Campground justice

It was first light, the twilight just before dawn. Two shots rang out. The campers awake in their tents and RVs were startled; then they relaxed and fell back asleep. They realized that it was just some right-minded person meting out justice to the jerks breaking camp with all the subtlety and quiet of the circus leaving town.

Above first posted here four years ago. It is all true, except for the shots.

Post reprise of the day

Two of the four coincidences posted by John Steele Gordon at AmericanHeritage.com:

1) Probably the most famous coincidence in American history is that both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day. And it was not just any day but July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The cherry on top is that Adams and Jefferson were the only two signers of the Declaration to later become President. We will never know, of course, but I’ve always suspected that both Jefferson and Adams, old and rapidly failing though they were (Adams was 90, Jefferson 83) were aware of what day it was and perhaps at some level decided that it was a good day to die. President James Monroe also died on July 4, in 1831. So more than 8 percent of deceased American Presidents have died on the nation’s birthday, and three of the first five did.

3) In the 1940s two of the mightiest and most iconic of American industrial corporations were General Motors and General Electric. The president of GM from 1941 until 1953 was a man named Charles E. Wilson. The president of General Electric from 1940 to 1950 (except from 1942 until 1945, when he worked for the government) was a man named . . . Charles E. Wilson. They were unrelated and were known as Engine Charlie and Electric Charlie to keep them separate. (Runner up in this category, perhaps, is the fact that Chief Justice Earl Warren was succeeded in office by Chief Justice Warren Earl Burger.)

She’s the real wizard

The best-selling author ever is 44 today. That’s J.K. Rowling, who has sold more than 400 million Harry Potter books.

According to The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor her first book “started with a print run of 1,000 copies. The last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007), had a first print run of 12 million copies in the United States, the largest first printing of any book in history.”

Best beer summit line of the day

“Bud Light is considered a ‘lawn mower’ beer, perfect for after mowing the lawn or when you get home from work. It’s one step up from a nice, tall glass of ice water and generally one of the lightest pale lagers made in the United States.”

Matt Simpson who teaches “Beer Education” at Emory University. He goes on to say:

“Red Stripe is also a pale lager, but it’s an official handmade product, with a little more flavor and flair. And Blue Moon is also mass-produced, but it’s an ale. It’s a more flavorful beverage, with some floral character and hints of coriander and orange peel. None of these are microbrews or craft beers, but the closest is Blue Moon, a tasty beer that’s a macrobrewer’s attempt to join the craft beer market.”

What does a woman really want?

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur’s youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death.

The question — What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch’s proposition to have an answer by year’s end.

He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.

Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer.

But the price would be high; as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.

The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first

The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur’s closest friend!

Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life.

He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden; but Lancelot, learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur.

He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur’s life and the preservation of the Round Table.

Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur’s question thus:

What a woman really wants, she answered — is to be in charge of her own life.

Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur’s life would be spared.

And so it was, the neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom and Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.

The honeymoon hour approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him — the most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened.

The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth, be her horrible deformed self only half the time and the beautiful maiden the other half.

Which would he prefer? Beautiful during the day — or night?

Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate moments?

What would YOU do?

What Lancelot chose is below. BUT make YOUR choice before you scroll down, OKAY?

Noble Lancelot said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself.

Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.

Now, what is the moral to this story?

Scroll down.

The moral is —
If you don’t let a woman have her own way—
Things are going to get ugly.

Thanks to my good friend Jeanne for the story.

We hate those government programs — not

About 60 percent of people participating in Medicare rate their coverage as a 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale (versus 36-40 percent for private insurance), and 84 percent rate it as a 7 out of 10 or higher …. In the most recent Kaiser Foundation tracking poll, moreover, 77 percent of Americans would like to see Medicare expanded to people aged 55 and older.

FiveThirtyEight.com

And, once again, I’ll point out that I have had the public option (federal sponsored health insurance) since 1973 and it’s been just fine, thank you very much.

July 30th, a holiday except for Arnold dragging it down

Edd “Kookie Kookie lend me your comb” Byrnes is 76 today.

Blues guitarist Buddy Guy is 73.

Oscar nominee (direction and co-writer, The Last Picture Show) Peter Bogdanovich is 70.

Paul Anka is 68. Anka is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is 62.

Kate Bush is 51.

Oscar best actor nominee Laurence Fishburne is 48.

Lisa Kudrow is 46.

Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank is 35.

The Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel was born on this date in 1890.

MANAGED NEW YORK YANKEES 1949-1960.
WON 10 PENNANTS AND 7 WORLD SERIES WITH
NEW YORK YANKEES. ONLY MANAGER TO WIN
5 CONSECUTIVE WORLD SERIES 1949-1953.
PLAYED OUTFIELD 1912-1925 WITH BROOKLYN,
PITTSBURGH, PHILADELPHIA, NEW YORK AND
BOSTON N.L. TEAMS. MANAGED BROOKLYN
1934-1936, BOSTON BRAVES 1938-1943,
NEW YORK METS 1962-1965.

A few Casey-isms:

“Can’t anybody here play this game?”

“Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa.”

“He’d (Yogi Berra) fall in a sewer and come up with a gold watch.”

One of the most remarkable Americans, Henry Ford, was born on this date in 1863. The following is an excerpt from Mr. Ford’s New York Times obituary in 1947:

Renting a one-story brick shed in Detroit, Mr. Ford spent the year 1902 experimenting with two- cylinder and four-cylinder motors. By that time the public had become interested in the speed possibilities of the automobile, which was no longer regarded as a freak. To capitalize on this interest, he built two racing cars, the “999” and the “Arrow,” each with a four-cylinder engine developing eighty horsepower. The “999,” with the celebrated Barney Oldfield at its wheel, won every race in which it was entered.

The resulting publicity helped Mr. Ford to organize the Ford Motor Company, which was capitalized at $100,000, although actually only $28,000 in stock was subscribed. From the beginning Mr. Ford held majority control of this company. In 1919 he and his son, Edsel, became its sole owners, when they bought out the minority stockholders for $70,000,000.

In 1903 the Ford Motor Company sold 1,708 two-cylinder, eight horsepower automobiles. …

With this material he began the new era of mass production. He concentrated on a single type of chassis, the celebrated Model T, and specified that “any customer can have a car painted any color he wants, so long as it is black.” On Oct. 1, 1908, he began the production of Model T, which sold for $850. The next year he sold 10,600 cars of this model. Cheap and reliable, the car had a tremendous success. In seven years he built and sold 1,000,000 Fords; by 1925 he was producing them at the rate of almost 2,000,000 a year.

He established two cardinal economic policies during this tremendous expansion: the continued cutting of the cost of the product as improved methods of production made it possible, and the payment of higher wages to his employes. By 1926 the cost of the Model T had been cut to $310, although it was vastly superior to the 1908 model. In January, 1914, he established a minimum pay rate of $5 a day for an eight-hour day, thereby creating a national sensation. Up to that time the average wage throughout his works had been $2.40 a nine-hour day.

The entire obituary is really rather fascinating reading.

Douglas Brinkley’s Wheels for the World (2003) is considered a good biography of Ford and the Ford Motor Company.

Vladimir Zworykin was born in Murom, Russia, on this date in 1889. He came to the U.S. in 1919. Zworykin’s television transmitting and receiving method using cathode ray tubes, developed in the 1920s and early 1930s, ranks him as the prime inventor of television.

So much for the second amendment

Jill, official older daughter of NewMexiKen, reports on the excitement on her street last night.

Mack’s friend Nick was over, and at about 8:00 it was time for him to go home. As he walked down the driveway I realized there were two police cars in front of my house. I followed him out to make sure everything was okay, and saw that there were three police cars at the end of the street. There were two officers [across the street in the] back and side yard, each with long black body shields and rifles. One officer saw us and yelled at us to go back in the house. At the same time Nick’s mom saw us from down at her end of the street (she works for the sherrif’s office) and yelled at us to get back inside.

Which we did QUICKLY.

I sent all the kids into the basement, but I couldn’t resist watching. Eventually our neighbor who lives [across the street one house down] came out into his driveway and put his hands up over his head. Then he turned around and kneeled with his hands behind his head, and an officer came up with weapon drawn and cuffed him. They took him back in the house.

Sometime later, the police left and Nick’s mom came down to get him.

It seems that [the neighbor] took his dog for a walk and brought a BB gun with him. Someone saw him and thought it was a real gun and called the police. So it was really nothing — if having a swarm of cops with rifles on your street can ever be nothing.

Second Sweetie story reprise of the day

Also from three years ago:

Veronica, official daughter-in-law of NewMexiKen, ran in the San Francisco Marathon today. Arriving home, she showed two-year-old Sofie the finisher’s medal with its depiction of the Golden Gate Bridge.

“Sofie, mommy ran over that bridge twice today!”

And she looks at me like I’m a total nut job and says, “Why?”

Sweetie story reprise of the day

From three years ago.

Four-month-old Reid, the youngest of the Sweeties, had to be taken to the emergency room Friday for some diagnostic tests. (He’s doing OK, thank you.) The urgency meant that his older brothers came along.

An experienced traveler, five-year-old Mack took one look at the hospital’s newly remodeled entry area with its marble and granite and knew exactly what was important.

As his mother checked in, Mack asked the receiving nurse, “Do you have a pool?”

The Indianapolis

If you saw Jaws or read it, you will remember the harrowing story Quint (Robert Shaw) tells of surviving the sinking of the cruiser Indianapolis. It was on this date in 1945 that the ship, which had carried the Hiroshima atomic bomb and was out of communication, was torpedoed by the Japanese. According to the USS Indianapolis CA-35 web site:

At 12:14 a.m. on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Philippine Sea and sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,196 men on board, approximately 300 went down with the ship. The remainder, about 900 men, were left floating in shark-infested waters with no lifeboats and most with no food or water. The ship was never missed, and by the time the survivors were spotted by accident four days later only 316 men were still alive.

The ship’s captain, the late Charles Butler McVay III, survived and was court-martialed and convicted of “hazarding his ship by failing to zigzag” despite overwhelming evidence that the Navy itself had placed the ship in harm’s way, despite testimony from the Japanese submarine commander that zigzagging would have made no difference, and despite that fact that, although over 350 navy ships were lost in combat in WWII, McVay was the only captain to be court-martialed. Materials declassified years later adds to the evidence that McVay was a scapegoat for the mistakes of others.

Shark attacks began with sunrise of the first day (July 30) and continued until the survivors were removed from the water almost five days later.

The Navy web site includes oral histories with Indianapolis Captain McVay and Japanese submarine Captain Hashimoto. The Discovery Channel has a wealth of material.

The site dedicated to the Indianapolis is perhaps the best source.

In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors (2001) by Doug Stanton is a book on the voyage, the sinking, the survivors and McVay’s court martial.