not the settlers, General Canby.

Births and deaths:

1941 US writer Anne Rice is born. She said “I was particularly stunned by the casting of Tom Cruise; he is no more the vampire La Stat than Edward G. Robinson is Rhett Butler.” One of my daughters suggested that I not read that book because there was homosexuality in it and they thought I would find it offensive. I did not read it because of that, I did not read it because it is fiction. If I was going to be offended at homosexuality I could not read the biography of many, many leaders, Frederick the Great, in particular. I have completed his biography and will send it out soon.

Quotable quotes:

“My favorite animal is steak.”

Fran Lebowitz

“My wife has wonderfully colored eyes; I particularly like the blue one.”

                                           Dave Barry

Answer to the trivia question:
The first United States Vice President was John Adams.

           Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow