Musing and History

Quote of the day:
“I am not going to deny myself things that I want just so I can spend an extra two years in the geriatric ward.”  Me too, George.
                                                        George Carlin

This past weekend I was in a famous watering hole that was recently shut down for having poker machines with gambling but the owner appealed and was allowed to remain open. Gambling is not legal in the state of South Carolina except for the state government which runs a lottery several days a week from which they reap enormous profits. The state of South Carolina says this is the “Education Lottery” and is used to provide education to deserving students. I do not know who decides how and to whom these funds are distributed and who would audit them but it is still gambling. The bar owner saw this as the supreme hypocrisy and to say the least unfair...and so do I. He remained open but the state took the poker machines. He has several sign in his establishment telling the state to “kiss his redneck a- -!”

A while back I met a lady named Rhonda while celebrating life with members of my eastside social group. Unfortunately the conversation got to present day politics. She had me at a disadvantage because I have stopped watching/listening to the media because of their unreliability. She finally said that she thought that Hillary should be president because she is squeaky clean(?) and has demonstrated leadership(?). She said that she knows how bad Donald is because she is in the real estate business herself. I bade her a good evening after that stunning display of rock hard logic. 

This Date in History July 31
1777 On this date a 19 year old Frenchman named Marquis de Lafayette joined George Washington’s Continental army as a Major General. Earlier Continental Congress secret envoy to France, Silas Deane had persuaded French military expert Baron Johan De Kalb and his protégée Marquis de Lafayette to offer their services to the fledgling United States in its war with England. The ruling monarch of France was King Louis XVI and he knew that any support sent to the colonies by France would result in war with England and forbade DeKalb and Lafayette from donating their expertise. In fact the British demanded at the ship Lafayette was aboard to be captured and Lafayette imprisoned. This in fact did happen but Lafayette escaped and boarded another ship that was able to evade the pursuing British ships. Lafayette finally arrived in South Carolina and made his way north and met up with Washington. The Continental Congress was reluctant to bestow such a rank on such a young man but Washington’s influence prevailed and Lafayette was given the rank. Lafayette served with distinction at the Battles of Brandywine, Monmouth and Rhode Island. After the United States and France signed a treaty, as expected, England declared was on France. This disturbed Lafayette and he requested to return to his homeland and see what Louis XVI had in mind for him in the war against England. He returned to France but came back to the United States and joined with Washington once again. He was at Yorktown, Virginia when British General Charles Cornwallis and his entire army were forced to surrender which virtually assure a Patriot victory in their war for independence. In fact if was a division of French troops that blocked Cornwallis from retreating. After the surrender ceremony George Washington made a stirring speech but Lafayette just said “The play...is over.”

1975 The leader of the powerful Teamsters Union of America, Jimmy Hoffa, is reported missing in Detroit. Jimmy had been waiting in the back seat of his Cadillac in front of the Red Fox restaurant in suburban Detroit on minute and the next minute both Jimmy, his driver and the Cadillac were gone. Jimmy had gone to jail for jury tampering for 8 years and while he was gone, his second in command in the Union Jim Fitzsimmons moved in and was elected President. This precisely what Hoffa had ordered not to happen. Hoffa wanted to remain President and run the Union from a jail cell. After he got out of jail, he went on a campaign to regain control of the Teamsters. Jimmy had some murky dealings with organized crime but nothing specific was ever determined. He finally was re-elected as President of the Union but Fitzsimmons and his followers were not pleased and the word on the street was that organized crime felt that Jimmy had become a threat. So it could have either or both that sent Jimmy to where he is today and has never been found. The most popular theory is that he was killed and his corpse was encased in one of the 8 foot diameter concrete columns that were under construction building the Meadowlands arena in New Jersey. I don’t think we will ever know what happened to Jimmy.

1715 On July 5 10 Spanish galleons and 1 French frigate departed Havana, Cuba loaded to the scuppers with Maya and Inca gold and silver headed for Europe. The Spanish ships hugged the Florida shore while the French ship sail further off shore. On this date when the Spanish ship were somewhere between Cape Canaveral and Fort Pierce, Florida a hurricane struck and all 10 of the Spanish ships were sunk spilling tons of gold and silver on the ocean floor. The French ship was able to ride out the storm with minimum damage. Later salvage boats from Cuba recovered 80% of the booty but the rest of it lay on the bottom until the early 1960’s when the rest of the treasure was salvaged.

Born today:

1912 US writer Irv Kupcinet. He said “What can you say about a civilization that says God id dead and Elvis is alive.” Hey Irv, do you meant that Elvis is not alive and working at a Dairy Queen in Kalamazoo, Michigan?

1919 US Sports announcer Curt Gowdy. At an automobile race he said “If there is a pile-up they might have to give some of the driver’s artificial insemination.” That may be good for Danica Patrick, Curt, but I had rather have artificial respiration.

1921 US racial advocate Whitney Young. He said “It is better to prepare for an opportunity and not have one than to not be prepared and have an opportunity.” You are right, Whitney, that is why I have Viagra, Cialis and Levitra in a capsule holder on my key chain, for what good it does.

Died today:

1928 US writer Michael Harrington. He said “If there is a technical advance and no social advance, there is almost automatically an increase in human misery.” I don’t get it Mike. What has the ATM machine, I-pod and the cellular phone etc. got to do with social well being?

      Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow