Wednesday

•       Musings and History

  
  

  Quote of the day:

  “Music hath the charm to soothe the savage beast, but have a revolver close by just in case.”

                                                                  Josh Billings

  
  

  Trivia question of the day:

  In American history...who was Mary Surratt? Answer at the end of the blog.

  
  

  I am going to Pensacola beach in a Jeep Cherokee that was loaned to me from a good friend.  The only problem with the Jeep is the size of the gas tank. It gets good gas mileage. I went about 170 miles on 5.7 gallons (you do the math) but that was nearly a half a tank. I sounds like the tank is 13 gallons. But in my case after going about 290 miles in 5 hours with one pit stop, I was ready to quit. I guess I am not 10 feet tall and bullet proof like I used to be. 

                                                Homer

  No one knows where Homer was born. There are several cities that claim to be his birthplace and there is no hard evidence that he existed at all. What we do know he (or maybe she) was a skilled writer who wrote legendary tales that surfaced in the 8^th century BC. This was at the same time that the Greek alphabet came into being. The two main pieces of literature were the Iliad and the Odyssey but there were others. What makes everyone believe that there indeed was a Homer was that the writing style in both books was the same and other writers near that era made mentioned of Homer in their writings. The Iliad was the story of the Trojan War. Briefly, the main players were King Menelaus, King Agamemnon, Paris, Helen, Achilles and Hector. Menelaus and Agamemnon were brothers and kings of different Greek city-states. Paris was a Prince of Troy in present day southern Turkey. Helen was the wife of King Menelaus and was the foxiest woman in the known world. Achilles was renowned as the greatest warrior in the known world. Hector was the son of the King of Troy and also a great warrior but not the equal of Achilles. While on a visit to see King Menelaus, Paris hit on Helen and she is buying. They got together several times during the visit and Paris talked Helen into coming back to Troy with him. When Menelaus discovered this treachery, he and his brother Agamemnon launch 1,000 ships to Troy to retrieve Helen. The walls of Troy are formidable and impenetrable to Menelaus and the boys so they start a ten year siege. During this siege, Achilles' favorite nephew stole Achilles’ armor and joined in one of the attacks. The nephew is killed by Hector. Achilles is really pissed and goes to the outer walls of Troy and calls out Hector for a one-on-one duel. Hector came out and sure enough, Achilles killed him. A very enterprising Greek name Ulysses recommended that they build a mobile monument shaped like a horse and hide warriors inside. Then they would sail away beyond the horizon indicating that they had given up on the siege...but they hadn't, they sailed back the night after the Trojans pulled the horse inside their walls. After the Trojans take the monument inside the city walls the warriors inside sneaked out and open the wall gates and let the others in, this is where the Trojan Horse legend originated. The ruse works, Troy fell and Menelaus took Helen back to the house. The Odyssey is the story of the ten year trip it took for Ulysses to get back to his kingdom of Ithaca from Troy. During this trip Ulysses had all kinds of adventure and encountered many strange critters. It would be worth your time to read a translation of these books. They have been favorites of the world since the day they were written. It has been reported that Homer was blind and was accompanied by someone all his life. In the 1930’s a German archaeologist named Fredrick Schliemann discovered the ruins of a city in southwestern Turkey that turned out to be Troy. So there was a city of Troy, but the other writings by Homer are subject to anyone’s belief. All I can tell you is that I believe there was such a man as Homer and he gave us some of the most inventive and creative stories ever written.

  
  

                      This Date in History   April 1

  
  

  1865 Throughout the Civil War the Governor of Florida John Milton had done an exemplary job supporting the Confederacy as best he could. After the Union forces had occupied forces much of Florida and it was obvious to Milton that the war was nearly over in favor of the Union. On this date he made a speech to the Florida legislature and said in part.... “The Yankees have developed a character so odious that death would be preferable than reunion with them.” He then went to his plantation named Sylvania and blew his brains out. I guess he meant what he said. He was 57 years old. By the way, the city of Milton, Florida is named for him.

  
  

  1877 On this date Edward Schiefflein sets out seeking his fortune prospecting in the San Pedro Valley about 70 miles east of present day Tucson, Arizona. His fellow prospectors chided him saying “The only thing he is going to find in that desert was his own tombstone.” Schiefflein not only found his fortune, he found the richest silver deposit ever found in the United States up until that time. He named it the Tombstone Lode and founded a town near his mine and named the town Tombstone. Schiefflein sold his mine for an enormous sum and moved to more civilized environs. Needless to say, the town flourished with fortune seekers of all segments of society. Included were bad-ass gunslingers like “Wild Bill” Hickok, the Earp brothers, Johnny Ringo, William “Curly Bill” Brocius (killed at the gunfight at the OK corral) and Frank Leslie among many others. The violence was so pronounced and long lasting that President Chester Arthur considered instituting martial law but the town took care of itself. The mine struck water and it was financially impractical to continue mining and the rough and ready crowd left. The town is still there and their motto is “A town too tough to die”.

  
  

  1945 On this date, after losing 116 ships and the damage of 3 aircraft carriers, the United States 10^th Army, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. commanding, put 50,000 troops ashore on the southwest coast of the Japanese island Okinawa. Prior to the landing the Japanese had sent over an avalanche of Kamikaze aircraft trying to stop the invasion in the sea. The Kamikaze action proved to be counter-productive because they ran out of aircraft to combat the Americans once they were ashore. The Japanese had 120,000 troops in the defense of the island commanded by Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima. The Japanese tried a different strategy this time. Rather than meeting the invasion at waters edge, they allowed the Americans to come inland unopposed. In fact the invading troops captured two airfields before meeting any appreciable resistance. Then all hell broke loose. General Ushijima unleashed a series of massive suicide attacks that eventually inflicted 50,000 casualties on the Americans including 17,000 deaths. If y'all do the math you will see that the casualties equaled the invading force. In other words the invading force suffered 100% casualties. This does not mean that there were no Americans left, replacements were sent in as fast as the deaths or injuries occurred. The Japanese troops fought with unparalleled savagery because Okinawa was only 350 mile from the Japanese mainland. After the island was secured, the Japanese had suffered 116,000 casualties and 4,000 surrendering. General Ushijima committed suicide in the traditional manner, he opened up his abdomen with a knife. General Buckner was killed just three days before the surrender. By the way, he was the son of Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner. General Buckner, Sr and was an instructor at West Point but resigned because his presence at Sunday chapel was mandatory and he felt that was a violation of his rights. He was also a Kentuckian meaning he could not return home for three years after the end of the Civil war because he fought for the Confederacy. General Buckner, Jr. was an acknowledged vehement hater of blacks. No one knows why.

  
  

  Answer to the trivia question:

  Mary Surratt was the owner of the boarding house in Washington where John Wilkes Booth and others planned the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. All the collaborators were killed or caught and hanged including Mary Surratt. There was no evidence that she participated in the planning but because she was there the prosecutors felt she should have at least known about it, notified the cops and didn't...so they hanged her too.

  
  

                               Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow

  ---

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Al Campbell

albig29640@yahoo.com

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Tuesday

       Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“Finding Nemo is number one at the box office. It is based on a game that President Bill Clinton played with the interns.”

