Worst Travel Day of the Year

(CBS/AP) RAMSEY, N.J. Some wild turkeys, it appears, were trying to get out of New Jersey before Thanksgiving.

NJ Transit officials reported seeing a dozen or so wild turkeys waiting on a Ramsey train station platform Wednesday. The line continues to Mahwah and Suffern, N.Y.

Dan Stessel, a spokesman for NJ Transit, said the sighting wasn’t a joke.

“For a moment, it looked like the turkeys were waiting for the next outbound train,” he said “Clearly, they’re trying to catch a train and escape their fate.”

wcbstv.com

I Think I’ll Have Dinner at Alice’s Today

Thanksgiving Day brings us a rare moment of coming together. A tradition that crosses boundaries. No, it’s not eating supper with family or even watching football. For radio fans and programmers alike, today’s holiday is best celebrated by the playing of one song, Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant.” That song, which was originally released as the 18-minute “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” will be heard today ….

The song, which is usually broadcast in either the original album track form or the even longer 30th anniversary live version, relates a Thanksgiving story. In it, Guthrie talks about enjoying a Thanksgiving feast with friends in Stockbridge at the title restaurant. After that, things get weird. The singer relates taking out the trash and, having no place to legally drop it because of the holiday, dumping it illegally. This leads to a long, shaggy-dog tale of being arrested for littering that turns into both an anti-Vietnam War protest and a statement of human rights. Somehow, by the end, he has turned the song into a statement that in union there is strength. And the best way to demonstrate that communal strength? Everyone, as listeners know, must sing along with the familiar refrain: “You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant.” As the singer points out, if we can pull ourselves together to do that, we can change the world.

The Boston Globe

Downloadable versions from the Alice’s Restaurant Massacree Concert / Radio Show.

Alice Brock — the actual Alice.

The First Thanksgiving

On April 30th four centuries ago, our ancestors, led by Don Juan de Oñate, reached the banks of El Rio Bravo (Rio Grande). The first recorded act of thanksgiving by colonizing Europeans on this continent occurred on that April day in 1598 in Nuevo Mexico, about 25 miles south of what is now El Paso, Texas. After having begun their northward trek in March of that same year, the entire caravan was gathered at this point. The 400 person expedition included soldiers, families, servants, personal belongings, and livestock . . . virtually a living village. Two thirds of the colonizers were from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands). There was even one Greek and a man from Flanders! The rest were Mexican Indians and mestizos (mixed bloods).

The starting point for the colonists had been in Zacatecas, Nueva España (now Mexico) and by being part of the colonizing expedition they had been promised the title of Hidalgo, men with rights and privileges equal to Spain’s nobility. Juan de Oñate was a man of wealth and prominence, the son of Cristobal Oñate, silver mine owner whose family had come to the New World from the Basque region of Spain. Titles granted to him by Viceroy Luis de Velasco were Governor and Adelantado of New Mexico. The colonists suffered hardships and deprivations as they headed north, but they were also headed toward posterity: they would participate in the first recorded act of Thanksgiving by colonizing Europeans on this continent—22 years before the English colonists similarly gave thanks on the Atlantic coast. The expedition is well recorded by Gaspar Perez de Villagrá, the Spanish poet who traveled with the group. He wrote, “We were sadly lacking in all knowledge of the stars, the winds, and other knowledge by which to guide our steps.”

On April 30, 1598, the scouts made camp along the Rio Grande and prepared to drink and eat their fill, for there they found fishes and waterfowl. Villagrá wrote,

We built a great bonfire and roasted meat and fish, and then sat down to a repast the like of which we had never enjoyed before.” Before this bountiful meal, Don Juan de Oñate personally nailed a cross to a living tree and prayed, “Open the door to these heathens, establish the church altars where the body and blood of the Son of God may be offered, open to us the way to security and peace for their preservation and ours, and give to our king and to me in his royal name, peaceful possession of these kingdoms and provinces for His blessed glory. Amen.”

Excerpted from The New Mexico Genealogical Society

Thanks to Hullaballo for the link.

Thanksgiving, As Best We Know

Conclusion from a thoughtful and thorough article in The Christian Science Monitor (November 27, 2002).

There are many myths surrounding Thanksgiving. Here are nine things we do know are true about the holiday.

1. The first Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration in 1621 that lasted for three days.

2. The feast most likely occurred between Sept. 21 and Nov. 11.

3. Approximately 90 Wampanoag Indians and 52 colonists – the latter mostly women and children – participated.

4. The Wampanoag, led by Chief Massasoit, contributed at least five deer to the feast.

5. Cranberry sauce, potatoes – white or sweet – and pies were not on the menu.

6. The Pilgrims and Wampanoag communicated through Squanto, a member of the Patuxet tribe, who knew English because he had associated with earlier explorers. [In fact, Squanto (or Tisquantum), had spent several years in Europe and England.]

7. Besides meals, the event included recreation and entertainment.

8. There are only two surviving descriptions of the first Thanksgiving. One is in a letter by colonist Edward Winslow. He mentions some of the food and activities. The second description was in a book written by William Bradford 20 years afterward. His account was lost for almost 100 years.

9. Abraham Lincoln named Thanksgiving an annual holiday in 1863.

And this, The Year We Had Two Thanksgivings.

Household Hint

Another in a series of household hints based upon NewMexiKen’s personal experience:

If you are struggling with a plumbing repair it’s best not to use too much force. It is especially important not to use too much force, break something, and have to call out a plumber for an emergency repair.

It is especially important not to use too much force, break something, and have to call out a plumber for an emergency repair just before the beginning of a holiday weekend, say Thanksgiving.

So, for once, I didn’t. I put everything back together and will live with the drip in my shower until next week.

Ha Ha, you thought I had screwed up, didn’t you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

More on the UCLA Taser Incident

The UCLA police officer videotaped last week using a Taser gun on a student also shot a homeless man at a campus study hall room three years ago and was earlier recommended for dismissal in connection with an alleged assault on fraternity row, authorities said. …

In an interview with The Times on Monday night, Duren, 43, defended his record as a campus police officer and urged people to withhold judgment until the review of his Taser use is completed.

Los Angeles Times

Duren has been with the UCLA Police Department for 18 years and was officer of the year in 2001.

The 100 Most Influential Americans

There’s a discussion at American Heritage Blog about The Atlantic’s 100 Most Influential Americans. Participants include John Steele Gordon, a member of the panel that selected The Atlantic’s list.

You could try following the debate at the American Heritage Blog main page (scrolling down to the first entry), but here are the six postings to date.

The 100 Most Influential Americans
The 100 Most Influential Americans II
The 100 Most Influential Americans III
The 100 Most Influential Americans IV
The 100 Most Influential Americans V
The 100 Most Influential Americans VI
The 100 Most Influential Americans VII
The 100 Most Influential Americans VIII
The 100 Most Influential Americans IX

Something to Be Thankful For

People with ruptured disks in their lower backs usually recover whether or not they have surgery, researchers are reporting today. The study, a large trial, found that surgery appeared to relieve pain more quickly but that most people recovered eventually and that there was no harm in waiting.

The New York Times

NewMexiKen is glad to have reaffirmed what personal experience told me was the case. When the ruptured disk rubs against the sciatic nerve, the pain is disruptive, and surgery begins to sound necessary. But then, things move around in there, the rubbing stops, and the pain is dull and manageable. The trick is, of course, the proper exercise.

And not spending too many hours a day perched in front of this computer.

November 22nd is the birthday

… of Billie Jean King. She’s 63.

… of Steve Van Zandt. The musician/actor is 56.

… of Jamie Lee Curtis. She’s 48.

… of Mariel Hemingway. She’s 45.

… of Boris Becker. He’s 39.

… of Scarlett Johansson. She’s 22.

Abigail Adams, America’s second first lady and the mother of the sixth president, was born on this date in 1744.

Songwriter Hoagy Carmichael was born on this date in 1899: “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Up The Lazy River,” “Heart and Soul.”

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Colorado)

… was redisignated on this date in 2000. It had been a national monument since 1932. It became America’s 57th national park in 2004.

In this high mountain valley are the tallest dunes in North America, flanked by some of the highest peaks in the Rocky Mountains. The park and preserve protects much of the Great Sand Dunes’ natural system, including alpine tundra and lakes, forests, streams, dunes, grasslands, and wetlands.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Here’s a great recent photo of the dunes with snow.

Once Again, Computer Security

The Mossberg Report has a good primer today on computer security. Here are some key points, but read the whole column to make sure you are doing everything you should to protect yourself and your identity.

1. If you have a Windows computer, you must obtain and install all of the following: a reputable antivirus program, a software firewall, a junk-mail filter and an antispyware program. Even if you own a Macintosh (Macs have been unaffected by most of these threats to date), you will still need to turn on your computer’s firewall and employ a junk-mail filter.

2. Upgrade to the latest versions of the leading Windows web browsers, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla’s Firefox 2.0, both of which warn you when a web page you’re visiting appears to be phony. (The new Internet Explorer also has under-the-hood security improvements that close some of the holes plaguing older versions.) … On a Mac, consider using Firefox 2.0 instead of Apple’s Safari, which, while very good and generally secure, lacks a fake-web-site detector.

3. Never respond to or click a link within any unsolicited email message from a financial institution — even your own — no matter how official it looks. …

5. Never, ever download software from a company or web site whose honesty or veracity you’re not sure of. …

Firefox – Rediscover the Web

Internet Explorer 7: Home

Microsoft offers a good security package — if you don’t mind paying Microsoft extra for the security their operating system should include free. There’s a 90 day free trial at Windows Live OneCare – Home.

Blighted Homeland

From 1944 to 1986, 3.9 million tons of uranium ore were dug and blasted from Navajo soil, nearly all of it for America’s atomic arsenal. Navajos inhaled radioactive dust, drank contaminated water and built homes using rock from the mines and mills. Many of the dangers persist to this day. This four-part series examines the legacy of uranium mining on the Navajo reservation.

Los Angeles Times

There’s a terrific slideshow accompanying each of the articles.

Best line of the day, so far

A young clergyman had preached a trial sermon at a prominent, not to say prosperous, church, and he was sure it had gone well. After the service, he stood at the door and shook hands with the parishioners as they filed out. At the end of the line was a little old lady, who held his hand, looked up at him, and quavered, “Young man, has anyone ever told you how wonderful you are?” “Why no,” he said, nearly choking in his attempt to be modest. She replied, “Then how did you ever get the idea?”

As told by Don To Earth, the 92-year-old blogger.

Best line of the day, so far

He’s good-looking, though, like he just stepped out of some “Don’t Litter the Earth” public-service advertisement. He’s got those great big cheekbones that are like planets, you know, with little moons orbiting them. He gets me jealous, jealous, and jealous. If you put Junior and me next to each other, he’s the Before Columbus Arrived Indian and I’m the After Columbus Arrived Indian.

Sherman Alexie, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” The New Yorker, 2003, an absolutely first-rate short story.

Size Matters Redux

NewMexiKen had been sulking since I read earlier today “that for every inch taller a man is than his speed-dating rivals, the number of women who want to meet him goes up by about five percent.”

And I always thought it was wit and intelligence that women looked for.1

But anyway, I did a little research and found this interesting article from The New Yorker in 2004. It included these factoids:

The men of the northern Cheyenne, he found, were the tallest people in the world in the late nineteenth century: well nourished on bison and berries, and wandering clear of disease on the high plains, they averaged nearly five feet ten.

In the First World War, the average American soldier was still two inches taller than the average German. But sometime around 1955 the situation began to reverse. The Germans and other Europeans went on to grow an extra two centimetres a decade, and some Asian populations several times more, yet Americans haven’t grown taller in fifty years. By now, even the Japanese—once the shortest industrialized people on earth—have nearly caught up with us, and Northern Europeans are three inches taller and rising.

Women, meanwhile, seem to be getting smaller. According to the National Center for Health Statistics—which conducts periodic surveys of as many as thirty-five thousand Americans—women born in the late nineteen-fifties and early nineteen-sixties average just under five feet five. Those born a decade later are a third of an inch shorter.

He has subdivided the country’s heights by race, sex, income, and education. He has looked at whites alone, at blacks alone, at people with advanced degrees and those in the highest income bracket. Somewhere in the United States, he thinks, there must be a group that’s both so privileged and so socially insulated that it’s growing taller. He has yet to find one.

1 NewMexiKen is exactly the average height for American men but I’ve got a Mensa pin around here somewhere.

The 100 Most Influential Figures in American History

Some interesting omissions, of course (from The Atlantic 100).

No Hispanics (Serra, Kino, Cesar Chavez)?

No American Indians (Sequoyah, Pontiac, Sitting Bull, Joseph)?

No explorers other than Lewis and Clark (Carson, Fremont, Powell)?

Several from film, but no one from broadcasting (Sarnoff, Pat Weaver the creator of Today and Tonight shows, Ed Sullivan)?

Just sayin’.

Here’s my take on another list of 100.

The Bottom Five of the Top 100

From The Atlantic. NewMexiKen thought the last five of the 100 most influential figures in American history was interesting.

96 Ralph Nader
He made the cars we drive safer; thirty years later, he made George W. Bush the president.

97 Stephen Foster
America’s first great songwriter, he brought us “O! Susanna” and “My Old Kentucky Home.”

98 Booker T. Washington
As an educator and a champion of self-help, he tried to lead black America up from slavery.

99 Richard Nixon
He broke the New Deal majority, and then broke his presidency on a scandal that still haunts America.

100 Herman Melville
Moby Dick was a flop at the time, but Melville is remembered as the American Shakespeare.