Monthly Archives: November 2012
A Different View of Thanks
Filed under Curiosities
When Thanksgiving Really Matters
Please keep all our military troops around the world in mind.
Filed under News
November 22, 2012 – 29 Days Until Baktun 12
Survivalist Tip: I can’t emphasize enough that you must have water to survive. In the aftermath of the chaos, utility companies will lose power and go off-line – which isn’t such a bad thing if you think about your water bill. You must have a water purification system available. Even the most basic of water purification systems will remove undesirable chemicals and toxins. Like all of our ancestors, the ancient Mayans revered water and didn’t take it for granted. And, in the “New Universe,” neither should you!
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
First Thanksgivings
A depiction of the 1565 Augustine, Florida Thanksgiving.
Americans know the story. The Mayflower Pilgrims – thankful to survive, first, a brutal voyage across the Atlantic and, second, a nasty winter sat down with a group of locals (a.k.a. Indians) and had a bountiful feast of food. Like many American legends, it’s a mixture of truth and hyperbole. But, as time progresses and historians research more, Americans are starting to realize they actually may have experienced more than just one “First Thanksgiving.”
Along with Thanksgiving, descendants of the Mayflower like to claim they established the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States. They’re wrong on both counts. Long before the Mayflower even set sail, Spanish explorers had spread throughout much of present-day Latin America and what is now the southwestern U.S. In 1565, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles arrived in northeastern Florida. He named the stretch of land near the inlet in honor of Augustine, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church; it was on Augustine’s feast day – August 28 – that Menendez de Aviles and his crew had sighted land. Menendez de Aviles and his contingent of some 1,500 mostly military personnel encountered the Timucuan Indians who had occupied the region for millennia. The Spaniards had brought pork, olive oil and wine, but the Timucuans helped them gather oysters and giant clams. At some point immediately afterwards, the two groups feasted together. The city eventually became St. Augustine, and today its residents declare they are home to the nation’s first Thanksgiving celebration.
At Texas’ westernmost point sits the city of El Paso, where humans first settled around 10,000 B.C. In March of 1598, another Spanish explorer named Don Juan de Oñate led an expedition across the Chihuahua Desert, hoping to colonize regions north of the massive Rio Grande. After a 50-day trek, Oñate and his entourage of roughly 500 people, including several children, arrived in the area of contemporary El Paso. Most were barely alive. They’d exhausted their supplies of food and water; a rain shower saving them at one point. Once they reach the El Paso area, though, conditions and circumstances improved. The indigenous Tigua Indians helped the Oñate group capture wild game and fish. After several days of recuperation, Oñate ordered a feast to venerate the expedition’s survival. On April 30, 1598, the Spaniards and the Tiguas celebrated together.
A member of the expedition wrote: “We built a great bonfire and roasted the meat and fish, and then all sat down to a repast the like of which we had never enjoyed before. . . We were happy that our trials were over; as happy as were the passengers in the Ark when they saw the dove returning with the olive branch in his beak, bringing tidings that the deluge had subsided.”
In April of 1989, the city of El Paso began honoring the Oñate celebration, laying claim to that coveted “First Thanksgiving” mantle. But, Florida and Texas aren’t alone.
The state of Maine also stakes a claim to the “First Thanksgiving” on the basis of a service held by colonists on August 9, 1607, to give thanks for a safe voyage led by George Popham.
Connecticut may be the first state to set aside an official annual day of general thanksgiving. Some records claim the first proclamation came on September 18, 1639.
In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony observed a special day of prayer that is now often called the “First Thanksgiving.” Even earlier in Florida, a small colony of French Huguenots living near present-day Jacksonville noted a special thanksgiving prayer.
Virginians are convinced their ancestors celebrated the first Thanksgiving when Jamestown settlers in 1610 held a religious service and a feast honoring their survival of a harsh winter.
President Abraham Lincoln may have declared the first official Thanksgiving holiday in 1863. But, along with Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Virginia, the states of New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont all had annual thanksgiving observances before the 19th century. New York joined them in 1817, and soon afterwards Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin followed.
Centuries ago, our ancestors didn’t think much about the far future – not to the same degree we do now. They were glad to survive one day at a time. Feasts of thanksgiving – surviving a harsh winter, a summer, or a monsoon – were always reasons to celebrate. Our predecessors understood how dependent they were upon the world’s natural elements; they never felt they could control the wind and the rain. They were at nature’s mercy. And, everyone should be thankful for that.
Filed under Essays
Lincoln X-100 – The Kennedy Presidential Limousine
On the day he died, President John F. Kennedy was riding in a 1961 Lincoln Continental X-100. It was actually a 4-door convertible, and X-100 was its Secret Service code name. Ford Motor Company assembled the car at its Lincoln plant in Wixom, Michigan in January 1961. Hess & Eisenhardt of Cincinnati, Ohio customized the vehicle to function as a presidential parade limousine; literally cutting it in half, reinforcing it, extending it 3½ feet in length and making numerous other modifications. Ford Motor Company and Hess & Eisenhardt collaborated on engineering and styling. It debuted at the White House in June 1961. The car remained the property of the Ford Motor Company, which leased it to the Secret Service for $500 per year.
The car, as equipped at the Lincoln plant, would have retailed for $7,347. Custom built, it cost nearly $200,000, according to Randy Mason in The Saga of the ‘X-100’.
Special features on the limousine included:
- Removable steel and transparent plastic roof panels
- Hydraulic rear seat that could be raised 10½ ” to elevate the president
- Massive heating and air conditioning system with auxiliary blowers and 2 control panels
- Dark blue broadcloth lap robes with gray plush lining and hand-embroidered presidential seals in special door pockets
- Four retractable steps for Secret Service agents
- Two steps on rear bumper for additional agents
- Flashing red lights, siren
- Blue Mouton rug in rear
- Indicator lights when door was ajar or steps out
- Two flagstaffs, two spotlights
- Auxiliary jump seats for extra passengers
- Two radio telephones
- Interior floodlights
I have a replica of this car by Yat Ming, which is part of its “Presidential Limousines” collection. I know that may sound macabre, but the vehicle is an indelible, albeit tragic, part of our nation’s history.
Filed under Classics
In Remembrance – Officer J.D. Tippit, September 18, 1924 – November 22, 1963
While many dispute whether or not Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy, there’s no doubt he shot and killed Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit on that same day near a movie theatre in the city’s Oak Cliff section. A Texas native, Tippit served in the U.S. Army’s Seventeenth Airborne Division during World War II. Tippit joined the Dallas police department in 1952 and had already been cited once for bravery for disarming a criminal.
A nation already traumatized by the assassination of its president donated money to Tippit’s widow, Marie, and their 3 children. Now, the city of Dallas has finally done the right thing for Tippit and his family by honoring the officer with a historical marker. During an official ceremony November 20, current Dallas Police Chief David Brown told those gathered that “there is no greater love than this – that a man would lay down his life for his fellow man.”
Filed under News
In Remembrance – President John F. Kennedy, May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963
As a Dallas native, I have somewhat of a personal connection to the assassination of President Kennedy. I was 17 days old on November 22, 1963, when my mother prepared to watch her favorite soap opera, As the World Turns. She’d become addicted to the show, while on maternity leave that long hot summer. She cradled me in her arms, nursing me, and had just turned on the TV, when she heard a loud cacophony of sirens in the distance. We lived in a 2-bedroom apartment above a garage behind the house belonging to my father’s oldest sister and her husband. If you look out the bathroom window and turn to your right, you can see Harry Hines Boulevard. My mother rushed to that window and caught the tail end of the presidential motorcade. She didn’t know what had happened, but she had a bad feeling. She returned to the TV and watched closely as actress Helen Wagner, in the character of Nancy, spoke to a fellow performer. The show was live back then, broadcast directly from New York. Then, Walter Cronkite broke in to announce that Kennedy had been shot. It’s something my mother will never forget. No one who was old enough back then could possibly forget something like that. Kennedy remains one of my favorite presidents; a true American World War II hero who left a legacy of national service.
Portrait by Aaron Shikler, 1970.
Filed under News
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope everyone here in the States has a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. And remember, Thanksgiving is all about family and friends – not about this:
Filed under News
November 21, 2012 – 30 Days Until Baktun 12
Survivalist Tip: Ah, yes. We’ve now reached another critical point in the countdown: exactly 30 days to go before the apocalypse. At this stage, I’ll return to a daily countdown with reminders of things I’ve already mentioned all year long. We’ll start with your list of the most essential items you’ll need once chaos erupts. Surely, by now, you’ve created a formal list and not just hope you’ll remember stuff! If you don’t have a list, START ONE NOW! You don’t have much time. Remember especially, this is no Christmas wish list! This is a survival list. Start looking over yours now, and we’ll resume tomorrow.
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
Barack Obama – The Unintentional Martyr
From the moment Barack Obama declared his campaign for president in 2007, the hate mongrels came out of the sewers and began attacking him. That happens every election cycle here in the United States. But, this time was different. It became particularly vicious. The level of animosity was so intense the Secret Service granted him protection almost immediately. It was the earliest in which the agency had ever provided security to a presidential candidate. Technically, Hillary Clinton holds that record, but – as a former First Lady – she already had Secret Service protection. Then, Obama won, and the hate got worst.
I think it shocked many old time politicians – especially in the Southeast – that even a half-blooded Negro could attain the highest elected office in the nation. Yes, in most cases, it really is about race. But, it appalled many in the old guard; the self-proclaimed protectorates of all that is sacred and holy in America who cry freedom and independence for everyone in this great land, but – deep down inside – only reserve it for a handful of select individuals.
This kind of sentiment was the genesis for the “birther” movement and ultimately the Tea Party crowd. They didn’t like that Barack Obama’s father had been born in Kenya, a nation on Africa’s eastern flank. But, although his mother was born and raised in Kansas, the birther clan insisted the junior Obama was born in Kenya, too; that his parents had met here in the U.S. and then – for some ungodly reason – traveled all the way back to Kenya to have their son and then, returned to the United States. In other words, it’s part of some vast left-wing conspiracy. Notice the birther goons didn’t highlight the fact that John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, or make an issue of the fact Mitt Romney’s father was born in México. In the minds of these people, it seems Latin America is a despicable entity on the same scale as Africa.
Many Black Americans collectively shook their heads at the fiasco. It’s an extension of the belief that many Blacks – as well as others – always get special treatment from the federal government; that things are handed to them on a silver platter and they really haven’t had to work for it. In other words, they’ve done something outside of the norm to achieve their success. It’s not genuine; it’s manufactured. They couldn’t possibly have done it on their own; they had to have help. Whenever disenfranchised groups have succeeded in business or politics, questions often fall upon the veracity of their accomplishments. Did they really do all that work? They couldn’t possibly have the same degree of intellect and fortitude as White males. It’s affirmative action gone awry.
Thus, when Obama won in 2008, many of the old guard claimed that something dubious must have occurred. I suspect if Obama had been a full-blooded Caucasian whose father was born in Europe, we wouldn’t be having this discourse. But, even if, say, he was a full-blooded Negro whose father had been born in Nashville or Atlanta with the surname Smith, I’m sure someone somewhere would cry foul. Obama just can’t win that particular battle. Bigotry is as tough as a diamond sometimes; it takes so much pressure to break it.
But, despite the unpleasant nature of it all, it’s a necessary dilemma; a requisite bad chapter for our nation to undergo as we continue our march forward. We’ll probably encounter this same mess with the first Hispanic president (Ann Coulter’s worst nightmare), the first Native American president, the first Asian, the first female, the first Jewish, the first Muslim, the first Hindu, and the first openly gay or lesbian. They’ll all face similar angst from the old guard who just don’t like the fact America is becoming more diverse and can’t believe that anyone aside from White heterosexual Christian males are actually able to lead the richest, most powerful country on Earth. Never mind that White heterosexual Christian males are, in fact, a demographic minority in the U.S. and have been for some time. So Barack Obama has become a martyr of sorts in the name of true American freedom. He’s been crucified and demonized more than any other Chief Executive. He’s endured more disrespect – from Donald Trump refusing to look at a copy of Obama’s birth certificate to Jan Brewer jutting a crooked finger into the president’s face and later crying that he “intimidated” her.
And, in a very sad way, it has to happen. It’s part of our growth and maturity as a nation. The pathways toward equality and freedom are paved with rocks, not velvet.
Filed under Essays
Chief Writing Wolf 