This Date In History, The Southern Version: January 2021

Friday, January 29, 2021

Friday

Musings and History

Quote of the day:
“The ability to witness two men stand toe to toe in the spirit of sportsmanship and pummel each other into insensibility is what separates us from the animals.”
“Reverend Jim” Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd), Taxi

Trivia question of the day:
In India workers in the forests will wear a facial image mask on the back of their heads...why? Answer at the end of the blog.

This Date in History January 29

1936 On this date the first baseball players were selected for the newly opened Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. They were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. Ty Cobb, to this day, is the most productive hitter to ever play the game. Babe Ruth was both an ace pitcher and a devastating home run hitter, Honus Wagner was a versatile infielder and a dependable clutch hitter, Christy Mathewson had the most wins in National League history up until that time and Walter “Big Train” Johnson is considered to be one of the most powerful pitchers in history. The Hall of Fame was supposed to have opened in 1935 but money was at a premium because of the Depression so the opening was delayed. The rumor was spread that Civil War General Abner Doubleday was the inventor of baseball in Cooperstown but that was bullshit. The local businesses fostered that idea to pump up business and they made contributions toward the building of the Hall. The Hall of Fame has about 350,000 visitors a year.

1820 After 10 years of a debilitating disease that lead to total insanity, King George III of England died. King George was the chief antagonist of the American colonists that resulted in the American Revolutionary War. King George knew that he was not well and was desperately seeking someone that he could trust to take care of business in his behalf. He found one in Lord North and King George was very relieved. The problem was that England lost its most profitable colony in America and the English people were furious. In 1784 William Pitt the elder gained enough power in Parliament to take control. After this the King retired from active participation in government except for an occasional interference with major issues such as “Catholic Emancipation” which was defeated in 1801. I have not researched this issue but I will soon. King George had a long history of illness beginning in 1765 when he had a nervous breakdown and in the winter of 1788-89 he had a severe bout with mental illness. By 1810 he was permanently insane but he was cared for tenderly by his wife Charlotte Sophia. His son, the Prince of Wales, was named regent and assumed throne as King George IV when his father died in 1820.

1861 On this date Kansas was admitted to the Union as a “free state”. This act was one of the prime causes of the American Civil War. Kansas was bordered on the east by Missouri and on the south by Texas; both were slave-holding states. There were many bloody skirmishes on the Kansas-Missouri border in the struggle for and against slavery. The United States Congress brought Kansas in as a “free state” in order to show support of the anti-slavery factions in the state and it blew up in their faces when the war broke out a few months later. I am not suggesting that slavery is acceptable but just that is what happened. After the Civil War got cranked up the attacks on Kansas and Missouri reached a crescendo with many atrocities committed by both pro and anti slavery factions. An example of each was when the fervent anti-slavery leader John Brown went to a small community in Missouri and slaughtered five people with a broad sword because “he thought” they were pro slavery. Then a pro slavery Confederate guerilla leader named William Quantrill leads his troops into Lawrence, Kansas and that group killed over 150 men and burned the town to the ground. Prejudice has no limits.

Born today:

1737 Super American Patriot Thomas Paine. He said “When we are planning for posterity, we must remember that virtue is not hereditary.” Paine was one of the greatest wordsmiths this country ever produced.

1862 English composer Fredrick Delius. He said “Music is an outburst of the soul”. Indeed Fred, indeed.

1874 US industrialist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. He said “A friendship based on business is better that a business based on friendship.” The Rockefeller dynasty began with the establishment of Standard Oil which eventually became Exxon.

1880 US comedian W.C. Fields. He said “My illness is due to my doctor insisting that I drink milk. It is a whitish fluid that they force down helpless babies.” Fields was a famous imbiber.

1923 US writer Paddy Chayefsky. He said “"Now listen to me, goddamnit! The Arabs are simply buying us! A handful of gas, shahs, and emirs who despise this country and everything it stands for—democracy, freedom, the right for me to get up on television and tell you about it—a couple of dozen medieval fanatics are going to own where you work, where you live, what you read, what you see, your cars, your bowling alleys, your mortgages, your schools, your churches, your libraries, your kids, your whole life...!" Pay attention to Paddy, y'all, It could happen.

1939 Australian feminist Germaine Greer. She said “Freud is the father of psychoanalysis, it has no mother.” I agree, Germaine.

Answer to the trivia question:
Most of the time a tiger will not attack a human from the front...the mask is supposed to fool tigers into thinking their back is also the front.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

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Thursday, January 28, 2021

Thursday

Musings and History

Quote of the day:
US General John Sedgwick rode up to a high point to observe the progress of the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse during the Civil War. Up on arrival his staff told him that he ought to take cover. Sedgwick said “They couldn't hit an elephant at this dis…..”

Trivia question of the day:
Who played Captain Marco Ramius in the movie “Hunt For Red October”? Answer at the end of the blog.

A while back a woman was asleep on a USAir flight from Boston to Charlotte. She was awakened by her seatmate that she did not know massaging her breasts. She woke up and told the masher to knock it off and then called a flight attendant, but before the attendant got there he had copped yet another feel. The attendant found her another seat and told the pilot about these events the he notified the Charlotte USAir ops about the situation. A couple of Charlotte’s finest was waiting at the gate for this jackass. I wonder what row she was on…how deeply she slept, etc, etc? I am just joking.

Here is an event that I experienced as an air traffic controller. It was at Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta, Ga. Moody was a training base for all-weather interceptors. After a class got to a certain point, drone aircraft would be launched from Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida to a point in the Gulf of Mexico and the fighter/interceptors from Moody would be radar guided toward the drone until the aircraft radar picked it up, then the fighter was to shoot down the drone, regardless of the weather. One of the pilots in training had a wife that was afraid for her husband flying fighters. Her husband had received special permission for his wife to watch a “maximum effort” night launch from the control tower where I was. It was supposed to give her confidence. Her husband successfully got his F-86D off the ground and was up to about 500 feet when he declared “Mayday” meaning he was in serious trouble. His plane exploded into a ball of flame and crashed to the earth about 2 miles south of the base. There is no need for me to tell you what turmoil ensued. She was pregnant, too.

This Date in History January 28

1777 On this date British General John Burgoyne submitted a battle plan to British General Sir Henry Clinton. Burgoyne suggested that he head a large force of 8,000 troops out of Canada and go down Lake Champlain, the Mohawk River and eventually the Hudson River and isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. Burgoyne felt that if he could accomplish this it would make Philadelphia ripe for the picking by British General Howe. The plan was approved and Burgoyne achieved a modicum of success when he captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. What Burgoyne did not plan on was the over extension of his supply lines the further south he moved. Eventually the Patriots simply swung around and cut his supply line. Soon after this Burgoyne lost the Battle of Bennington, Vermont and engaged in a bloody draw at Bemis Heights, New York. After these battles he was unable to re-supply his troops so he retreated 16 miles north to Saratoga, New York and surrendered his remaining 6,000 troops to US General Horatio Gates. When the government of France saw this victory they officially recognized the United States as an independent nation which, of course, meant war with England. France had been covertly sending America money and the tools of war now they did it openly and with much more supplies. This decision by France assured an American victory because it meant that England would have to fight a war on both sides of the Atlantic.

1958 On this date a 19 year old high school dropout from Lincoln, Nebraska named Charles Starkweather and his 14 year old girlfriend Carol Fugate murdered a Lincoln business man, his wife and their maid. This was the last in a string of 10 murder committed by the duo. This murder spree began at the home of Carol and an argument broke out between Charles and Carol’s parents. Charles chose to shoot Carol’s parent and strangle Carol’s two year old sister. Carol and Charles stayed holed up in the house for a few days before leaving in Charles’ car. Their next victims was a farmer and two teens and after that it was the previously mention Lincoln businessman, wife and maid. They were not done yet. They shot and killed a traveling shoe salesman to get his car. They were surrounded and captured near Douglas, Wyoming. Both Charles and Carol were convicted of murder and Charles got the death penalty and Carol got life. In 1959 Charles Starkweather went to meet his maker medium rare after a visit with the Nebraska version of “Old Sparky”, the electric chair. Carol was paroled after 18 years in the slammer. How could that girl sit in the house with her dead parents and sister for several days? They paroled her because she was so young at the time of the murders. I will have to call bullshit on that.

1986 On this day the space shuttle Challenger was set to launch for the 10^th time. All previous missions with this vessel had been flawless. The shuttle had been scheduled to launch on January 22 but there were weather issues so the launch date was pushed back to January 28. Aboard with the regular astronauts was a school teacher name Christa McAuliffe from New Hampshire. The outside air temperature was below freezing and the rocket booster manufacturer warned the launch officials that some of the parts of the rocket booster do not operate well in cold weather, especially the O-ring seals. They warned that they became brittle in the cold and would hot hold. The launch officials blew it off and at 11:39a the Challenger blasted off. Seventy-three seconds into the flight the shuttle exploded into a spectacular three armed display and fell into the Atlantic killing all aboard. An investigation later proved that an O-ring seal had indeed failed and the flame from the rocket boosters had not been contained inside the cylinder causing an explosion. The arrogance of the launch officials in allowing the launch in spite of being warned set space exploration back several years.

Born today:
1887 Polish pianist Arthur Rubenstein. He said “When I was young, I had success with women because I was young. Now I have success with women because I am old. Middle age was hell.” Way to go, Arthur, way to go!

1933 US writer Susan Sontag. She said “The best answer is one that destroys the question.” Susan is no longer with us.

1948 Latvian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. He said “When we dancers watch Fred Astaire, we know we are in the wrong business.” Fred was a pleasure to watch.

Died today:
1960 US writer Zora Hurston. She said “Every distant ship has every man’s dream aboard.” It does for me at least.

1996 Russian writer Josef Brodsky. He said “Life, the way it really is, is not a battle between bad and good, it is a battle between bad and worse.” And I thought I was a pessimist.

Answer to the trivia question:
Captain Marco Ramius in the movie “Hunt For Red October” was played by Sean Connery.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow.

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Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Wednesday

Musings and History

Quote of the day:
Hitler was persuaded by Herman Goering that England could be defeated by air power alone. After one particular raid the German Air force lost over 70 aircraft and Hitler knew that a land invasion would be a blood bath so he put a stop to it all and headed for Russia. Winston Churchill was asked about England's ability to withstand such a pounding and stay viable. He said “This was certainly not the beginning of the end...but it surely is the end of the beginning.”

Instead of the usual bad news of the day, I will send y’all one of the greatest love stories in history. It is the biography of Robert Dudley.

Robert Dudley

This is the story of unrequited love between two people that were in love for most of their lives but were kept apart by the politics of Elizabethan England. Elizabeth l stated that she would never marry because she was fearful that her powers would be diluted by a husband. The present day Prince Phillip of England is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and is titled as Prince Consort.

Most contemporary historians believed that Robert Dudley and Elizabeth, the future Queen of England, were born on the same day, it was later determined that Robert was probably one year older. Robert was the son of John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, Duke of Northumberland and protector of England during the reign of Edward VI. Robert was the fifth child of thirteen. He first met Elizabeth when he was eight years old, probably in a royal classroom. They became good friends and their friendship lasted throughout both of their lives. He was certainly a match for Elizabeth intellectually. He was also into the classics in addition to mathematics, astronomy and astrology. He was good athlete and a superb horseman. When speaking of Elizabeth later on he said that he knew her better than anyone, even from the time she was eight years old. He said that Elizabeth had always told him that she would never marry.

Robert married Amy Robsart in 1550 with Amy being the daughter of a Norfolk squire. Even though people thought they were in love, the marriage contract indicated otherwise. Normally daughters were not heirs to their father’s estate but Amy was the exception, she was an heiress making the marriage advantageous to both. The marriage ceremony between Robert and Amy was a glittering one with all the appropriate pomp and circumstance. The festivities were attended by Elizabeth and the Boy-King in waiting, Edward VI.

After Robert’s father tried to usurp the throne and place his sister-in-law Lady Jane Grey on the throne the shit hit the fan. This rebellion was quashed and Robert, his father and five of his brothers are imprisoned in the Tower of London in the Beauchamp section awaiting trial. Elizabeth was also imprisoned in the Tower but in the Bell section. The two wings were joined by a walkway and Robert and Elizabeth met frequently on this walkway and their friendship turned to love even though they were closely guarded. After all was said and done, Robert’s father John, his brother Guilford and Lady Jane Grey had a meeting with a big guy with a big axe out on the lawn of the Tower. All the others were released.

Robert and his brother Henry went to France to fight on the behalf of the King of France, Phillip II. Henry was killed in this war. After returning to England Robert found out that Elizabeth was in serious financial trouble and sold some of his lands and bailed Elizabeth out and she never forgot Robert’s generosity. Elizabeth ascended to the throne of England in 1558 at the age of twenty and Robert's star began to rise. He was made the Master of the Queen's Horse, a very prestigious position that required him to be in the presence of the Queen almost constantly. It was his function to plan her public appearances and personal entertainment. Robert was good at this because he and Elizabeth share the same love of drama and music. There was no doubt that he was the Queens favorite which automatically made him the most despised man in England. Within the first years, Elizabeth showered Robert with titles, among these was the Earl of Leicester, properties and money and spending more time with him than anyone else. Tongues wagged as to their intimacy, all assumed they were lovers. It was also said that Elizabeth was carrying Roberts child but this story was easily dismissed, but there was no doubt that they were deeply in love. They were bonded by knowing each other as children, had suffered imprisonment together, and each trusted and respected the other totally. Like any couple they occasionally argued, but Robert always spoke and treated Elizabeth with the respect that her position deserved.

No one had a good word to say about Robert except the Queen and her family. Elizabeth was an astute judge of character and it is impossible to think that she would not have detected any insincerity in Robert over their relationship of thirty years. There is no question that Robert loved her. Had the political circumstances been more favorable there is little question they would have been married. Privately she told Robert that she would marry no one else, but she couldn’t marry him. The biggest problem with the bar to their marriage was the circumstances of Robert's wife’s death. She was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs with a broken neck and naturally everyone pointed their fingers at Robert and Elizabeth. For a long time people had been saying he and Elizabeth were planning Amy’s death so they could marry. This shadow of doubt plagued the two for the rest of their days making the birth of any of their children suspect if they had married. Amy was probably terminally ill with breast cancer or as it was called “malady of the breast”. In fact medical opinions of today suggest that the cancer had probably reached her spine and it was weakened to the point that any kind of pressure would have broken it. However, such medical knowledge was unknown in those days and all, including Robert, believed she was murdered.

Robert waited for many years hoping Elizabeth would change her mind but she didn’t. At a gala celebration in 1575 in Warwick Castle, Robert formally asked for Elizabeth’s hand and as always she refused. So in 1578 Robert married the Queen's cousin, Lettice Devereux, the Countess of Essex.

He may have well been in love with her because she was a reported stone fox but the real reason he married her was that she was pregnant and a family of the stature of the house of Essex demanded that he make an honest woman of her. Robert tried to keep the news of his marriage from the Queen but she found out anyway. In 1580 Lettice gave birth to a son also named Robert. The child was a sickly one and died at the age of four which devastated Robert. The death of this child almost assured the end to Robert’s lineage. He had a child by an affair with Lady Dudley Sheffield but illegitimate children could not be an heir. Lady Sheffield claimed that she and Robert were married in a secret ceremony but there was no evidence of it and Robert always denied it.

In 1588 Robert was put in charge of the land forces during the expected assault by the Spanish Armada but Robert was not a well man, probably suffering from stomach cancer and his days were numbered. He was on his way to Buxton to bathe in the supposed “healing” waters there but he never made it. He died at his house in Oxfordshire on September 4th, 1588. Upon hearing the news, Elizabeth locked her self in her bedroom and stayed for days. She kept the last letter from Robert in her safe until the end of her days. The letter follows:

“I most humbly beseech your Majesty to pardon your poor old servant to be thus bold in sending to know how my gracious lady doth, and what ease of her late pain she finds, being the chiefest thing in the world I do pray for, for her to have good health and long life. For my own poor case, I continue still your medicine and find that [it] amends much better than any other thing that hath been given me. Thus hoping to find perfect cure at the bath, with the continuance of my wonted prayer for your Majesty's most happy preservation, I humbly kiss your foot. From your old lodging at Rycote, this Thursday morning, ready to take on my Journey, by Your Majesty's most faithful and obedient servant,
R. Leicester
Even as I had writ thus much, I received Your Majesty's token by Young Tracy.”
Evidently Elizabeth had sent Robert a gift.
It is a rumor that in Elizabeth’s last few days she could not speak and had the archbishop at her side holding her hand. Since she had no heir, everyone was waiting for her to name one. The archbishop went through a series of names and she would respond by squeezing his hand. It was determined that Elizabeth wanted James VI of Scotland (the son of Mary, Queen of Scots) to succeed her. It was a rumor that when the archbishop mentioned the deceased Robert Dudley, Elizabeth squeezed his hand for a long time and a tear fell from her eye. It has been reported that Elizabeth had another lover in the Earl of Essex. This may be true by I prefer to remember her childhood friend and her adult lover as her most favorite, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester.
Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

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