                                                               David Letterman

Here is another American hero:

                                  Congressional Medal of Honor

BAKER, JR., THOMAS ALEXANDER
CMH #2604

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. ArmyBirthday: 25 June 1916Unit: Company A, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry DivisionPlace and Date of Action: Saipan, Mariana Islands, 19 June to 7 July 1944 Date of Death: 12 July 1944Cemetery: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (F-162) (MH); Honolulu, HI

CITATION: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Saipan, Mariana Islands, 19 June to 7 July 1944. His entire company was held up by fire from automatic weapons and small-arms fire from strongly fortified enemy positions that commanded the view of the company, Sgt. (then Pvt.) Baker voluntarily took a bazooka and dashed alone to within 100 yards of the enemy. Through heavy rifle and machine gun fire that was directed at him by the enemy, he knocked out the strong point, enabling his company to assault the ridge. Some days later while his company advanced across the open field flanked with obstructions and places of concealment for the enemy, Sgt. Baker again voluntarily took up a position in the rear to protect the company against surprise attack and came upon 2 heavily fortified enemy pockets manned by 2 officers and 10 enlisted men which had been bypassed. Without regard for such superior numbers, he unhesitatingly attacked and killed all of them. Five hundred yards farther, he discovered 6 of the enemy who had concealed themselves behind our lines and destroyed all of them. On 7 July 1944, the perimeter of which Sgt. Baker was a part was attacked from 3 sides by from 3,000 to 5,000 Japanese. During the early stages of this attack, Sgt. Baker was seriously wounded but he insisted on remaining in the line and fired at the enemy at ranges sometimes as close as 5 yards until his ammunition ran out. Without ammunition and with his own weapon battered to uselessness from hand-to-hand combat, he was carried about 50 yards to the rear by a comrade, who was then himself wounded. At this point Sgt. Baker refused to be moved any farther stating that he preferred to be left to die rather than risk the lives of any more of his friends. A short time later, at his request, he was placed in a sitting position against a small tree. Another comrade, withdrawing, offered assistance. Sgt. Baker refused, insisting that he be left alone and be given a soldier’s pistol with its remaining 8 rounds of ammunition. When last seen alive, Sgt. Baker was propped against a tree, pistol in hand, calmly facing the foe. Later Sgt. Baker’s body was found in the same position, gun empty, with 8 Japanese lying dead before him. His deeds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

                      This Date in History March 31

1776 On this date Continental Congressman John Adams’ wife Abigail wrote him a letter saying in part “I long to hear that you and the others have declared an independence. By the way, in the new code of laws I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you to remember the ladies and be more favorable and generous to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws which we do not have any voice or representation.” Let us recap at this point. John Adams and the Continental Congress are gathered together in Philadelphia on the cusp of creating a new nation the likes of which the world has never seen. They are doing this knowing that the mightiest army and navy on the planet will bring all their forces to bear to prevent this from happening. Then one our greatest leaders is reminded to remember gender parity under the threat of a “rebellion”. Abigail Adams was a brilliant person and was as devoted to John as John was to her but to threaten a “rebellion” at this point was nothing short of bullshit. This country was facing the most important decision in world history and Abigail is worried about gender parity!  Abigail, this ain’t the time to start nagging about that, for crying out loud! It is at least shortsightedness if not a total lack of vision. On second thought, maybe Abigail had extraordinary vision because it took just short of 150 years for the United States Congress to enact the 19^th Amendment allowing women to vote. Abigail Adams and Barbara Bush are the only two women to be wives and mothers to two American presidents.

1492 On this date, at the direction of the Catholic Church in Spain, all Jews are ordered to become Christians or leave the country. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face, a great majority of the Jews did indeed leave rather than give up their heritage. They took with them huge amounts of money, skills and business connections with many of the countries in the Mediterranean, Europe and Scandinavia. But some of the Jews stayed and held secret Jewish ceremonies while claiming to be Christians. It didn’t help any; the Jews claiming to be Christians were treated like shit anyway. Then the Catholic Church in Spain stepped on its tongue once again and declared that all Moors (Muslims) in Spain must become Christians or leave the country also. One would think that the loss of such a money making and tax paying segment would bankrupt a country. But it didn’t. Spain remained one of the major players in Europe and the world for over 300 years afterward. They took a small dip in power when the Spanish navy was crushed by the English navy in the mid-1500’s. They took another hit when they joined with France and Napoleon Bonaparte and again were crushed by the British navy in the late 1700’s. But Spain reaped an enormous fortune from the “new world” by their conquistadors enslaving the natives in Central and South America and bringing literally tons of gold, silver and precious gems back to Spain.

Born today:

1948 US politico Al Gore. He said “A leopard cannot change its stripes.” Al is a piece of work. Pretty dumb for someone that invented the internet.

                        Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Monday

   Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“I have never killed anyone, but I have read a few obituaries with much pleasure.”

                                                       Clarence Darrow

Trivia question of the day:

What is the largest animal to ever live on planet Earth? Answer at the end of the blog.

The original concept of a democratic republic was for the general population to elect people represent their interests for a period of time and then "go back to the farm" not to stay and wallow in the morass of corruption that is inevitable after an extended period.

A while back a man was elected to represent us in the 4^th district in for "only two terms". After running for re-election for his sixth term he was defeated because of his betrayal of this promise. Later when asked he said "The power and influence you gain is intoxicating".

To me that translates to "Power corrupts". The longer you stay the more you are corrupted.

                           This Date in History   March 30

1775 On this date King George III of England endorsed the so-call Restraining Act. Parliament had proposed this abomination and the King liked it. Now y'all listen to this. This act declared that the colonies must trade exclusively with Great Britain and that ain’t all, the Act forbade the American fishing fleet from fishing in the North Atlantic. Are you mad yet? This meant that all the most eaten fish in the colonies such as cod and salmon would have to be bought from Great Britain even though the Danes and Dutch fished the North Atlantic also and the American fleet had no problem with supplying its people with these fish. The British Prime Minister, Lord North, knew that this act would stir up a hornets nest in the colonies and tried to calm things down by stating that if a colony paid the salary of the Royal Governor of their Colony, they would be taxed less. But Lord North knew this would have little or no effect and sent the Military Commander General Thomas Gage to Boston to become Governor of Massachusetts. This was just the first step toward martial law and the colonists knew it. In July Gage sent a British regiment to destroy a cache of arms and ammo known to be in Concord, Massachusetts and arrest firebrands Patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock. It was during this event that the first shot was fired at the British in anger and the Revolutionary War was under way. Considering what humiliation burdens the British put on the colonists, I am amazed it did not start before then.

1980 In the stormy North Sea the oil companies provided apartments for the drilling platform workers on their off time. The apartment had room for about 220 workers and was afloat on gigantic pontoons. On this night while most of the workers were watching a movie with a gale howling outside, a gigantic rogue wave estimated to be over 100 feet high slammed into the apartment and it capsized . Most of the workers were Norwegian but there were a few Brits and Americans aboard. The apartment was about 220 miles from Dundee, Scotland and soon Royal and Norwegian helicopters were on site but the gale was still howling and rescue was difficult if not impossible. Of the 208 that were aboard the apartment, 123 were unable to reach a life boat and were drowned. Eight years later there was a fire and explosion on a drilling rig in the North Sea took the life of another 167. The oil platform workers make a lot of money but it isn’t worth the risk.

1867 On this date the United States Secretary of State William Seward coughed up $7.2 million dollars and gave it to Russia for what is now Alaska. Seward caught a large ration of shit for this deal. His detractors called Alaska a “huge stump of ice “or “Seward’s Icebox.” Little did they know what a plethora of minerals lay under ground including gold, silver, coal, and iron ore not to mention oil. I would say that the $7.2 million was a good investment for these United States.

Quotable quotes:

“The Cardinal rule of politics is don’t get caught in bed with a live man or a dead woman”. Larry Hagman

How about a semi-dead woman, Larry?

Answer to the trivia question:

The largest animal to ever lived of the planet is the adult blue whale measuring about 82 feet long and weighing about 300,000 pounds. It heart is the size of a VW Beetle.

                            Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Thursday (late)

                       Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“Inanimate objects are classified scientifically into three major categories—those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost.”

                                                       Russell Baker

Trivia question of the day:

Who was Crispus Attucks? Answer at the end of the blog.

                            This Date in History   March 26

1776 The Provincial Government of South Carolina declared their independence from Great Britain, adopted a new constitution and renamed itself the General Assembly of South Carolina. They elected John Rutledge as president, Henry Laurens as Vice-President and William Drayton as Chief Justice. This was four months before the Continental Congress declared independence for the entire Colonies on July 4. During the next two years John Rutledge had near dictatorial powers in South Carolina and the others decided a change was needed. In 1778 changes were proposed to the State constitution that Rutledge was opposed to and he resigned. Rawlins Lowndes took over a Governor and instituted the changes Rutledge found objectionable. The changes took veto powers from the President and made it a law that state senators were to be elected in a general election. It also changed the office of the state President to a governorship. In spite of all of this, in 1779 Rutledge was re-elected only this time he would not be President but a Governor with a lot less power than before. It was Drayton that drafted the state constitution that gave Rutledge such heart burn. Drayton went on to serve in the Continental Congress and died in Philadelphia at the age of 37 in 1779. Rutledge lost most of his wealth when the British captured Charleston earlier but lived to see a new century and died in 1800. Henry Laurens was elected to the Continental Congress and in 1780 was sent on a diplomatic mission to Holland but was captured by the British and was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he served 15 months and was released. He came back to America and spent the rest of his years on his plantation where he died in 1792.

1987 On this date the Philadelphia police are called to a rundown house owned by one Gary Heidnik. In the basement they find a den of horrors. There were two women chained to the wall, one woman at the bottom of a deep pit. There was a fourth but she was the one that had escaped and called the cops. Hiednik had been a mental patient in the past but had made his self wealthy on the stock market. He did not pay any income tax because he had declared himself a Bishop of his own church, The Church of God’s Ministries. It was in 1986 that Heidnik had decided to have a harem and began gathering women off the streets of Philadelphia. He killed one woman by throwing her into the pit, filling it with water and then throwing in an operating electric fan. He killed another by chaining her to the wall and letting her starve to death. The grisliest of all was when he killed another woman, dismembered her and cooked and fed her to the others. Needless to say, Heidnik was tried and convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed in July of 1999. This jackass was able to live 12 years after committing these abominations. It ain’t right, y'all. It just ain’t right.

1997 The San Diego police are called to a fancy mansion in the Rancho Santa Fe area. They find 39 corpses all in a very peaceful and serene positions. The police cannot find blood anywhere and it appears that all have committed suicide by mixing a deadly cocktail of Phenobarbital and vodka. There were 21 women and 19 men. The head of this cult was a strange looking guy named Marshall Applewhite. The basis for Heaven’s gate was to absolve yourself of all earthly possessions, give whatever money you can get for it and give it to the Heaven’s Gate organization and then hang around for God to send a space ship to take you to heaven in a spiritual form. Then the unexpected happens. The Hale-Bopp comet shows up in spectacular fashion. Applewhite takes this as a sign from God and believed the space ship is hidden in the tail of the comet. He decides that it would be prudent to assume the spiritual form when the comet makes its closest pass to earth. I am not saying that the Heaven’s Gate faithful are not sitting aboard a starship as we speak, nor am I denying the turning of the Nile River into blood, nor water into wine nor the parting of the Red Sea because all the above require a leap of faith. It just depends upon what you choose to believe, and it doesn’t have to be logical. What I don’t get is if they are in a spiritual form why do they need a piece of hardware like a space ship. Did I mention Jim Jones and David Koresh?

1832 On this date the American Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor launches its newest device to capture even more of the North American fur trade. It is the riverboat Yellowstone. Astor had the boat built in New Orleans to have a shallow draft but yet be maneuverable. The boat departed Saint Louis on this date and headed up the Missouri River to the American Fur Company trading post at the intersection of the Missouri and the Yellowstone rivers. The trading post was name Fort Union and was nearly the only successful fur trading fort in the American west. Astor’s fur company was so huge that they could undercut or absorb any and all of their competition. Normally, the furs were brought down river to Saint Louis by small 12 man skiffs with them fighting off the Mandan and Blackfoot Indians most of the way. The Indians would not attack a vessel the size of the Yellowstone so the American Fur Company could transport their furs carrying many times over what the competition could carry and did not have to fool with the pesky Blackfoot. After the Astor family became enormously rich, the need for furs faded and the Yellowstone faded from memory also.

Born today:

1874 American poet Robert Frost. He said “Home is the place where, when you go there, they must take you in.” It is a comforting thought isn’t it.

1904 US writer Joseph Campbell. He said “Computers are like Old Testament gods: lots of rules and no mercy.” I’ve been there as most of us have.

1911 US writer Tennessee Williams. He said of Truman Capote. “I have always said that Truman’s voice is so high it could only be heard by a bat.”

1914 US General William Westmoreland. He said “The military doesn’t start wars, politicians start wars.”

1942 US write Erica Jong. She said “It is often that you see a smart man with a dumb woman, but it is rare that you see a smart woman with a dumb man.” Hey my daughters, pay attention to this. Erica says this because dumb men are so rare.

1944 US singer Dianna Ross. She said “Hair is always important.” To whom, Dianna, to whom?

Answer to the trivia question:

Crispus Attucks was alleged to be the first person killed in the “Boston Massacre” which was one of the major causes of the rebellion that became the American Revolutionary War. Crispus was Native-American/Black.

            Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Friday

 Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“I decided not to pursue a career in music because have you ever heard anyone say “There goes that banjo picker in his Ferrari.”

                                                     Steve Martin

Trivia question of the day:

Why was Alexander Hamilton not eligible to be President? Answer at the end of the blog.

I saw a post on Facebook about a dog that had uncovered a recently born cottontail and guided his master to it. The master looked the rabbit over and then took it back to where it was discovered, covered it with leaves and left hoping that the mother would retrieve it. I had a similar experience a long time ago. I had been married only a short time and my bride and I were living in an apartment in large antebellum house near Balfour, North Carolina. The house was on a large property surrounded by a lot of scrub oaks and weeds. Our closest neighbor was about 100 yards away down in the “holler”. Occasionally we would here a beagle trailing something down in that area. One day we went walking down a wagon trail through the underbrush and a rabbit ran across the trail in front of us followed closely by a beagle puppy. I recognized its voice as the one we had been hearing. The neighbor saw us walking and came over to say howdy. I asked him about the beagle pup and he said her name was Petey and he was going to have to give her away because he had all he could handle as is. I jumped at that and took Petey home that day. As Petey grew her voice deepened somewhat but she as still a soprano. One day she came walking up the drive way with a baby rabbit in her mouth and laid it on our front porch. My wife was not please because the rabbit was squealing the whole time and she took it back to the thickest brush and turned it loose and that is the last we saw of it. I was not optimistic because the squealing would have attracted predators. Shortly after that we moved to Greenville, SC and brought Petey and Sam (my wife's chihuahua) with us. Both Petey and Sam were essentially house dogs but if Petey saw me put on my hunting jacket she would start jumping up and down on the front paws in anticipation. I did not really want to kill rabbits I just enjoyed watch Petey work. She would get in the car put her rear paws on the seat and her front paws on the window sill and would watch the passing scenery with much interest. When we got to the field and she would run around frantically urinating several times before getting down to business and industriously sniffing the ground in a zig-zag pattern for that familiar scent. She made no sound until she struck a hot scent then she would whimper and occasionally bay a short burst. When she finally got the rabbit on the run she would begin a serenade of baying from a low note to a high note...it was music y'all. On one occasion I was ahead of her and jumped a rabbit. I had a particular yell meant for that situation and Petey came running but there was a small pond between me and her. Rather than run around the pond she jumped in, swam across and picked up the trail and off she went along with her familiar melody. One time I was ready to go and I yelled the command for her to come and she didn't show up. I figured she was out of hearing range. I took off my jacket, laid it on the ground and left. I came back two hours later and there she was curled up on my jacket. When she got in the car she laid down on the seat rather than look out the windows, she was tired. Not only that there were a few spots on her ears that were bleeding from brier scratches. That's right, she had no problem with burrowing into a brier patch after her prey...she was relentless. She was very good company around the house too and a friend to my wife, kids and me. Petey died of kidney failure in her later years. I had forgotten what a great blessing she was to all of those who knew her...now I remember.

                       This Date in History   March 27

1775 On this date a young redhead from Virginia is elected to the 2nd United States Continental Congress. Thomas Jefferson was soon recognized as an efficient composer of letters especially with his first submission called “A Summary View of the Rights of British America.” He also stunned the others with “Draft Notes on the Virginia Constitution”. Jefferson had a large part in drafting the Virginia Constitution and as a result he was tasked at drafting the instrument that the United States would use to separate from England. He was 33 years old. He came up with a document he titled “A Declaration by the Representative Congress Assembled”. This document has been recognized as the most important in the history of democracy. Jefferson presented his draft to Congress on Jun, 28, 1776 and a very few changes were made to the text and the title was changed to The Declaration of Independence and adopted on July 4, 1776. I still wonder at the bravery and courage of these men by adopting and signing this monumental declaration knowing it would bring even more pressure from the mightiest army and navy on the planet. Not only that: There was a good percentage of the American population that wanted to stay under the wing of King George III and many ended up joining the British Army. In fact, most of the combat units for the British in the Carolinas were all Loyalists led by British commanders. That is why the encounters between the Loyalists and the Patriots were so savage and bitter. Anyway, Jefferson held several positions in the Government of Virginia and the United States and ended up being elected as our third president and served two terms 1801-1809. It was Jefferson that was president for the Louisiana Purchase and for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He eventually retired to his homestead in Virginia known as Monticello. He dabbled in the formation and running of his beloved University of Virginia. He died on July 4, 1826; exactly 50 years after his draft of the Declaration of Independence became adopted. He was 86 years old. Jefferson is a giant among the framers of this great nation. We were very, very lucky to have had men of his caliber. Was he here at this place in this time frame by accident? I think not.

1964 Late in the afternoon the Pacific plate slipped against the North American plate at a point about 8 miles northeast of Anchorage, Alaska. The end result was the largest earthquake ever measured in North America of 8.5 on the Richter scale. The quake lasted about 3 minutes and witnesses said that ground waved like a wheat field. There were gigantic chasms that opened and closed not leaving a trace that anything had happened. Tsunamis were felt down the United States west coast, Hawaii and Japan. There was one report by a deck hand aboard a cargo ship tied to a pier in Homer, Alaska that he watched every drop of water in the harbor disappear over the horizon and left the boat sitting on the bottom. Then over the horizon he saw a gigantic wave coming toward him like a freight train. There is nothing he can do but hang on and when the wave strikes him and the boat are flung inland several hundred yards. He survived but the boat was trashed. There was another case of a man near Homer who was holding on to something substantial and saw his 50 foot house trailer, wife and dog enclosed washed out to sea and never saw hide or hair of either one again. I was stationed near Anchorage at Elmendorf Air Force Base as a control tower operator. I left in 1961 but I saw pictures of my old control tower. It was a pile of scrap metal and glass. The two controllers in the tower during the quake were killed. As bad as it was, this quake could not hold a candle to Christmas Eve quake/tsunami in the Indian Ocean a few years ago. There was no way all the deaths could be tallied in this one but it is acknowledged to be over 350,000, too horrible to contemplate.

Answer to the trivia question.

Alexander Hamilton could not be President because he was not born on American soil, he was born in the Bahamas on St. Kitts.

                           Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow