Ah, Those were the Days, My Friend…

If you have read much of me over the 10 years I have been blogging, you probably know I enjoy watching AGT, BGT, The Voice, and other similar shows.  I watch them on Youtube so I get to watch what I want when I want.  Facebookers know well I stay up late and a link given at 2am is nothing new to me.

My favorites are varied, but one kinda stands out: the female soloists and a few other solos and duets.  I have shared most of them on here, but spread out through many posts.  If you have really paid attention to those posts, you might know I also shed a few tears off and on.  They are, a lot of them, expected tears – the female who is so very shy or very young, scared to death or believing herself to be undeserving of praise or fame who just blows them all away.

But, there are others that hit me and I can’t always figure out, specifically, why.  I got an inkling today.  I am in a somber mood; my heart is open and my emotions are kinda strong while my body is tired and my mind just on slow forward.  I watched a couple and started thinking about my life and me.  When I was in school, I was not a basketball jock or a baseball dream or a wrestling tiger.  I was shy, much more shy than now, and I could think, make friends, do well in school, and … sing.  I was not the best singer in the school, but I was up there.  I never got a first at solo choir contest, but I did get 2 third places and a 2nd place.  My shyness is what held me back.  I did go to Indiana State Choir as an alternate and spent 4 weeks in Europe with a choir/orchestra group singing to over 10 different countries.  But, I was in a group.  I could hold back and hide.

Now, my stroke did change me.  I am no longer shy.  I will speak my mind and if people don’t like it, then they shouldn’t listen.  I write more, not afraid of being seen nor read nor critiqued.

What I thought about today after those couple of auditions on Youtube was if I had been like I am now (minus the balance and vision issues – oh and the memory thing), what would I have done differently?  I believe all things are perfect and it was fine it went as it did, but what if…

Well, I think I might have spoken up, taken a different route, and ended up very differently than now.  I think I might have gone into the public speaking arena, written some good (really good) novels, and succeeded where I didn’t in this timeline.

It’s not regret, just whimsical wondering.  I don’t dislike this life, the one I have, or how it went.  I see how everything, things I liked and didn’t, came together and gave me gifts I would never have had without those failings, mistakes, and directions.  I might never had written a blog post (something to do) as something to allow me to write and have others read it.  I would  not have progressed that blog to now, when I am not afraid to say everything (and I have!).  And, I might not have had my children (whom I adore) or the friendship of everyone on here who knows me so well.

Thanks to you, my friends and blogmates, you have gifted me a part of your lives and allowed me to share, unafraid, a part of mine.

Namaste,

Scott

WE should all know this…

I am concerned about the spread of Islam.  There has seemed to me to be something up about all of this…here is a very interesting video…

The History in Islam in a very short time…

Namaste,

Scott

The Wonder of History in Pictures

This week I left the personal because I received an email with so many wonderful historical pictures that I had to show them to you.  Just look, read, and enjoy!!!

Namaste,

Scott

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Subject: Outstanding Historical Photos

For those of you that like history…

Miss America 1924

Helen Keller Meeting Charlie Chaplin

Leather gloves worn by Lincoln to Ford’s Theater on the night of his assassination. Blood stains are visible at the cuffs.

Phoebe Mozee (aka: Annie Oakley). Famed for her marksmanship by 12 years old, she once shot the ashes off of Kaiser Wihelm II’s cigarette at his invitation. When she outshot famed exhibition marksman Frank Butler, he fell in love with her and they married. They remained married the rest of their lives.

Very Young Lucy Lucille Ball around 1930

This is one of five known X-rays of Hitler’s head, part of his medical records compiled by American military intelligence after the German’s surrendered and declassified in 1958. The records also include doctor’s reports, diagrams of his teeth and nose and electrocardiograms. He had bad teeth, lots of fillings and crowns.

Two Victorian sideshow performers boxing – the fat man and the thin man.

Amy Johnson, English aviator 1903-1941 One of the first women to gain a pilot’s licence, Johnson won fame when she flew solo from Britain to Australia in 1930. Her dangerous flight took 17 days. Later she flew solo to India and Japan and became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic East to West, she volunteered to fly for The Women’s Auxiialry Air Force in WW2, but her plane was shot down over the River Thames and she was killed.

Prison Garb 1924. Belva Annan murderess whose trial records became the musical “Chicago.”

Female photojournalist Jessie Tarbox on the street with her camera, 1900s.

Roald Amundsen was the first person to reach the South Pole. At approximately 3pm on December 14, 1911, Amundsen raised the flag of Norway at the South Pole and named the spot Polheim — “Pole Home.”

The extraordinary life of Maud Allen: Seductive US dancing girl who was sued for being too lewd, outed as a lesbian, and fled London after being branded a German spy who was sleeping with the prime minister’s wife.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Caroline Otero, courtesan, the most sought after woman in all of Europe. She associated herself with the likes of Prince Albert I of Monaco, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Kings of Serbia, and Kings of Spain as well as Russian Grand Dukes Peter and Nicholas, the Duke of Westminster and writer Gabriele D’Annunzio. Six men reportedly committed suicide after their love affairs with Otero ended. Two men fought a duel over her. She was famed for her voluptuous breasts.

Wedding day photograph of Abraham and Mary taken November 4, 1842 in Springfield, Illinois after three years of a stormy courtship and a broken engagement. Their love had endured.

Billie Holiday at two years old, in 1917

Washington, D.C., circa 1919. “Walter Reed Hospital flu ward.” One of the very few images in Washington-area photo archives documenting the influenza contagion of 1918-1919, which killed over 500,000 Americans and tens of millions around the globe. Most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection.

Filming the MGM Logo

Amelia Earhart

Mae Questel ca. 1930’s, the voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl, Minnie Mouse, Felix the Cat (for three shorts by the Van Beuren Studios), Little Lulu, Little Audrey and Casper, the Friendly Ghost

Bea Arthur (née Bernice Frankel) (1922-2009) SSgt. USMC 1943-45 WW II. Enlisted and assigned as typist at Marine HQ in Wash DC, then air stations in VA and NC. Best remembered for her title role in the TV series “Maude” and as Dorothy in “Golden Girls”.

In 1911, Bobby Leach survived a plunge over Niagara Falls in a steel barrel. Fourteen years later, in New Zealand, he slipped on an orange peel and died.

Emily Todd was Mary Todd Lincoln’s half-sister. In 1856 she married Benjamin Helm, a Confederate general. After Helm’s death in 1863 Emily Helm passed through Union Lines to visit her sister in the White House. This caused great consternation in the Northern newspapers. Emily Helm took an oath of loyalty to the Union and was granted amnesty

Three days before his 19th birthday, George H.W. Bush became the youngest aviator in the US Navy.

Market Street, San Francisco after the earthquake, 1906.

All-American Girls Baseball, 1940s

c. 1943 : Breast Protectors for War Workers

Mary Ellen Wilson (1864–1956) or sometimes Mary Ellen McCormack was an American whose case of child abuse led to the creation of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. As an eight-year old, she was severely abused by her foster parents, Francis and Mary Connolly.

Sacajawea. Stolen, held captive, sold, eventually reunited the Shoshone Indians. She was an interpreter and guide for Lewis and Clark in 1805-1806 with her husband Toussaint Charbonneau. She navigated carrying her son, Jean Baptiste, on her back. She traveled thousands of miles from the Dakotas the Pacific Ocean. The explorers, said she was cheerful, never complained, and proved to be invaluable. She served as an advisor, caretaker, and is legendary for her perseverance and resourcefulness.

Zelda Boden, circus performer, ca. 1910.

A Confederate and Union soldier shake hands during a celebration at Gettysburg in 1913. Image from the Library of Congress. July 1-3, 2013 marks the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Geraldine Doyle, who was the inspiration behind the famous Rosie the Riveter poster.

Vintage Baked Potato Cart. A legitimate fast food lunch option back in the day.

Black physicians treating in the ER a member of the Ku Kux Klan

Cyclists ride in the first running of the Tour de France, in 1903.

Sergeant Stubby (1916 or 1917 – April 4, 1926), was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat. America’s first war dog, Stubby, served 18 months ‘over there’ and participated in seventeen battles on the Western Front. He saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks, found and comforted the wounded, and even once caught a German spy by the seat of his pants (holding him there til American Soldiers found him).

Nightwitches – Female Russian bombers who bombed Germany during WW2. They had old, noisy planes & the engines used to conk out halfway through their missions, so they had to climb out on the wings mid-flight to restart the props. To stop Germans from hearing them & starting up the anti aircraft guns, they’d climb to a certain height, coast down to German positions, drop their bombs, restart their engines in midair & get the hell out of dodge. Their leader flew 200+ missions & was never captured.

Marilyn Monroe meets Queen Elizabeth II, London, 1956 Both women are 30 years old.

Chief Petty Officer Graham Jackson plays “Going Home” as FDR’s body is borne past in Warm Springs, GA, where the President was scheduled to attend a barbecue on the day he died. April, 1945.

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Friday Fictioneers: Historical Fiction

History in the Making

“Do you think it will last?”

“What?  The fireworks?”

“No, I was thinking about the country.”

She stepped closer to him while waiting for his reply.

“You shouldn’t worry about it so much.  We pray and God is with us.”

“Will He always be?”

“You shouldn’t even think like that,” he scolded, his voice rough and his eyes darting around.

She looked at the child wrapped up in the quilt.

“I am … sorry.  I worry for Alexander.”

“I know, but stop worrying.  We will always be strong and safe.  After all, it’s 1776 and we have come so far.”

Namaste,

Scott

If There’s One Thing I Keno…

This post is, in no way, promoting gambling. It is merely for entertainment and informational.

Originally, I wanted to talk to you all today about the lottery in China. My understanding was that it is a once a year lottery and the winner would win one billion yen. So, I looked up “Chinese Lottery”.

I was directed to a couple of sites on Keno. I knew nothing of Keno, so I started reading. Fascinating.

Paraphrasing, it seems that Keno was a gambling game that stemmed from putting sets of characters on a card. There were a thousand of them, originally coming from the poem used to teach young children how to read Chinese.

The game was invented by a leader of a city under attack. He needed more money to fund the army, but people were unwilling. So, he created this “game” and raised enough money on this lottery to fund the army. In fact, this way of raising money was so successful that most of the Great Wall of China was financed this way.

Moving ahead, when the Chinese immigrants came to America and ended up working on the railroad, they played this game. Americans found out and began playing their own version of it. They named it a horse racing game in Nevada to keep out of legal problems with gambling. When those laws changed, the people again changed the name to Keno.

“Off to the races” was a term that came from playing this game under the racing name.
Over the years, the game has changed and become the familiar game of lottery we use today.

I found it fascinating that something played in China in ancient times to raise money for the military is now played by people all over the United States and the money, well, I imagine a lot of it still, indirectly, goes to the military.

I was going to talk about how much money a billion yen was and how well we could live here on that and discuss how we could alter the lottery to, perhaps, help more people, but I got off-track and had more fun with this.

My description is vague in parts. The two articles I read for these are: Here and here. Read them both. It will take a total of around 10 minutes and then you will be an expert on Keno – well, you will know its history! Lol

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Namaste,
Scott