This Date In History, The Southern Version: September 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Wednesday

Musings and History

Quote of the day:
"Men have always been able to read maps better than women. It takes a male mind to understand the concept of 1 inch equals 5 miles.”
Roseanne Barr

A while back I had my normal 4 month “follow up” visit with my doctor. My height was measured (6'-0 1/2”) I was weighed (225), had my blood pressure taken (130/60), a blood sample taken for my diabetes (A1C 6.2), blood sample taken for liver, kidneys, cholesterol, PSA, etc., a flu shot, a pneumonia shot, a short conference with the doctor and was back in my car in 14 minutes. My doctors office is the epitome of efficiency and he ain't one for idle chatter, I ain't either. But he did say that I should be on the cover of an old people magazine for being in as good a shape as I am after the torture I have put my body through....but it was hell of a ride.

I received yet another treatise making fun of us southerners. I deleted it with much scorn. Here are a few of my thoughts. In spite of what is believed by many the sun does not rise in Long Island and set in Yonkers with Manhattan being the center of the universe. Anyone that automatically assumes that a person's intelligence is based upon the location of their birthplace relative to a degree of latitude and longitude is way more stupid than Junior Sample. If anyone would look into the history of this great nation they would realize that if it were not for those wild and crazy guys from the southern Appalachians taking care of business during the American Revolution we all would be speaking with an English accent. Back when I was working I was offered a job and a lot of money but the job was in New Jersey just across the river from Manhattan. I refused because I just did not want to endure the unmitigated arrogance that I have experienced in the past once my accent was detected. I had that problem when I took an engineering job in Reading, Pennsylvania. After a week or so the natives would say things like “Don't let his accent fool you, he is no dummy.” My accent? Someone's intelligence is determined by an accent? Who are the dumb-asses here? From this day on I am going to believe that anyone born north of the 42^nd parallel and east of the 103^rd meridian is a dumb-ass because of where they were born. That makes a lot of sense doesn't it?

Here is the completion of the rise of Mary I as Queen of England. She did indeed marry Phillip II of Spain and soon thereafter her appetite changed, her belly began swelling and had “morning sickness” and accordingly everyone thought she was knocked up. Later on even Princess Elizabeth was called into witness the birth. But Mary was not pregnant, it was a false pregnancy and her appetite returned to normal and her belly shrank back to normal. Mary was Queen until she died in 1558, probably of uterine cancer...remember the swelling of the belly?...It happened again but this time it was fatal. This would make one think that Phillip II would become King of England and he was indeed titled as the King of England and Ireland...but there was a provision. Phillip would retain this title for as long as he was married to Mary so when she died it was all over for Phillip. Before she died, Mary named her half-sister Elizabeth as heir to the throne since there was no issue of a son by her and Phillip, in fact they had no children at all but during her five years Mary had about 250 protestant dissidents burned at the stake. Was Mary's illness and death karma for this? Bloody Mary, indeed.

This Date in History September 30

1955 Actor James Dean and his mechanic Rolf Wutherich are killed in a head on collision in Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder while enroute to a road race. Dean, even though only making 3 movies, became an icon of the restless generation and its convoluted lifestyle. He never could get a handle on his unbounded energy and lust for speed even trying motorcycle racing. I remember him best as Jett Rink in the movie Giant. What an amazing performance he gave us. But what made the movie especially good was that Elizabeth Taylor was co-starring. I have been in love with her for centuries. I guess he is best known for his first movie Rebel Without a Cause where he played a tortured man that is pretty much like himself. To me he seemed like a person going fast down a hill and don’t know how to stop. His death was a great loss for us all.

1938 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime minister Eduardo Daladier met with Hitler in Munich and sign a pact with this monster that they would not intervene when Hitler “annexed” Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain is elated that war between England and Germany had been averted even though Czechoslovakia was offered up as a sacrificial lamb. Daladier in really pissed off about it but he knew that the French army could not stand up to the German war machine and did not want to have his country destroyed. It happened anyway. The next day the German army rolled into Czechoslovakia. Shortly thereafter Germany invaded Poland and Chamberlain has to announce that England is going to war against Germany. The Germans also invade France and France capitulated without a fight. So what else is new? Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield one said “Going to war with France as an ally is like going duck hunting with an accordion.”

1924 Author Truman Capote is born in New Orleans. Truman was aflame but achieved much success and wealth from his writings primarily with In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s both of which were made into movies. He did not how to handle his fame very well and began a life of jet setting and party, party. Truman died at the age of 60 after a life of excesses.

1949 The Berlin Airlift ends. Let me tell you folks, as an ex-air traffic controller this was the greatest logistical operation ever conceived. Russia had blocked all ground accesses to West Berlin leaving those folks with no way to get anything for survival. So the allies, primarily the good old USA, began flying supplies to the beleaguered city. The Airlift began 15 months previous and those airmen flew 250,000 flights and hauled 2 million tons of supplies into West Berlin. I have seen movies on how this was done without planes running over each other. It was a miracle that there were very, very few instances of danger. After seeing that the allies could supply West Berlin indefinitely the Russian said “To hell with it” and opened the roads and rails.

1889 The state of Wyoming enacted a law that allowed women to vote and was the very first one to do so. There was a lot of speculation as to why a remote western state would be the first and the consensus of opinion was that this was a reward for the pioneer women that helped settle this wild frontier. By 1914 there was a definite pattern emerging because every state west of the Mississippi had woman suffrage and none of the states east of the Mississippi did. What’s up with that? Anyway, all is cool now.

Born today:

1207 Afghan mystic Jalal-ud-din-Rumi. He said “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” Sounds like the stock market to me.

1921 Scottish actress Deborah Kerr. She said “I came over here (Hollywood) to act, but turned out that all I had to do was be high-minded, long-suffering, white gloved, and decorative.” This girl was dynamite in two movies, From Here to Eternity and An Affair to Remember.

1924 Playwright Truman Capote. He said “Life is a moderately good play with a poorly written third act.” Truman was a notorious homosexual who died at the age of 60 probably of AIDS but he burned the candle at both ends while alive.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

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Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Tuesday

Musing and History

Quote of the day:
“Scientists have found that the drug Prozac is effective in combating the adverse effects of PMS in women, but it is not in the form of a pill. To be safe the husband injects his wife from a distance of 50 feet using a dart gun.”
Dave Barry

As y’all may or may not know late night “comedian” Stephen Colbert testified before a Congressional committee advocating the possibilities of alien migrant farm workers finding a way to become an American citizen rather than the usual route. This imbecile thinks he is clever and funny but he isn't, but he is a clown. The committee was not amused nor was I. I was incensed because this jackass was born in Washington, DC but spent the majority of his formative years on James Island (near Charleston), South Carolina. I certainly do not claim him. He wears his ego like a tiara. By the way, how do we tell a Latino farm worker from a soldier in the Guadalajara drug cartel?

A while back three men in their early twenties chose to do something daring as men that age will do. They chose to jump off the Highway 17 bridge into the Ashley River west of Charleston, South Carolina. It is a drop of at least 50 feet. Two of the jumpers were able to swim to a nearby marina but the third one never showed up. It was 22 year old Jackie Washington that was missing. He apparently got caught in the current and drowned. A search was begun that evening and two days later Jackie’s corpse was located. They never said where these men were from but the famous military academy known as The Citadel is about 2 miles away.

This Date in History September 29

1908 Gene Autry is born in Tioga, Texas. At a young age his family moved to Oklahoma where Gene became a railroad telegrapher. One day while sitting in the train station strumming his guitar and singing, a stranger walked up and listened for a while and suggested that he should try singing on the radio. The stranger was the world famous Will Rogers and Will told Gene he should go to New York and who to contact. Gene did not succeed in The Big Apple and came back to Oklahoma and started a radio show that ran for many years. He started a successful TV show also along with making many B Grade movies. Gene was a wise investor and became one of the wealthiest men in America. Gene went to that great ranch in the sky in 1998. Bye the way, his horse’s name was Champion.

1964 The Republic of North Vietnam declared that any pilot captured would be considered as a war criminal rather than prisoners of war thereby bypassing the laws of the Geneva Convention for the treatment of POW’s. Hell ensued. The first American pilot captured was Navy Lieutenant Everett Alvarez. He was captured August 5, 1964. The person spending the longest time was Green Beret Captain Floyd Thompson who was captured March 26, 1964. The American POW’s accounted for 766. The Paris Peace Accord allowed for the release of 565 military and 26 civilians. There are to this day more than 2,500 missing in action. What a freaking nightmare that was/is.

1864 In an attempt to break the stalemate at Petersburg, US Gen. U.S. Grant ordered US Gen. Benjamin Butler to attack the Confederate lines at a place called New Market Heights. Butler scouted the lines personally and decided on a two pronged attack led by US Gens. Ord and Birney. Both attacks failed only because the Confederates had built several trenches one behind the other so that if one trench was overrun the defenders would just move back to the next trench. The Confederate lines were bent but not broken. The US had 3,300 casualties out of 20,000 engaged and the Confederates had 2000 out of 11,000 engaged.

1862 In Louisville Ky. US Gen. Jefferson Davis (not the President of CSA) and US Gen. William Nelson got into a screaming argument in the lobby of a hotel. Nelson losses it and slapped Gen. Davis and headed upstairs. Davis followed him, pulled out a pistol and capped Nelson. Davis was never taken to trial for two reasons and that being Davis was a recognized as a superior military leader and the Governor of Indiana intervened in Davis’ behalf. The Governor was with Davis when the shot was fired. Davis went on to serve with distinction in the Chickamauga/Chattanooga campaign among others.

1748 The legendary British hero Horatio Nelson is born in Burnham Thorpe, England. If there was a military leader that needed to be canonized it was Nelson. Nelson joined the British Navy and went to sea as a midshipman at the age of 12 and became a Captain at the age of 20. In their seemingly unending battles with Spain and France Britain gave Nelson command of the 64 gun frigate HMS Agamemnon to beef up the naval forces. He immediately showed his peers his bravery and skill in naval warfare and I could spend an entire lesson on the adventures of Nelson. His life was one that would make a great novel. But briefly he won several important naval engagements that prevented Spain or France from invading England. During these battles he lost and eye and his right arm but kept his command. He had a lover who was the wife of a British diplomat along with a wife of his own. His lover’s husband Lord Hamilton allowed the tryst because of Nelson’s importance in his country. Finally he was in command of the frigate HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar where his navy crushed the French navy that was in support of Napoleon stopping him from invading England. During this battle Nelson was shot in the shoulder and chest by a French sharpshooter. Knowing he was close to death Nelson uttered the famous phrase “Thank God I have done my duty.” After he died, his body was put into a barrel of rum to preserve it while reroute back to England for a heroes burial. He was buried at the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. I have been to St. Paul’s and have seen the statue of Nelson at; you guessed it, Trafalgar Square. From that time on the rum kept aboard ships was known as “Nelson’s blood”

Born today:

1547 Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. He said “Where there is music there can be no evil.” Miguel is the author of “The Man of La Mancha” better known as Don Quixote, one of the most read and beloved creations of literature in history.

1903 US actress Greer Garson. When speaking about Marlon Brando she said “Actors like him are good but I do not like people that try to communicate with their armpits.” Marlon was one of my favorites but he has gone to that great sound stage in the sky.

1935 US rock and roll pianist Jerry Lee Lewis. He said “If I go to hell, I will go playing a piano.” Jerry Lee married his 14 year old cousin at one time. A lot of people remember Jerry Lee for the song “Great Balls of Fire” but I think his rendition of Hank Williams’ “Born to Lose” is his best. It really gets to me.

1943 Polish leader Lech Welesa. He said “I must tell you that the supply of words worldwide is increasing, but it appears the demand is falling.” I agree with you, Lech.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow