Wednesday OYSTERS

                                              Al's Most Recent

Quote of the day:

“Of all the actresses in show business, I think Liza Minelli’s face should win in the beagle category.”

                                    John Simon, film critic

Could be John, but several years ago when she was performing on Broadway in Cabaret, she was voted as having the best set of legs in show business. What do you have that is the best in show business...or any business?

I had casual contact with a lady online whose last name was Ousterdeaux. I asked her for phonetic pronunciation. She sent me a young novel from Ancestors about the root of that name. It originally was Spanish and was spelled Osterdo and meant “farm fields” or something similar When her ancestors came to Louisiana it was under the control of the French and so they spelled it the French way. I told her that Campbell meant “a redneck from South Carolina” and that we are of Scottish stock and have the scars to prove it. Actually the translation of Campbell (originally Cambuel) in Scottish means “crooked mouth”. The name Cameron (originally Camsron) means “crooked nose.” Don’t ask...I don't know.

A while back the incoming Governor of Alabama made a speech at the Dexter Street Baptist Church in Montgomery. This is the church that was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's first was a pastor. The governor stood up in front of the Lord and everybody else with his bare, hawk-looking face hanging out and said “If a person has not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior they are not my brothers and sisters. I look on those that have not done so with a different viewpoint. I consider only Christians as my family.” That statement reached the Jewish community in just a few microseconds, not to mention the agnostic, atheists, Hindus among many others and last but not least, Islam. All of which now believe that they will not receive equal treatment under the law from “Hawksbill” Bentley as Governor. I used to think the former North Carolina Congressman Jesse Helms was the dumbest politician ever...along with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi but Governor Bentley takes the cake, y’all.

I saw on the web where someone was having grilled or sauteed scallops. It reminded me of a clam/scallop gathering trip I went on while living in Pensacola, Fl. Pensacola is the birthplace of US naval aviation beginning in WWI and there are several abandon airfields and hangers scattered throughout the area. There was one particular hanger that had a large concrete ramp leading to a fairly narrow cove in the bay, it was for amphibian aircraft.

I had a friend that was a native of Pensacola and told me about this hanger. It was on Naval air station property and no one had been back there for many years. We sneaked into the hanger area and walked out into the water on the concrete ramp. It was absolutely covered in crustaceans of various species. The water was so clear that we could see clams, oysters and scallops. We were able to just bend over and pick and choose and walked out with 2 five gallon buckets full. I could never find this place again but the feast we had later was a memorable one.

        This Date in History January 20

1863 The dispirited US Army of the Potomac was still reeling from the massacre at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13 where the US had 13,000 casualties and the CSA Army of Northern Virginia suffered only 5,000.The commanders at the Battle of Fredericksburg was US General Ambrose Burnside and CSA General Robert E. Lee. Burnside decided that the best way to re-install the morale of his army was to go on the offensive as soon as possible. After refitting and rearming, Burnside decided that the best course of action was to quickly swing around the left flank of Lee’s army. It had not rained for the whole month of January so Burnside’s army departed on dry roads but a sprinkle of rain began on the first day, then it became a deluge that lasted for four days. Needless to say, the quick movement of this Army was lost in the quagmires that once were dry roads. Any surprise of attack also was lost when this huge army bogged down to a crawl. At its worst the Army of the Potomac was moving at a speed of 1 ½ miles per day. To make things worse, Many Confederate troops moved close and began chanting “Burnside is stuck in the mud”. Due to conflicting orders an entire Corp crossed in front of another entire Corp churning whatever passable roads that might have been there into a slippery stew. Burnside then did the honorable thing hoping to cheer up the men; he brought up barrels of whiskey and dished it out. I don’t need to tell y'all what happened next. That’s right, Burnside ended up with literally hundreds of drunken US soldiers fighting, sometimes regiment against regiment, wallowing around in the mud. Mercifully, Burnside called an end to this attack forever known as the “Mud March”. This debacle was so embarrassing to Lincoln that Burnside was relieved three days later.

1974   Rae Carruth is born on this date in Sacramento, California. Some people may know who this man is and others will not so I will tell you:

Carruth was a gifted athlete and was a wide receiver in football. He played four years at the University of Colorado and was first team All-American his senior year. He was picked by the Carolina Panthers in the 1997 NFL draft and signed a contract for four years for $3.7 million. Carruth was hell on wheels from the git-go. He was on the all-rookie team with 44 catches averaging 12.7 yards per catch. Then something happened to this millionaire. On November 15, 1999 he met his pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams at a movie house in Charlotte, NC. After the movie Rae and Cherica got into their separate cars and headed for Cherica’s house with Rae in the lead. Along the way a car pulled up beside Cherica and a passenger in the car pumped four rounds into Cherica’s car and sped off. Cherica was not killed and called 911 and mentioned that Rae is somehow involved in the shooting. When the paramedics arrived Rae is nowhere in sight. Cherica’s baby was delivered by emergency Caesarian section and survived. Cherica was in critical condition but was rational enough to tell the police that when the other car had pulled along side, Rae had slowed to a crawl forcing her to slow and blocked an avenue of escape and after the shots were fired Rae and the car with the shooter sped off. The shooter was captured and decided to squeal to get a lighter sentence. He said that Rae had contracted the shooting and soon after Rae was arrested for conspiracy. Nine days later Cherica died and Rae’s charges are changed to complicity to commit murder. Rae had been on his cell phone the whole time telling the shooter where he and Cherica were and his cell phone records proved it. Rae was tried, convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 18 years and 11 months in prison. The reason he ordered the shooting was that he did not want to pay child support. I am without words at this point.

                   Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Tuesday OYSTERS

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Quote of the day:

“My ancestors did not come over on the Mayflower but they were there to meet the boat.”

           US Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Cheyenne

A while back up in Charlotte two gunmen burst into a Subway sandwich shop on Sugar Creek Road and attempted to rob the joint. The clerk behind the counter produced a weapon of his own and capped one of the thieves instantly and shot the other one who fled. The cops came and could tell from the blood trail that the one that fled was seriously injured. So they just went to the Carolina Medical Center and waited. Sure enough, a man showed up with a gunshot wound. The other dead one was carted off in a meat wagon. I have no sympathy. Everyone has to be held responsible for their actions or we will sink into anarchy. To hell with those people in St. Louis for raising hell because a cop shot an killed a man that was committing an armed robbery and took a shot at the cops. I suppose they thought the cop should have just wounded him.

I can assure you if I am under attack and decide that I have to shoot (.38 special) I will aim at the heart and lungs...a wounded person can still pull a trigger.

               This Date in History  January 19

1809  One of the greatest poet/writers this country has ever produced is born in Boston. Edgar Allen Poe was born on this day, but he had lost both of his parents by the time he was twelve he went to live with his Godfather John Allen, a wealthy tobacco dealer. Poe’s Godfather sent him to school in England for a while and then he came back and entered the prestigious University of Virginia. The trouble was that Poe was a player and made some major gambling debts and argued with his Godfather to bail him out. It did not happen and Poe was kicked out of UVA in 1826 after only eight months. Not only that, Poe was heavy into the sauce and would toke on opium from time to time. He joined the US Army serving two years and was offered an appointment to West Point. While in the army he was sent to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island near Charleston, SC. While there he is to have supposedly written his first mystery novel The Gold Bug. There is a small tavern on Sullivan’s Island called Poe’s Tavern that is supposed to be the place that The Gold Bug was written, but that is just a legend. In any event, Poe’s Tavern is one of my most favorite watering holes on the planet. Poe did indeed attend West Point but had yet another falling out with his Godfather about money and at the same time he broke enough rules at West Point to get himself kicked out. During all of this time Poe had written a few credible poems which did not receive much attention. In 1836 while working as an editor for a newspaper in Richmond, Virginia this boy married his 13 year old cousin. Poe wrote his first full length work which was published in 1838. He lost his job in Richmond because he got heavy into the sauce again and he and his wife moved to Philadelphia.

He went to work for two magazines as a literary critic. His critiques were admired for being correct and concise. It was during this time that he gave us The Fall of the House of Usher and The Tell-Tale Heart, both of which are milestones of mystery novels to this day. Right after this he delivered The Murder at Rue Morgue and The Purloined Letter which remains to this day the first of the detective novels. He then moved to New York and stunned the world with his poem the immortal The Raven which brought him eternal fame. Soon after this his wife fell ill from tuberculosis and died in 1847. This put Poe deeper into the sauce and opium but in 1849 he moved to Richmond and hooked up with an old flame and they decided to marry. He went to Baltimore to have a bachelor party with some of his trashy friends. After a while at the party Poe showed up missing but he was eventually found wallowing around in a gutter incoherent. His friends took him to a hospital, but he died on October 7, 1849 at the age of 40. What a waste of God given talent.

1822   The 23 year old Virginian Charles Bent decided to seek his fortune and headed to the Wild West. He joined in with the Missouri Fur Company. This company went down the toilet because of cutthroat competition of John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company. Bent decided to go into the mercantile business and opens a trading post in the Mexican owned city of Santa Fe in what is now New Mexico. He opened a second one on the Arkansas River in what is now Colorado and called it Bent’s Fort of which a replica is still with us. When the Mexican War began, Bent showed his true colors when he welcomed US General Stephan Kearny into Santa Fe with open arms much to the chagrin of the Mexicans. Kearny awarded Bent with the governorship of the new US territory of New Mexico and then Kearny and his troops left Bent on his own and headed for California. Kearny did leave a small contingent of troops for the protection of Bent. These troops openly showed their contempt for the Mexicans and the Indians in and around Taos which resulted a heated uprising. On this day in 1847 a mob of Mexicans and Indians went to a house that Bent was visiting in Taos, killed his bodyguards and killed and scalped Charles Bent. The mob wasn’t done yet. They dragged Bent’s body through the streets and killed and scalped an additional 15 honkies. Within two weeks US Colonel Sterling Price arrived in Taos and executed all of the ringleaders. In 1848 the Mexican War was over and Taos and Santa Fe came under American control even more. By the way, Colonel Sterling Price became a General for the Confederacy in 1861.

1806  On this date in Westmoreland County, Virginia a son is born to Revolutionary War hero Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee. Harry decided to name him Robert Edward Lee, or as he became known as Robert E. Lee. Robert was well educated in his teens and was given an appointment to West Point. He graduated not first in his class but went through the entire four years without a single demerit. Before the Civil War he returned to the Academy as Superintendent. After the Civil War he became the president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. This college eventually was titled Washington and Lee University in honor of Robert E. Lee. There is no use for me to expound on the leadership capabilities of this man for they are well known. Winston Churchill said of Lee “Never in the field of human conflict has one man been loved by so many.”

      Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Monday OYSTERS

                              Al's Most Recent

Quote of the day:

“I like for men to act like men...strong and childish.”

                            Francoise Sagan

I read on the web that Mario Rubio is a member of a weird religious organization and has vowed to govern by its tenets if elected President. Here is what his biography tells us:

His parents were immigrants from Cuba and Roman Catholic as you might expect. Mario was raised a Roman Catholic in Miami until he was 8 years old when his family moved to Las Vegas where his father was a bartender and his mother was a house keeper. While there the family attended a Mormon church. At the age of 11 Mario and family moved back to Miami and resumed attending a Roman Catholic church. Mario was confirmed in 1984 and was married in a Roman Catholic church and has been Catholic ever since. The writer of the accusation justifies his position by saying that Pope Francis wrote a book about “having mercy” and since Rubio is a Catholic he must think the same way. A while back the commissioner of the FCC Newton Minnow said that TV is a “vast wasteland”...not any longer, it is the internet.

It has been pretty cold for the last few days here in South Carolina and that got me thinking about Spring. One of my subscribers (Shirley) signs her messages with “Think Spring”.

What causes seasons in the first place? Here is why.

The Earth is not vertical with respect to the sun, it is tilted on its axis. This means that one hemisphere of the Earth is closer to the sun than the other half at some point in its orbit around the sun and is receiving more direct sunlight. When that happens it is summer. On the opposite side of this orbit that hemisphere is in winter because it is further from the sun and is receiving less direct sunlight.

The tilt also means that the closer to the equator the less seasonal changes occur (tropics) and the further from the equator the more severe the change (Arctic/Antarctic).

The theory of the sun being the center of our universe (solar system) was not thought of until submitted by Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus in the middle of the 16^th century and verified by Galileo. This theory was not allowed to be taught or even discussed because it is not what the Catholic Church believed. Torture and death awaited anyone that transgressed. Galileo was paid a visit by a member of the Vatican for publishing his favorable thoughts on Copernicus' theory. They told him to recant or risk torture and death. He recanted and spent the rest of his days under house arrest but was able to smuggle out some of his thoughts...300 years later the Catholic church admitted their error.

This Date in History January 18

1778 Earlier one of the greatest navigators in history had sailed from England and discovered Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. Captain James Cook was assigned the task of the exploration of the South Pacific and departed England in the spring of 1776 commanding two ships, the Resolution and the Discovery. On this date Captain Cook sighted the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Cook named these islands the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his patrons, the Earl of Sandwich. After seeking an appropriate harbor, Cook anchored at Waimea on the island of Kauai. The islanders thought the Englishmen were Gods and were fascinated by the iron used on the ships because there is no metal ore in the Islands. The English sailors traded iron nails for sex with the native women. During Cook's stay one of the sailors died proving that they were not gods and tensions increased. After exploration of the islands, Cook sailed north looking for the alleged western entrance to the “Northwest Passage”. The Northwest Passage was a supposed water passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific across North America. As we know now this passage does not exist except by submarine.

After a year of exploration Cook returned to the Hawaiian Islands. This time Cook was unfortunate in his choice of anchorages when he sailed into Lono Bay. Lono Bay was considered a holy place by the natives on certain days of the year, unfortunately for Cook, this was one of the days. The ships were met with a hail of curses and a shower of stones and coral. The natives were able to steal one of the small transfer boats from the Resolution. Cook was not going to sit still for that and he and thirty other sailors armed themselves and went ashore (or tried to) to negotiate getting the boat back. One of the sailors got nervous and fired his weapon killing a native whereupon the natives attacked and killed most of the sailors, Cook included. Six or seven of the sailors were able to return to the ship. The next morning the Resolution fired a broadside at the islanders still yelling and screaming on the shore killing 30 of them. After this they sailed back to England.

1776 On this evening the Committee for Safety in the city of Savannah, Georgia commanded by Patriot Major Joseph Habersham went to the home of Royal Governor James Wright and placed him under arrest. He stayed under house arrest until February 11 when he escaped and made his way to the British warship HMS Scarborough. After failing in an attempt to negotiate a treaty Wright sailed for London. On December 28, 1778 Wright returned to Savannah with a hell of a lot of troops and was able to retake Savannah but he was never able to control the entirety of Georgia. He remained as governor until 1782 but he found out that Patriot General Anthony “Mad Anthony” Wayne was on his way to Savannah with a group of seasoned and battle hardened veterans that had recently kicked the living crap out a military group of Loyalist/British/Cherokees even though Wayne’s troops were outnumbered 2 to 1. Rather than risk being captured or killed by Wayne’s troops, Wright got aboard yet another British warship and sailed back to England never to return. He died in London of February 7, 1785. Georgia was one of the few colonies the British were able to enforce the hated Stamp Act which was one of the main reasons for the fire being lighted under the move toward independence. Georgia had the largest percentage of Loyalists in the colonies but in spite of that, they were one of the first to argue for independence. Go figure.

1803 On this date President Thomas Jefferson sent a secret monetary request of $2,500 to Congress to be used for the “exploration of the Missouri River basin” which turned out to be the Lewis and Clark expedition. Jefferson rationalized that trade for furs with the yet to be discovered Indian tribes in the “higher latitudes” would more than re-pay the costs. Jefferson specified that the expedition would be just one officer and 10 men involved so that the Indians would not think it was an invasion. The expedition ended up with a few more men than what was requested but that “Corps of Discovery” made inroads into the expansion of this nation that were never equaled.

Born today:

1809 American author Edgar Allen Poe. He said “I have great faith in fools---self confidence my friends call it.” Been there, done that, do not have a tee shirt.

        Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Friday OYSTERS

                                      Al's Most Recent

Quote of the day:

A man walked into a bar waving a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol with an 8 shot magazine and yelled “Who in here has been messing with my wife?” A voice from back in the bar yelled “You are going to need more ammo.”

                                          Anonymous

It is time for all of us to vent our petty irritations...here is a couple of mine.

If you come to an intersection where there is a stop sign or a traffic light there is a broad stripe on the tarmac. What is the purpose of that stripe? It is for you to know where you are supposed to stop your freaking car. I lived in Florida for a while and while I was there the cops in town issued several ads and TV notices that if any part of your car was past that stripe when you stopped you would be charged with a “failure to yield” citation. They let things cool for couple of weeks then they issued a hell of a lot of tickets until everyone figured out that the cops were not kidding and it made me happy. The broad stripe thing was on your drivers license test...don't be stupid.

Another is those that hurry through a traffic light that has just turned from amber to red. The same cops above issued another warning. They had cameras at several intersections and if any part of your car is in the intersection when the light is red they would track you down by your tag number and sent you a citation for running a red light. I totally agree. Is it worth risking a wreck, a hike in your insurance and possible injury to save 3 or 4 minutes? Wake up!

I stopped by my local tavern on the way home from the meeting of one of my social organizations. A man came in and sat down at a vacant table. A little while later a lady came in and he got up and walked to meet her. It was obviously a date. After ordering a beverage they both pulled out their cell phones and began paying more attention to their phones than each other. Eventually their chicken wings arrived and they began paying attention to each other and the wings...that is until they had finished eating and the the phones came out again. What kind of date is that?

Not long a go I was working in Birmingham, Alabama and asked this lady to meet me at an oyster bar that both of us knew and she agreed. We met and sat down at a vacant table. Within the span of 45 minutes she had either sent or received at least ten messages on her cell. I excused myself and told her I was going to the men's room. What really did was go to the bartender and told him to cash me out for what was due up to then and after that my date was on her own. He laughed and said that he had been watching and did not blame me. I left her there with no regrets. If that is not being a “gentleman” then I guess I am not... but good manners is a two way street.

 

I have been writing about Squanto, an English speaking Indian from what is now Massachusetts that was with the very first pilgrims that settled Plimouth (their spelling at the time), Massachusetts in 1620. If there had not been an interpreter there is little doubt that the colony would have failed. Here is the story of Squanto.

The first European to step foot on what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts was not the Pilgrims in 1620, it was the famous John Smith that helped establish Jamestown in 1607. In 1612 Smith went ashore in the vicinity of Plymouth to survey for a plantation that he was contemplating. Smith left his second in command in charge along with one ship and went on another errand. The second in command decided that he wanted to make some money on his own. He captured about 35 Indians, forced them in the hold of the ship and sailed for Europe with the intention of selling the Indians into slavery. He docked near Malaga, Spain and began auctioning off the slaves. But near to the dock was an abbey and the friars came down and put stop to it. Among those Indians was one named Esquantus, or something similar. He ended up in England working for an importer/exporter for a few years and learned basic English. The exporter/importer renamed him Squanto and the name stuck. He was then sent to Newfoundland to assist with negotiations with the local Indian tribes for furs and learned English that much more. In 1619 he learned that a local trader was going to sail down the area of what would become Plymouth to establish trade with the natives. Squanto was allowed to go along for the ride and translate with the local tribes. Squanto was eager to get back to see his relatives. When he arrived he discovered that his entire village had been wiped out by disease, probably smallpox or tuberculosis introduced by John Smith's expedition. The Mayflower arrived the next year lead by William Bradford. He became acquainted with Bradford who was the the governor of the Plymouth colony. Bradford recognized the importance of having a native translator close by as an ally. Somehow Bradford was able to keep Squanto and it was he that established communications with the local sachem named Massasoit who was the chief of the local tribal confederation. If this had not happened, there is little doubt that it would have been Sayonara for the pilgrims. Because of Squanto the Indians did not wipe out the pilgrims right away because they believed the pilgrims could unleash an epidemic at will and they had never seen a firearm. Squanto stayed with the pilgrims for a long time but his relationship with Bradford was not all peaches and cream...more about this later. The question I have is were Squanto, Bradford, Standish, Winslow and the others here at the same point on Earth at the same time by accident? I think not. America is here for a reason. I wonder what it is.

Born on this day:

1906 Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. He said “If there were no women, all the money in the world would have no meaning.” This is true especially for men to pay alimony and an amount that would provide for a lifestyle to which she had become accustomed, not to mention games of chance, strippers and Makers Mark.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Thursday OYSTERS

Al's Most Recent

Quote of the day:

When asked what surprised him most about humanity he said “Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. The he sacrifices his money to recover his health. Then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the end result is that he does not live in either the present nor the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

                                                        Dalai Lama

There is a movie out titled “The Revenant”. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie is loosely based on the life of Hugh Glass. Hugh as one of the first of the mountain men/trappers to explore the western United States. He as also one of the toughest men I have ever read about. Revenant comes from the French word revenir meaning “return”. Here is the real story of what happened to Hugh Glass.

Biography of Hugh Glass

In about 1780 Hugh Glass was born in western Pennsylvania. His parents were Scots-Irish immigrant from the Ulster plantation in northern Ireland. Glass' life is uncertain until he joined the Ashley fur gathering expedition in 1822. This group numbered about 100 and included other famous frontiersmen like Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith, James Beckwourth, William Sublette, Tom Fitzgerald among others. The group was supposed to travel up the Missouri river very similar to the route taken by the Lewis and Clark expedition and fur trade with the native tribes they encountered. The group was unmercifully attacked by the Arikara native Americans that lived and trapped near the Missouri river in what is now Nebraska and the Dakotas. Hugh Glass was wounded in the leg during one of these attacks. The wound was probably not serious because after fighting off these attacks Hugh and a few others decided to abandon the boats and head for the Yellowstone river overland.

In 1823 the group was in western South Dakotas and Hugh was out hunting for game to help feed them. He accidentally surprised a female grizzly with 2 cubs and as you might suspect, the bear attacked. Hugh was severely mauled especially his back when he curled up into the fetal position and the bear broke his leg. He eventually was able to fire his rifle at the bear and the others came running. They also fired at the bear killing it. The leader William Ashley determined that Hugh would not survive and asked for to volunteers to stay with Hugh until he died and then bury him.

The two that volunteered was Jim Bridger and Tom Fitzgerald. Not long after the others had left, Bridger and Fitzgerald thought they detected the approach of Arikara Indians and decided to take Hugh's rifle, powder, shot, knives and flint and head catch up with the group. Before they left they skinned the bear and covered Hugh with the hide. Bridger and Fitzgerald reached the group and falsely told Ashley that Hugh had died and they had buried him.

Hugh had not died but his back was so ripped by the bear that his ribs were showing. He set his own leg and Hugh knew that the closest settlement was Fort Kiowa nearly 200 miles to the south. He started out crawling and staggering southbound using a well known large mesa on the horizon for navigation. His back began festering so bad that wolves and other animals came to him because of the smell and began licking the wounds because of the maggots that were there cleaning out the dead flesh. Hugh allowed this because he knew he would die of gangrene if he didn't.

He eventually reached the Grand River north of Fort Kiowa and was able to construct a small raft and began floating downstream. He survived mostly on insects and roots. Eventually friendly Indians sewed a bear hide over his back and gave him a rifle, powder, shot and flint. On one occasion he was able to drive off a pair of wolves that has just killed a bison calf. Being able to make this claim on fresh meat probably saved his life because he fed on it for several days. Six weeks later he arrived at Fort Kiowa and began recovery.

After recovery he went on a mission to find Fitzgerald and Bridger with revenge on his mind for leaving him without the necessities like his rifle, flint, etc. After an extended search he found Bridger in a camp at the mouth of the Bighorn River. He decided not to kill him because he was only 19 years old. He headed out to find Fitzgerald and was successful in finding that he had joined the army and was at a fort in Nebraska. He eventually confronted Fitzgerald but did not kill him after he gave him his rifle back. Another reason was if he had killed a US soldier he would have been hunted down and killed himself. Fitzgerald was about 25 years old.

In the time between finding Bridger and Fitzgerald Hugh went on a fur trading expedition with five others. They decided to travel by boat and were on the Laramie river. They discovered a small Indian village that had not been seen before and assumed it was a friendly. They were wrong...it was an Arikara village and a chase began. Hugh and the others hurried to the other side of the river but were overtaken and three of their number were killed. Hugh was able to hide and two others escaped but Hugh found his knife, shot, powder and flint on one of those killed. Hugh traveled back to Fort Kiowa in the company of a band of friendly Sioux.

In the summer of 1833 Hugh went out on yet another fur trading expedition. That winter Hugh and his group were attacked on the banks of the Yellowstone river by a band of Arikara and Hugh was killed.

Thus ended the life of one of the toughest people I have ever read about...he was 53 years old. There is a monument near Shadehill, South Dakota that marks the spot where Hugh had the encounter with the grizzly...and you think you have it bad.

This Date in History January 14

1639 The first constitution written in the American colonies was signed on this day in Hartford, Connecticut. The Connecticut River valley had been discovered earlier by the Dutch in 1614 but it was the Puritans from the Massachusetts Bay Colony that moved in and established the settlements of Harford, Wethersfield and Windsor. They got together and came up with the “Fundamental Orders”. This document was the first that fostered the concept that “it is the welfare of the community that is more important than that of an individual” and also the idea of the “Orders” must be approved by those it governed. This document was superseded by another set of “Orders” written in 1662. However, some of the laws written in the original “Orders” were maintained until 1818.

Born today:

1875 German physician Dr. Albert Schweitzer. He said “There are two ways of refuge from the miseries of life...music and cats.”

1919 Italian Prime Minister Guilio Andreotti. He said “I understand my limitations but when I look around me I see that I am not in a land of giants.” Hey Guilio, quit looking around.

Died today:

1957 US actor Humphrey Bogart. His alleged last words were “I should have not switched from scotch to Martinis.” You are right Bogie, Martinis are lethal.

             Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Wednesday OYSTERS

                                         Al's Most Recent

Quote of the day:

Early during WWII the American and English bombers were taking a beating on their raids over Germany. The bombers were no match for the German ME-109's and FW-190 fighters and were being shot down wholesale. The Allies had no fighters with enough range to escort the bombers to and from their targets in Germany...then the P-51D Mustang arrived . The bomber casualties fell 75%. On one raid over Berlin, German Field Marshall Herman Goering looked up and saw the Mustangs swarming around the bombers...he turned to his aide and said “This is it, the war is over.”

A few days ago I decided that I wanted too hook up with Cindy Crawford. I read her biography and looked for her house(s) and found them. She has a 7,000 square foot house in the Hamptons up on Long Island. She also has a house on Parrot Cay down in Turks and Caicos south of Cuba. The house down there interested me in particular since I am freezing my ass off here in the Bible Belt. The house was beautiful as you might suspect and I looked into what it would take to rent it. The rent ranged from $5,800 to $7,200 PER NIGHT depending on the season and if she is not there or not. I changed my mind and decided that Cindy is over my head. So I began looking around starting with Betty White and Meryl Streep. I will let y'all know how it works out.

This Date in History January 13

1776 The so-called Battle of Prudence Island happens on this day. Prudence Island is a barrier island off the coast of Rhode Island that had but one or two structures. It was primarily used as a pasture for sheep with the structure for the shepherds. The British troops had been eyeing the sheep across the waterway hungrily. One night the British decided to cross over to Prudence Island and make off with a couple of sheep, only the pretty ones of course. They rowed over and before they could get ashore they were met with musket fire from a fairly large detachment of militia led by Patriot Captain Thomas King and are turned back, The militia had learned of the planned sheep theft a day or two before and sitting there waiting for them in the dark. The militia just was not going to give up those lovely, sensual sheep.

1128 On this date Pope Honorius II named the Knights Templar, led by Frenchman Hughes de Payens, as the “army of God”. In the year 1118 the Knights was formed to protect the Christians that are on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They took their name from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In the beginning there were only 9 of them because of their very strict rules. They had to be of noble birth, take vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. By 1127 the grateful pilgrims had contributed considerable amounts of land and other valuables to the knights. Even though the knights had sworn a vow of poverty as individuals possession of lands by the organization was allowed and the Knights Templar became extremely wealthy. I’ll bet y’all can tell me what comes next. That’s right, in 1307 the Catholic Church led by Pope Clement V along with Philip IV of Spain lusted after these riches and they attacked the Knights Templar the only way they knew how and that was with religion. They dragged up the leader the Knights, Jacques DeMolay up on charges of heresy, sacrilege and Satanism. DeMolay denied these charges of course but with a little persuasion from the rack and hot irons, DeMolay acquiesced and was burned at the stake. That was pretty much the fate of the rest of the Knights. Their valuables and lands were given away to their closest rival, the Knights of Hospitaliers with a substantial chunk going to Phillip IV of Spain, Edward II of England and last but not least the Catholic Church. Later on the Catholic Church admitted wrong doing in this case and said that Pope Clement V was pressured by secular rulers to do what he did. Hey Clement V you jackass, what has the division of worldly possessions got to do with saving my soul? Thank God you have gone on to your reward. It was/is believed that the Knights Templar has possession of the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant and a piece of wood from the true cross that Jesus was crucified on. It is the possibility of these objects still being in existence that has made for today’s legends and made Dan Brown, the author of “The Da Vinci Code” a zillionaire.

1958 Peter Manuel is arrested in a pub in Glasgow, Scotland. This maniac was born in America to British parents. He got an early start when he was arrested for burglary at the age of 12, then he moved up to assault at the age of 15 a little later he was convicted of sexual assault and did eight years of hard time.

After getting out he resumed his life of crime by killing a mother, her two children and her sister during a burglary. A little later he broke into another house and killed the entire family. It is estimated that Peter Manuel had killed 25 people during his short life. They caught him by comparing bank notes that he had stolen from the family he had killed against the ones he used to buy beer in a Glasgow pub. He took the money from the father that had just been paid and the employer tracked the serial numbers of the bank notes used for salaries, shortly after Peter Manuel went to meet his maker wearing a hemp neck-tie. I don’t know what it is but sometime kids are just born with bad blood and insist on bad behavior in spite of the consequences.

I will tell y'all the brief history of a gang leader in the lower East side of New York City.

His gang did as most gangs; they raised money by selling drugs, extortion and occasional murder for hire. The leader’s name was “Yummy”. He got this name because he always had Oreo cookies close at hand. He was an uncompromising and insistent person that demanded complete loyalty among his soldiers. As was commonplace, there was a rival gang that Yummy and his boys had an ongoing turf war with that frequently brought about large battles. During one of these battles, Yummy was captured by the rival gang, tortured for several days and then strangled. His body was thrown in the street from a speeding car in the middle of Harlem. Yummy was 12 years old.

1929   Nearly fifty years after his famous gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt Earp died peacefully in Los Angeles. A little while after the gunfight Wyatt’s brother Virgil was ambushed riding along a trail and a shotgun blast took out his right arm permanently but he survived. A few days later Wyatt was playing billiards with his brother Morgan when a shot came through the window and hit Morgan in the head and he was dead before he hit the floor. Wyatt and Doc Holiday left Arizona headed to California. But on the way out they killed Frank Stillwell in a Tucson rail yard and Florendento Cruz out in the desert as revenge for the murder of Morgan. Wyatt knocked around the west an occasional bartender even up in Nome, Alaska and was a temporary movie consultant when he passed.

Born today:

1884    US entertainer Sophie Tucker. She said “From birth to 18 a girl need good parents, from 18 to 36 she needs good looks, from 36 to 55 she needs a good personality, from 55 on she needs good money, that’s why I am saving.” Sophie was known as “The last of the red-hot mamas.”

Died today:

1929    US western legend Wyatt Earp. He said “Fast is fine, accuracy is everything.” Wyatt was familiar with firearms, to say the least.

1978   US politico Hubert Humphrey. “We should not allow the shortness of funds to prevent the cities from financing needed projects.” Hubert, shut up.

Thanks for listen I can hardly wait until tomorrow

Tuesday OYSTERS

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

A while back a Russian “Bear” long range bomber got too close to American airspace near Alaska and a couple of USAF F-35's intercepted them. One of the fighters got so close they could see the faces of the crew members and were taking photos. One of the crew member contacted the captain and said “Captain, the American fighter is so close that he is taking photos of us, what should I do.” The captain said “Smile.”

I went on a cruise once and one of the stops was La Havre, France. After walking around a while in that beautifully flowered city, my traveling companion and I decided that a beer would be in order. We found a “Sticky Fingers” not far from the ship and stopped in. I asked the female bartender if she spoke English and she held up two finger close together. I asked her for two “Stella Artois” which is a well known Belgian beer knowing she would understand that. I took the beers outside to where my companion was waiting at an umbrella table. Nature called and I went back in and just said “toilet”? She pointed to a spiral staircase going down. At the bottom was a basement with two “toilets” in one small room but they had separate doors. I did not understand the French writing on the doors and just went to the one on the left. All of a sudden the door flew open and man about 23 years old came in shouting something in French that I didn't understand but I knew it was not complimentary. He came around and flushed the toilet while I was still in progress and left still shouting. It took me a few seconds to get decent and I took off after that jackass. I heard him going up the spiral staircase and so did I. I got to the top but he was no where to be seen. I asked the female bartender if she knew where that man was and she pointed down the street. I was about 63 years old and would have taken on the frog bastard but he ran the hell away...typical. To this day, I do not know what that was all about.

Speaking of journalism: We all want and expect the news to be reported truthfully...as long as it agrees with our preconceived prejudices.

Recently a 12 year old boy was told that he could not fly the American flag on the back of his bicycle when coming and going to school. The abomination was issued by a middle school in central California. Two days later about 40 bikers with the American flag on the back of their motorcycles escorted this young patriot to school. When this ruling by the school was sent across the countryside, the school was flooded with e-mails, telegrams and phone calls protesting this inane ruling and they rescinded the ban on the American flag. The school officials said that they made the ruling because they were afraid the Latino kids would be offended by the display of “Old Glory”. We have gutless traitors like this teaching our children? I am glad I was not there.

This Date in History January 12

1777 On this date one of the most colorful and important leaders in the history of the United States died of seven bayonet wounds delivered by the British at the Battle Of Princeton. Hugh Mercer was born in Rosehearty, Scotland in about 1725. It is known that he studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen and served King Bonnie Prince Charles and his army in 1745. After this army was crushed at the Battle of Culloden by the British Mercer went to Aberdeenshire, Scotland and hid out for a couple of years. After this he secretly crossed the Atlantic and settled in Pennsylvania. Surprisingly enough, after his arrival in 1747 he joined the army of British King George III, the very king he was trying to overthrow two years before. During the Seven Years War he was under the command of British Edward Braddock. Braddock and company wandered into a disastrous ambush and were all but annihilated with Mercer being wounded also. After recovery he joined with Lt. Col. John Armstrong and was involved in the brilliant raid of Kittanning in 1756. Peace prevailed for a while and Mercer became a doctor and apothecary in Fredericksburg, Virginia. When the Colonies decided to take up arms against Great Britain and seek independence, Mercer’s warlike nature arose and he offered his service to the Colonial Army. He eventually ended up in command of the 3^rd Virginia regiment with such luminaries as James Monroe and John Marshall under his command. General George Washington personally requested his promotion to Brigadier General. Five months later Mercer led a brigade into a line of British infantry at the Battle of Princeton and was impaled seven times. Even though he was under the care of one of the best doctors in America, Benjamin Rush, he died nine days later in a house on the north end of the battlefield. He was 52 years old. He did live long enough to know that the Continentals had kicked the living sh-t out of the British and this battle turned out to be a pivotal battle in America’s pursuit of independence. Hugh Mercer was a pure warrior, y'all. He was one of many that showed up here at the right place and the right time. America is here for a reason.

1838 Earlier Joseph Smith had established a Mormon controlled bank in Kirkland, Ohio along with a Mormon settlement. Due to the nationwide run on banks called the Panic of 1837, Smith’s bank failed and he felt that the had better get his ass out of Dodge so on this date he headed into Missouri with the cops nipping at his heels. He and his followers did not stay long because word got out about the Mormons practicing polygamy and they were ran out of Missouri so they headed on to the Illinois frontier and settled a town they called Nauvoo. A little later on the word got out about the polygamy thing and a crowd of people surrounded the town with blood in their eye. Not to mention Joseph Smith had spread the word that he might run for president. Joseph told the mob that he and his brother would surrender if the rest of the town would be allowed to leave peacefully. The mob allowed this and jailed Joseph and his brother. Three days later, the mob got likkered up and raided the jail and hanged Joseph and his brother. Everyone thought that with the death of Smith the Mormon movement would collapse. They were wrong, Brigham Young assumed command and the whole bunch headed west and did not stop until Young saw the Great Salt Lake Valley and said the immortal words “This is the place”. The Church of Latter Day Saints based in Salt Lake City thrives to this day.

1943 Earlier Adolph Hitler decided that he wanted to conquer Russia even though he had signed a non-aggression pact with them earlier. Hitler sent three enormous armies into Russia to capture its three largest cities, Leningrad, Stalingrad and Moscow. The three German armies were named the Northern army, The Central army and the Southern army. The Northern army headed a bee line toward Leningrad thinking it would be an easy operation. They found out, as did the other two armies, that these operations would be no walk in the park. The Northern army ran up against a stone wall and was repeatedly repulsed on any attack they tried. Hitler decided that siege would be the best avenue so the Northern army surrounded the city and would not let anyone or anything in or out. During the first year of the siege 650,000 residents of the city died of exposure, starvation or injuries from the almost constant bombardments. The Russians secretly moved the very young and the very old out of the city and eventually left only 2 million people to feed and this left enough open ground to raise a modicum of crops and livestock. On this date during a blizzard with temperatures in the -30’s, the Russian army broke through the encirclement and surrounded the Germans themselves. The Germans were then in deep doo-doo because their supply lines would be cut and they would wither without a constant supply of high protein food and winter clothing to fight the worst Russian winter in 50 years.

The Germans saw the handwriting on the wall and on January 27 began a retreat back toward Germany with the enraged Russians right behind them. The siege was over after 827 days and the sacrifice of millions of Russian lives. No one knows for sure but it is estimated that the Russians lost over 26,000,000 soldiers and civilians in WWII. It is no wonder that when the Russians finally began an offensive and when they entered Germany they slaughtered every air breather they came across. They wanted their pound of flesh.

         Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow