Friday

 Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“There is a new Sex Museum in New York. Guys get through it in five minutes. Women finish in half hour if they finish at all.”

                                                 Jay Leno

Trivia question of the day:

Where was the largest tsunami ever documented? Answer at the end of the blog.

 By now most of us are berserk from 'Cabin Fever" due to self quarantines because of the virus.  But enough time has passed and the numbers have flattened to allow a certain amount of searching about.  We here in Florida have a governor with a little vision and are not as restricted as others.  I will be glad when this trial and turmoil is over.

                                  This Date in History   May 29

1780 On this date British Colonel Banastre Tarleton led a cavalry charge of mostly Loyalists (American colonists who remained loyal to King George) against an out gunned and out manned Patriot force near the Waxhaws, a village on the South Carolina/North Carolina border south of what is now Charlotte, North Carolina. The Patriots did not have a chance and surrendered but Tarleton ignored the signs of surrender and kept ordering the shooting and bayoneting of the Patriots. The end result was 113 Patriots killed and 203 captured whilst Tarleton’s troops suffered 17 killed or wounded. This event was from then own known as “giving Tarleton Quarter”. Even though it was a rout, word of this atrocity spread like wildfire throughout the Carolinas and lit a fire of revenge under every Patriot that heard it especially a South Carolinian name Thomas Sumter, known to the British as “The Gamecock”. Sumter began a bloody reprisal against the South Carolina Loyalist that could be interpreted as nothing less than a civil war because it meant killing your neighbors if they were loyal to King George and kill them he did. Sumter was originally from Virginia the son of Welch immigrant parents. Through a series of adventures that would warrant another lesson, Sumter ended up in central South Carolina with no money. He eventually married a wealthy widow and opened several successful businesses and an active plantation near the town of Stateburg located about 15 miles west of present day Sumter, South Carolina. Sumter was made Brigadier General of the local militia and was a proven warrior with the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. He was instrumental in driving Tarleton and Cornwallis out of the Carolinas and into the waiting arms of George Washington and the Continental Army at Yorktown. Again he was one of those people that ended up at the right place at the right point in time to allow this melting pot of immigrants to congeal into the great nation we are today. It was no accident.

1953 On this day with a stupendous display of strength and stamina, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese guide Tensing Norgay reach the summit of Mount Everest for the first time by anyone. Hillary and Norgay were part of an 11 man climbing team who reached a base camp at the elevation of 27,400 feet and Hillary and Norgay made the assault on 29,030 foot summit alone. Then the hard part began...the descent. The two had traversed near vertical walls on the way up, now they had to negotiate them coming down. But they prevailed and one of the greatest feats of exploration and adventure in history came to an end.

1914 On this date the ocean liner “Empress of Ireland” departed Quebec Harbor, Canada into the Saint Lawrence Seaway headed to Liverpool, England. Since the sinking of the Titanic the shipboard safety devices and procedures had been greatly improved. The Saint Lawrence was very foggy on this spring morning and the Norwegian freighter “Storstad” was nearby but the both the captains of the Empress and the Storstad were aware of each other and indeed had each other in sight. Through a series of miss-interpreted signals the two ships finally engaged in a fatal embrace when the Storstad plunged 15 feet into the starboard side of the Empress. It took the Empress just 14 minutes to find the bottom and took more than 1500 passengers with her. There would have been more but the heroic efforts of the crew of the still floating Storstad resulted in the saving of scores of passengers in the frigid waters.

1864 After a series of running battles that began near the Wilderness and swinging south to the James River, US General Ulysses Grant has been out maneuvered and out guessed by CSA General Robert E, Lee. After leaving the Wilderness Grant headed as quickly as he could for the Spotsylvania Courthouse in Virginia only to find CSA General James Longstreet and his Corps already there and dug in. A fierce and bloody battle ensued with Grant withdrawing after receiving a severe ass-kicking. Grant’s intention was to get between Lee and Richmond and Lee knew this. It was no mystery and Lee simply guessed where Grant was going to try to make this happen. On this date Grant reached the Topopotomoy Creek only to be greeted by the grinning rebels looking down on his army from the bluffs above. The frustrated Grant slid further south to a small crossroad called Cold Harbor only to find that Lee had indeed out-guessed and outmaneuvered him and had the Confederates dug in and waiting. The exasperated and angry Grant flung his army against the Confederate embrasures only to have his army chopped to pieces by aimed rifles/muskets and artillery. This is one of the bloodiest battles ever fought in North America for its duration. Grant had to admit defeat once again and withdrew but he knew that he had almost an unlimited supply of replacements and Lee had none. It was a war of attrition after that.

1843 American explorer John Fremont departed Saint Louis, Missouri on his second expedition of discovery. He had just returned from the first one just a few months before. Fremont was fortunate to have a guide with the skill and knowledge of Kit Carson on the first expedition and he was scheduled to meet with Carson in Wyoming to guide once again. This time they were going to explore the lands in the Wind River mountain Range and then on into Oregon. They ended up on the Pacific coast across from what is now Portland, Oregon. Fremont was to return via the Oregon Trail but decided that that was not adventurous enough and turned south to traverse the Sierra Nevada range. This proved to be a bad move because they almost got trapped in the snows and ended up eating some of their horses and had it not been for Kit Carson they could not have make it to Sutter’s Fort and safety. After restocking and refitting that headed back to Saint Louis via the California Trail. His descriptions of what the saw was instrumental in lighting the flame of adventure for thousands of immigrants that made the journey to Oregon and other lands in the American west.

Born today:

1736 American patriot Patrick Henry. He said “If this be treason, then let’s make the most of it.” Yet another fire breather in the right place at the right time.

1898 Canadian actress Beatrice Lilly. She said “One time Noel Coward and I was staying in London, adjoining rooms, of course. I felt mischievous and knocked on his door. He said “Who is it” and I lowered my voice and said “It is the hotel detective, do you have a gentlemen in your room?” Noel said “Just a minute, I will ask him.”

1917 President John F. Kennedy. He said, “I know nothing for sure except the fact that I know nothing for sure.” Sound wisdom

Answer to the trivia question:

The largest tsunami ever documented was in 1958 when a landslide into Lituya Bay Alaska produced a tsunami 100 feet high.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

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Thursday

•                           Musing and History

  
  

  Quote of the day:

  When told that he had died she said "It makes me sad but I am grateful that I was able to spend so many years with the coolest man on the planet."
  

                   Kim Bush, long time girlfriend of Ken "The Snake" Stabler

  
  

  Trivia question of the day:

  What was the largest bird ever documented?

  
  

  I was in Pensacola right after Snake retired and he hung out on the Redneck Riviera a lot and that being the Alabama gulf coast around Gulf Shores and vicinity. I think he was at the very first “Mullet Toss” at the immortal “Flora-Bama” Lounge. I was there once when he was there at the same table with the ex-wife of George Wallace and a few bikers from the Screwballs Motorcycle Club. The Flora-Bama was and is a major stop on the gulf coast between New Orleans and Tampa. Snake kept his yacht/fishing boat at the Bear Point Marina near Orange Beach, Al. and was named “Honky Tonk”. His girlfriend at the time was names Wanda but he called her “Wicked Wanda” for reasons I never learned. There was very few people that ever existed that enjoyed life any more than Kenneth “The Snake” Stabler. Ken died of cancer in a hospital in Gulfport, Mississippi on July 8, 2015, he was 70 years old. He and was inducted into the Football Hall Of Fame the next year. His eulogy as given by Fred Beletnikoff (also in the Hall of Fame) one of Snakes favorite receivers, and his grandson amid many tears by both.

  
  

  The Saga of Heidi

  This is the tale of Heidi. She is small of stature but has the heart of a lion. No one knows what her real name was because she was named Heidi by a receptionist at a doctor’s office. She was found roaming the streets in near Lexington, South Carolina in 2005 by a citizen who called the officials to come and pick her up because she was crippled and barely able to move. Heidi was found and taken to a safe shelter for the time being. Little Heidi is a dachshund whose spine had been damaged and her hind quarters are inoperable. The Lexington County Animal Control called a member of Dachshund Rescue of America who lived in nearby Columbia, South Carolina. This dedicated member gathered up Heidi and took her to a veterinarian for an examination. The vet said that surgery would not cure Heidi’s affliction and she should be euthanized because of the lack of a “quality of life” in her future. It is the policy of this particular Dachshund Rescue group that before a dachshund under guardianship of a member can be euthanized, it must be voted on by the President and the Board of Directors. After the President had a conversation with the vet, it was decided euthanasia was not necessary. Heidi remained in this member’s house even though Heidi would move around dragging her hind quarters. As you might suspect, Heidi did not have control of her bodily functions so the member fitted her with children’s number 3 diapers and cut a hole in it which allowed her tail to stick out. I met Heidi and on our first encounter it was obvious that she did not know she was handicapped. She ran around playing with the other dogs and responded to any actions by the people there. In fact, there was an obvious touch of vinegar in this dog’s attitude. She was advertised for adoption on the Dachshund Rescue website which is www.DRNA.org. Later on a lady from Canada admired Heidi’s obvious spirit and will to survive and adopted her. Through a series of transfers from one member to another, Heidi made her way to Canada and the ownership of the lady of faith. This fine person fitted Heidi with a small carriage with wheels that lifted Heidi’s hind quarters off the ground and allowed her much more mobility. The lady from Canada reported that when she took Heidi to a dog park she thought she was in command by running around and trying to herd up the other dogs. Heidi became a Canadian celebrity from her sheer courage and spirit. She eventually became a mascot that is taken from facility to facility that cared for crippled people and homes for the elderly to show that life is not over when a wheelchair is required. She is loved by all who has seen her. Her “wheelchair” has a checkered race flag and the word Heidi painted on it. She is an inspiration for us all. I am glad I got to meet her. By the way, the rescuer and guardian was my daughter Mardy, in whom I am well pleased as I am of all of my children.

  After this writing Heidi's organs began to fail from old age and was mercifully euthanize. She is gone but the memory of her heart and spirit remains.

  
  

  Back in the mid 1500's Spanish conquistadors came ashore in California (Coronado), Mexico (Cortez) and South America (Pizzaro). They found an enormous horde of gold, silver and precious gems in the hands of the natives. Their answer was to slaughter those that resisted and enslave those who didn't to gain the treasure. They eventually had several ports on the Caribbean used to load cargo ships with treasure and sail them back to Spain. Word of this conveyor belt of treasure was soon discovered and the Spanish treasure ships repeatedly came under attack by pirates and privateers. Spain's response as to station warships at several places along the sea lanes back to Spain. One deal location was on the south coast of Jamaica near what is now Kingston. There was a narrow strip of land that ran out from the shore into the Caribbean enclosing an ideal harbor. The Spanish established the town of Port Royal on the tip of this peninsula along with a fort to control who comes and goes in and out of the harbor. It also became a major slave trading port. The town thrived and grew to about 3,000 permanent residences. England and Spain were at war and therefore in addition to the British navy to worry about the Spanish had to be concerned about privateers (private warships hired by England to fight its enemies) and outright pirates that were only after the treasure. The British navy launched an all out effort to capture Port Royal and was successful in kicking the Spanish out of Jamaica. With the natural harbor (one of the greatest in the world at the time) and shallow sand bars that allowed “careening” that was much traffic in and out of this harbor and the merchants in Port Royal grew very wealthy especially the bar and whorehouse owners.

  Careening means the wooden ships would be pulled up to a sand bar, tilted on its side and the crew would scrape off the barnacles and seaweed and patch any cracks. Sir Henry Morgan and Sir Francis Drake had their headquarters at Port Royal.

  Then on June 7, 1692 at about noon an earthquake struck Port Royal. The quake was so severe that the entire town slid in the Caribbean. The strange thing was that even when the ground was still quivering there were looters out stripping gold rings and bracelets off the dead. Many of the looters were killed when the houses they were in collapsed on them or took them out to sea and drowned them. The horror increased when several cemeteries were flooded and corpses floated to the surface and drifted around in the harbor. Naturally, cholera followed. What normally happens after an earthquake on seaside communities is, you guessed it, a tsunami. Sure enough an enormous tsunami showed up and swamped or capsized many ships in the harbor. There was one fair sized cargo ship that was lifted up, pushed inward 2 miles and deposited on a 30 foot high bluff. This ship was used as a hospital for several years. The actual number of dead is unknown because since it was a slave port there were undocumented slaves by the hundreds in the surrounding communities. It was hell for those that experienced it.

  Answer to the trivia question:

  The largest bird ever documented is the Elephant Bird of Madagascar. A mature one was About 9'-10” tall and weighed 1,100 pounds. They went extinct about 300 years ago.

                          Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

  
  

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Settings

Wednesday

•      Musings and History

  
  

  Quote of the day:

  A few years after realizing that he was worth about $20 million he said “I wish everybody could get anything they ever wanted then they would realize that this is NOT the answer.”

                                                 Comedian/actor Jim Carrey

  
  

  Trivia question of the day:

  Who was George Patton's deputy commander in North Africa and Sicily?  Answer at the end of the blog.

  
  

  A while back the father of one of the people killed in the shootings in Santa Barbara, California somehow received air time to express his grief saying the politicians are at fault for his sons death. He said that tighter gun control should have been enacted after the Sandy Hook massacre. The Sandy Hook shooter was under treatment for a mental illness and his relatives knew he was on the edge of being out of control. Why is those that treated the shooter for mental illness not at fault? Why was the shooter allowed to walk the streets in that condition? Suppose the mentally ill person had used a machete, a dagger, bow and arrow or a can of gasoline? Who would be at fault then? I understand that the father is emotionally distraught but how did he gain air time to express his personal outrage about firearms? I think we all know why....it is clearly the influence of the anti-gun lobby over there to your left.

  
  

  My favorite bartender said this “There are three things we will not discuss at this bar...that is religion, politics and Justin Bieber.”

  
  

  In further remembrance of Memorial Day, here is another Medal of Honor citation.

  
  

  The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to:

  SERGEANT WILLIAM G. HARRELL
  UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

  
  for service as set forth in the following.
  
  CITATION:
  "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Leader of an Assault Group, serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-Eight Marines, Fifth Marine Division, during hand- to-hand combat with enemy Japanese at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 3 March 1945. Standing watch alternately with another Marine in a terrain studded with caves and ravines, Sergeant Harrell was holding a position in a perimeter defense around the company command post when Japanese troops infiltrated our lines in the early hours of dawn. Awakened by a sudden attack, he quickly opened fire with his carbine and killed two of the enemy as they emerged from a ravine in the light of a star-shell burst. Unmindful of his danger as hostile grenades fell closer, he waged a fierce lone battle until an exploding missile tore off his left hand and fractured his thigh; he was attempting to reload the carbine when his companion returned from the command post with another weapon. Wounded again by Japanese who rushed the foxhole wielding a saber in the darkness, Sergeant Harrell succeeded in drawing his pistol and killing his opponent and then ordered his wounded companion to a place of safety. Exhausted by profuse bleeding but still unbeaten, he fearlessly met the challenge of two more enemy troops who charged his position and placed a grenade near his head. Killing one man with his pistol, he grasped the sputtering grenade with his good right hand and, pushing it painfully toward the crouching soldier, saw his remaining assailant destroyed but his own hand severed in the explosion. At dawn Sergeant Harrell was evacuated from a position hedged by the bodies of twelve dead Japanese, at least five of whom he had personally destroyed in his self-sacrificing defense of the command post. His grim fortitude exceptional valor and indomitable fighting spirit against almost insurmountable odds reflect the highest credit upon himself and enhance the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
  /S/ HARRY S. TRUMAN

  
  

                                   This Date in History   May 27

  
  

  1831 In 1822 the Ashley fur trapping expedition departed Saint Louis headed up the Missouri River. Included in the expedition was two men named Jedediah Smith and Jim Bridger. These two men play an immense role in the settling of the west. Jim Bridger was more of a mountain man/trapper and Jedediah Smith was more of an explorer. Bridger was shown the legendary South Pass in southern Wyoming by the Shoshone which allowed pioneers and their heavily laden wagons and carts to cross the Rocky Mountains into Oregon and California. Bridger also was the first Caucasian to lay eyes on the Great Salt Lake. Some of his friends dared him to track down the end of a nearby creek and off he went. The creek emptied into the Salt Lake. Bridger had thought it was an inlet of the Pacific Ocean because of its salty taste. Bridger had a great memory for topography and was depended on greatly as a guide to others. But it was Smith who explored Oregon in depth and survived three or four attacks by the Indians in Oregon. He also explored the northern part of California. Smith wrote down everything he saw which proved to be invaluable to the people that followed. Even though Jim Bridger found out about the South Pass he chose not to tell a lot of people about it but Smith told in detail how to get to the Pass and the Oregon Trail was born. After Smith found out that his mother and sister had died he decided to move back to Saint Louis and open a mercantile store and write a complete book about his explorations, But before he could get started a trader offered him a deal he could not refuse. He wanted Smith to guide a wagon train full of trade goods to Santa Fe. Smith agreed and off they went. Smith probably was over-confident about his skills and was eager to get back to Saint Louis knowing that the Santa Fe Trail was well marked and well used. After they got started Smith decided to depart from the Trail and head down the Cimarron River which would cut off about 300 miles. Smith was confident that he would be able to find potable water on the shortcut. Fresh water sources on the Santa Fe Trail were known and the wagon train left with enough water to get them to the first water hole but now they were off the trail. On this date the potable water became dangerously low and Smith sent seven men, including himself, in different directions to find water. While Smith was hunting water in central Oklahoma near the Canadian River a Comanche war party found him first. Smith was tortured and killed but his body was never found. We know that he was killed because of the account given by the Comanche and some items known to belong to Smith were seen for sale in Santa Fe. That is what being over confident and impatient will do for you and what a waste of a soul with the spirit of an explorer.

  
  

  Answer to the trivia question:

  Patton's deputy commander in North Africa and Sicily was Omar Bradley.

  
  

               Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow

  
  

Tuesday

                   Musings and History

Quote of the day:

Seen on Star Trek - The Next Generation:

Commander Riker: “Data, having trust always has a chance of betrayal.”

Lt. Commander Data: “Then one should not trust to avoid possible betrayal.”

Commander Riker: “No Data, it is worth the risk every time.”

Lt. Commander Data: “Perhaps I am fortunate to not have human feelings to be damaged by a betrayal”.

Commander Riker: “Perhaps...but dealing with betrayal is one of many things that makes humans what we are.”

Here are some thoughts about something that happened a while back.

We all read that ISIS has captured Ramadi, Iraq. A member of Obama's own staff stated that the Iraqis seem to not have the will to fight and about 35,000 Ramadi residents fled prior to the arrival of ISIS. I did a little research and found that Ramadi is about the same size as Omaha. Ask yourself this question. If a foreign army was closing in on Omaha seeking its destruction would the Nebraskans flee and would the they not have the will to fight? I think you know the answer to that one. I did a little more research. There is an estimated 320 million firearms of various gauges and calibers in the United States. It is also an estimate that there is at least 100 rounds per firearm. That is conservatively over 3.2 billion rounds. I would readily take what I have and head to Omaha and I believe the roads would be choked with others headed that way, military not withstanding. But wait, maybe personal firearms are illegal in Iraq.

According to evolution we arose from a primate that had body hair to keep them warm. We arose standing erect and lost our body hair. Then we figured out how to make knives from obsidian and flint and used them to kill hairy animals, take their skins and wear them to keep us warm...go figure.

This also is from a while back:

A TV station in Atlanta, using the Freedom of Information Act, got their hot little hands on a summary of who is crossing our southern borders in addition to the Mexicans. It turns out that in addition to the Guatemalans, Panamanians, Salvadorans, etc. there are Afghanis, Pakistanis, Jordanians, Syrians, Iraqis, etc. all of which have flown into a Central American country, learned to speak Spanish and blend in with the river of illegal aliens crossing into America via Texas, Arizona and California. What are these Muslims up to? I think all of you know what is going on. So the next time you think about those Mexicans that are crossing into America just to see if they can make a better life for their families and we should cut them a little slack, think about who is coming with them. In addition to the genuine workers, we have Muslim Jihadists and “mules” for the Mexican drug cartels coming along for the ride. Our government has refused time and time again to seal our borders and allowed this avalanche of garbage that have dedicated their lives to the demise of America to set up camp on our soil. Don’t feel sorry for the Mexican and Central Americans, nearly none of them have ever been vaccinated against anything and have developed a natural immunity against diseases that we have never heard of. Lean on your legislators to stand on their hind legs and protect America.

                    This Date in History May 26

1660 On this date the people of the English Commonwealth invited the exiled King Charles II to return to England and assume the throne. Earlier the father of Charles II, Charles I had engaged his army of Royalist against the army of Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians and was defeated. Cromwell became the ruler of England. He could not be King because he was not royalty. He was a very militaristic leader and demanded puritanical behavior from everyone. After the defeat of his father, Charles II handed Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, a blank sheet of paper meaning that he would concede nearly everything Parliament wanted. But that wasn’t good enough for Cromwell, he wanted the head of Charles I and sure enough, Charles I was beheaded. After the death of Charles I, royalist in England and Ireland proclaimed Charles II as King but Cromwell still prevailed and Charles II fled to Germany and the Netherlands living in exile. Cromwell ruled until his death and then his son Richard assume command. Richard proved to be an ineffectual ruler and the people were fed up with the Puritanical military leadership. General George Monck met with Charles II and assured him that he and his army would assure his return to the English throne if Charles would grant amnesty and religious toleration for his former enemies. Charles agreed and sailed across the English channel to Dover (been there) and four days later he made a triumphant entrance to London and was restored as King of England. This event is known as the English Restoration. Eleven years later Charles II decided that Oliver Cromwell had been a traitor and dug his body up and hung his skeleton in Tiburon, a suburb of London designated for the execution of traitors. What a sight that must have been. I am here to tell y'all that the medieval English were a mean and spiteful bunch and they were very inventive in the machinery of torture.

1787 On this date, four years after the United States had won its independence from Great Britain, the first Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia. It was attended by George Washington, James Monroe and Ben Franklin among other luminaries. This meeting was the defining moments of these United States and what makes it great. The country had been operating under what was called the Articles of Federation. This document did nothing but assure each state of its sovereignty. The people of America were so fearful that another monarchy might raise its ugly head here that they nailed down that as being impossible. But the Articles were unwieldy and did not work for the benefit of the entire nation and they all knew it. After three weeks of deliberation these heroes delivered brilliant document that is the spine of our present day Republic. However, several states felt that there were not enough guarantees of personal rights and refused to sign unless something was done about this. Then they delivered another document of pure brilliance called the Bill of Rights that contained 10 articles. After this enough states signed it and it became the law of the land. There was a story that while all of the discussions were going on, Ben Franklin walked out for a break and a woman asked him what form of government was being sculpted and he said “Madam, it appears that it will be a Republic...if we can hold it.” Our government is a finely balanced, well oiled machine that does not allow any one branch to over power another. It is a miracle that all of this was conceived out of mid-air because nothing like it had ever existed in the past...it was a miracle, y'all, a miracle and it was no accident.

Born today:

1803 US philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. He said “The more he talked about his honor, the faster we counted our silver.” Sounds like Ralph knew Nancy Pelosi.

1897 Canadian statesman Lord Beaverbrook. He said “Buy old master paintings. They are cheaper in the long run than a young mistress.”

1898 American columnist Bennett Cerf. He said “The Detroit String Quartet played Brahms last night. Brahms lost”

                  Thanks for listening   I can hardy wait until tomorrow.