What Would Jimmy Do?

Today is June 25 — the 176th day of 2020. Six months from today will be Christmas.
There’s a lot of reasons to remember and celebrate June 25th — some good, some not so good, some great!
In 1788, the state of Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution on this date — that’s good.
In 1876, Lt. Col George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by the Souix and Cheyenne in the Battle of the Little Bighorn — that’s bad
In 1910, President Williams Howard Taft signed the White-Slave Traffic Act (the Mann Act) which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for “immoral” purposes — that’s good.
In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that recitation of a sate-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional — that’s bad, or maybe good, depending on your position… I vote bad.
In 1967, the Beatles performed and recorded their new song “All You Need is Love” during the closing segment of “Our World,” the first-ever live international telecast that was carried by satellite from 14 countries. — that’s good
In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia — that’s bad
In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a line-item veto law as unconstitutional, and ruled that HIV-infected people were protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. — that’s good.
In 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South — that’s bad.
In 2009, death claimed Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett — that’s bad.

But what really makes this day special, of course is that it’s two of our kids’ birthdays. Yep — both Dave and Chassie share exactly the same birthday — one year apart, but the same day. I mentioned a couple of years ago that the term “Irish Twins” is a term used when two people are born on the same day and month but one year apart. So Happy Birthday to my Irish Twins — that’s great!!
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I got a kind of round about question concerning the term “blue blazes.” Apparently it came via Facebook — a part of the Internet that I don’t pay much attention to and only look at on occasion. But anyhow, the subject today is blue blazes.
When I heard the term, I immediately thought that I knew what it was… interestingly enough, I wouldn’t have known before we moved here to West Virginia.

You may, or may not, know that we live very near the Appalachian Trail. I’ve never “hiked” the trail, but I’ve been on it a number of times since we’ve moved here. The Appalachian Trail is marked by white “blazes” along the entire trail — from Georgia to Maine. You follow these blazes to make sure you stay on the trail and don’t get lost. 

Before I go any further, (one) definition of blaze comes from the Old Norse word “blesi,” which means a spot or patch of white on the face of a horse or other animal. To “blaze” a trail originally meant to strip a patch of bark from trees along a route, exposing the lighter wood underneath, and therefore marking the trail. Those white markers on the Appalachian Trail serve just that purpose and are referred to as blazes. 

Now back to “blue” blazes…. blue blazes are alternate Appalachian Trail route markers. There are many blue blazes along the Appalachian, most of which lead a short distance off the main trail to water sources, shelters, camping sites, or some spectacular view. I might note that there are other colors of blazes also located along the trail.

So to summarize, a blaze is a trail marker to help hikers follow a given path — the blazes are usually used to indicate the beginning or ending of the trail or a change of direction, or maybe an intersection.

That would be my response to what in blue blazes does blue blazes mean. However, the term blue blazes has fallen into the idiom category —  a phrase that isn’t meant to be taken literally. Idioms are are often used because someone can’t come up with a better, more descriptive or dramatic way of expressing himself. I’ve heard people say, “I haven’t seen you in blue blazes,” or “where in blue blazes have you been?” or “how in blue blazes am I supposed to do that?”

If you look it up, one definition of “blaze” pertains to fire. This use of blaze referring to fire comes from a very old German word, “blason” that means torch. The term blazes is used often as a slang expression referring to the flames of Hell. If you’re partial to this definition, and you say, “where in blue blazes have you been?” you’re really saying, “where the hell….”

As far as the “blue” part goes…. I’m not sure, but if you remember in chemistry or science class, the blue part of the flame of your bunsen burner was the hottest, so attaching blue to blazes might mean that you’re referring to the most intense part of the fire…

I remember hearing my dad use the term “blazes” occasionally and I don’t think he ever took a hike, but the fact that I traditionally think of blazes in connection with a trail just shows that we really are influenced by out environment… I guess I’ve become a real West Virginia Mountaineer.
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During the Civil War, West Virginia was admitted into the Union as the 35th state. When Virginia voted to secede after the outbreak of the Civil War, the majority of the people living in the western part of Virginia opposed the secession. Delegates met at  Wheeling, and on June 11, 1861, nullified the Virginian ordinance of secession and proclaimed “The Restored Government of Virginia,” headed by Francis Pierpont. West Virginian statehood was approved in a referendum and a state constitution drawn up.

In April 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the admission of West Virginia into the Union effective June 20, 1863.

When Virginia decided to secede from the Union, West Virginia became the only state to declare its independence from the Confederacy and the only state to gain statehood by Presidential proclamation. 
Happy Birthday, West Virginia — “Mountaineers Are Alway Free.”
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Today, the 19th of June is known as Juneteenth, a word arrived at by combining the sounds and meanings of two other words — in this case, June and the nineteenth. The word gained a lot of notoriety this year because Donald Trump originally scheduled his first big political re-election rally for today — in Tulsa. The rally has since been moved to tomorrow.

Growing up in Oklahoma, I was aware that this date was celebrated in Texas as a state holiday, but I don’t remember it having much significance anywhere else. Over the years, it’s been referred to as Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Freedom Day. It’s become an unofficial American holiday. It’s sometimes referred to as a second American Independence Day. 

It all started on June 19, 1865 when General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and announced enslaved people were now free. This didn’t happen until more than two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (on January 1, 1863.) So technically, the enslaved people in Texas were already free, but none of them were aware of it. 

General Order No. 3 that General Granger read, said: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”

Well, as you might imagine, many/most freedpeople weren’t especially interested in staying with the people that had enslaved them — even if they were to be paid. This set in motion what became known as “the scatter,” when droves of former enslaved people left Texas to find family members or more welcoming accommodations in the northern states.

Despite General Granger’s announcement, Texas slave owners weren’t particularly eager to part with what they felt was their property. When the slaves tried to leave, many were beaten, lynched, or murdered. 

Juneteenth celebrations waned during the era of Jim Crow laws until the civil right movement of the 1960s. The Poor People’s March, organized by Martin Luther King Jr. was scheduled to coincide with the June 19th date. That march brought Juneteenth back to the forefront — march participants took the celebrations back to their home states and the holiday was “reborn.”

The formal end of slavery was marked by the passing of the 13th amendment of the constitution. Today celebrates and symbolizes the end of slavery in the United States. There is an ongoing campaign to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday — that hasn’t happened but today it is recognized and celebrated in most major cities across the U.S. Because of the upcoming rally in Tulsa, it’s getting a little more publicity this year. The 13th amendment ended slavery and made everyone “free.”
The Chinese have a saying, that everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others. We should probably have one that says everyone is free but some are more free than others. Desmond Tuto said, “ My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” That sounds like good advice for Juneteenth — or any other day.
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To say a lot of things have changed lately would be a huge understatement. Our language is constantly evolving and I have trouble understanding our granddaughter’s messages sometimes because she (apparently) uses the younger generation’s “shorthand.” And new words and terms are constantly appearing in the news…. sometimes I stop in the middle of an article to check the meaning of a new word that seems to have just “popped up.”

One of those words that I’ve seen a lot lately is gaslighting. Gaslighting has been all over the press lately — usually in reference to Donald Trump. So what does the word mean? Gaslighting is used to describe abusive behavior — specifically when  an abuser manipulates information in such a way as to make a victim question his or her sanity. Gaslighting intentionally makes someone doubt their memories or perception of reality. 

The term has been thrown around recently both correctly and incorrectly. A lot of news articles accuse Trump of gaslighting his followers or the American public. The word has been used to describe the President’s comments disputing proven facts throughout his presidency.

The term gaslighting originated in a 1938 British play, “Gas Light” — a mystery/thriller, by playwright Patrick Hamilton that premiered in London. The play was made into a film in 1944 as “Gaslight” and starred Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman as a husband and wife. Throughout the film, the abusive husband manipulates his wife to make her feel like she has gone mad. The film gets its name because the husband uses the gas lights in an upstairs room, causing them to dim, supposedly on their own. His wife brings this up, and he convinces her she’s imagining the lights dimming… contributing to her thinking she’s going mad. 

So the term and phenomena have been around for a long time, and it’s probably been practiced in relationships, friendships and families over the years, but it seems it’s now become a manipulative technique at the national level…..
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Well, here it is again… every year I face the same dilemma — how do I wish Claire a Happy Birthday that captures how I really feel about her. You can check this blog every year in June and see that every year I struggle to find appropriate words. Usually after rambling on for a while I come to the same conclusion — there really aren’t any words that do the trick.

So, again, today I’ll struggle to find the best way to wish her a Happy Birthday and tell her that I love her. I suppose I could text her, or even send her an e-mail. But we do live in the same house… maybe I’ll just tell her. 

But today she deserves more than that. I’d really like to be able to express in words how much I admire her. She has a memory like an elephant and is as quick-witted as anyone I’ve ever met. She is the smartest person I know — she can solve any problem. 

Over the years (fortunately) we’ve had a lot more good times than bad but we’ve made it through earthquakes, fires, typhoons, and terrorist attacks to name a few. And now, I guess we can add ‘pandemic’ to the list. 

Every year I find myself more attracted to her — I love everything about her, but again words escape me. A couple of years ago, I concluded that Winnie the Pooh had the right answer when he told Piglet that you don’t spell love — you feel it. You deserve more — but — for lack of better words, Happy Birthday, I love you!
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A couple of days ago, I talked about the first “Air Force One.” When I re-read it, I realized that some of it may have been a little misleading and maybe I should clear it up a bit.

I probably shouldn’t have assumed that everyone knew that the term “Air Force One” isn’t tied to any particular aircraft — Air Force One can describe any Air Force aircraft carrying the President. It is a term used to refer to specific planes equipped to transport the Commander-in-Chief. 

Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. The ‘Air Force One’ call sign was created in 1953, after President Eisenhower’s Lockheed Constellation, named Columbine II, entered the same airspace as an Eastern  Airlines commercial flight using the same flight number.

For completeness, I should have included a few other “facts” while I was on the subject of presidential airplanes. Eisenhower  chalked up another “first” when  he became the first president to use a jet aircraft, when a Boeing 707 was added to the Air Force’s fleet in 1958. President John F. Kennedy, in 1962,  became the first president to fly in a jet specifically built for presidential use — a modified Boeing 707.

In 1990 President George H. W. Bush took possession of the first 747 Air Force One. This airplane is one of the most recognizable symbols of the office of the President. The paint scheme includes the words “United States of America,” the American flag, and Seal of the President of the United States.

The current Air Force One is capable of midair refueling, giving it unlimited range. Its onboard electronics are hardened to protect against an electromagnetic pulse and it’s fully loaded with advanced secure communications equipment. All this allows the aircraft to function as a mobile command center. Inside, there is 4,000 square feet of floor space on three levels — that includes an extensive suite for the President that contains a large office, lavatory and conference room. It also contains a medical suite that can function as an operating room. A doctor is always on board.

A “new” Air Force One is currently under contract… it’ll be hard to improve on the current model, but I’m sure it will be impressive….
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I’m not sure I know what constitutes a “well-stocked” medicine cabinet. I assume you’d expect to find some kind of pain pills, or other “medicine,” and probably something for cuts and scrapes, maybe some band-aids, and stuff like that. I guess if it’s got what you need, when you need it — it’s well stocked.

I do know that years ago when I lived in Asia, one thing you could absolutely depend on being in everyone’s “medicine cabinet” was Tiger Oil.

In fact, right now, in our medicine cabinet is a small bottle of Tiger Oil. It’s still in the original packaging and the “instruction” sheet is in the box. This particular bottle was made in Singapore and it must be at least 50 years old — and has never been opened. 

I remember many, many years ago, bringing my parents Tiger Oil from my trips to Asia. I told them that every medicine cabinet should have some Tiger Oil in it. I think they were fascinated by the packaging, but I suspect they never tried the stuff.

I don’t think they make the Tiger Oil that we have anymore. Over the years, the company made inroads in the United States with a product called Tiger Balm. 

Since I have a long relationship with Tiger Oil, I thought it might be interesting to jot down what I know, and what I’ve learned about this concoction that has been a staple of Chinese families’ medicine cabinets for many years, and how people around the world have picked up on it in recent years.

The oil was (and is) quite popular throughout the world’s Chinese communities. The story of Tiger Oil (not originally know by that name) and later Tiger Balm started a few generations ago in the rural Fujian province, in southern China. That’s where Aw Chu Kin, the son of a herbalist was born. In the late 1860s, he left China to join his uncle in Rangoon, Burma. After arriving in Rangoon, he set up an apothecary named Eng Aun tong (the Hall of Eternal Peace.) He had three sons: Aw Boon Leong (“Gentle Dragon”), Aw Boon Haw (“Gentle Tiger”) and AW Boon Par (“Gentle Leopard”.)

Aw died in 1908 and  Boon Leong died young — that left the family business to Boon Par and Boon Haw. They worked together using their father’s recipes and adapted them to produce an analgesic balm to treat “what ails you.” When their product was put on the marked in 1924, Boon Haw named it after himself — Tiger Balm.

The product became popular in the world’s Chinese communities. Boon Haw donated money to charities and schools and founded a family of newspapers in Singapore, Malays and Hong Kong. Two of the most famous were the Sing Tao Daily and the Hong Kong Tiger Standard — which today is known simply as The Standard.

He also built mansions in Singapore, Hong Kong and Fujian, a provence on the China Sea. All the locations had joining theme parks known as Tiger Balm Gardens. The Hong Kong park was torn down in 2004. The Singapore park was donated to the city’s government, and it is maintained as a historic site. 

After the Aw brothers died, the Tiger Balm business lost a lot of its popularity. The company went public on the Singapore stock exchange in 1969 but soon after was taken over by British conglomerate Slater Walker, which collapsed in a banking crisis. 

Tiger Balm works by tricking nerve endings with cooling and heating sensations, interrupting other signals from muscle pain or itchy insect bites. It is much stronger than most similar products on the market. Vicks contains 8.6 percent active ingredients: synthetic camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol. Tiger Balm contains 60 percent, including natural camphor, mint oil, cajuput oil, menthol and clove oil.

Recently, the company tweaked its branding, striking a balance between conserving its heritage and refreshing its image. The proprietary orange color was preserved and also the hexagonal-shaped bottle, both of which were introduced when the product was first launched. The brand’s emblem was given a new look — it was changed from a resting tiger to a leaping tiger. (Our Tiger Oil has the original “resting” tiger emblem.)
Tiger Balm is now available in about 100 countries and trademarked in 145. 

As I mentioned, the Tiger Oil in out medicine cabinet isn’t any longer made. It is basically just a liquid version of Tiger Balm. Pretty much the same stuff can be purchased today as Tiger Balm Liniment. Their advertisements say: “Tiger Balm Liniment’s concentrated formula of natural herbal ingredients quickly provides penetrating heat and offers fast, safe and effective relief for the muscle and joint pain that come from backaches, arthritis, bruises and strains.”
So there you have it — I’m no doctor, but I recommend it — I know I feel better just knowing it’s there in case I need it.
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If you’ve read this blog over the years, you may remember that a few years back Chris asked a couple of questions about Air Force One — the President’s airplane. I think one of the questions concerned the American Flag painted on the tail fin… you can check the archives if you’re interested.

I ran across those entries a few days ago while I was looking for something else and decided that the first Air Force One might be a good topic for today.

Presidents before Dwight D. Eisenhower didn’t have their own airplane — most of them rarely traveled by air. The first Air Force One wasn’t a jet, and it wasn’t even called Air Force One. The airplane was built by Lockheed and was referred to simply as a Lockheed Constellation (technically, it was a Lockheed VC-121 Constellation, but the number nomenclature was rarely used to distinguish its type as many airplane models do today.) 

The Lockheed Constellation was one of the nicest looking and most popular of the airliners built in the 1950s. What turned out to be the President’s plane rolled off the assembly line in Burbank, California on December 22, 1948 — it was purchased by the Air Force. Eisenhower used the aircraft for a trip to Korea shortly after he was elected president in November 1952. Shortly after that trip, the airplane was converted into a VIP transport for him. The outfitting of the airplane was a far cry from the current Air Force One. Instead of all the secure communications capability available today, the Air Force installed a mahogany desk that featured buttons to activate a phone that could connect to landlines at airport terminals.

The Constellation wasn’t large enough to hold the president’s entire staff (plus the press.) The cabin had only 16 seats. The crew was also much larger than today’s crews and consisted of a radio operator, flight engineer, and navigator… plus the pilot and co-pilot.

I mentioned that the first presidential plane wasn’t called Air Force One — it was named Columbine II. I think the name was chosen by Eisenhower — the Columbine is the state flower of Colorado and Eisenhower’s wife (Mamie) was from Colorado, so that may have been the reason for the name. 

Not only was Columbine II the first “Air Force One,” it was the only Air Force One to serve only one president. In November, 1954, President Eisenhower upgrade to a newer model — Lockheed’s Super Constellation. The original Columbine II was transferred to Pan American World Airways for two years before being returned to the Air Force. It served the military until 1968 when it was put into storage at Davis-Monthan Airforce Base in Arizona. It was auctioned to a private owner in 1970. In 2003, the airplane was sent to a boneyard at the Marana Regional Airport near Tucson.
The airplane was recently purchased by a private firm that plans to restore it….
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Well, here it is June — in a few weeks, we’ll be half-way to Christmas. Usually around Chinese New Years time, I at least mention the Chinese Zodiac and I’ve noted several times how it plays a more prominent role in the lives of the Asian culture than our zodiac “signs” do in our day to day lives. Nonetheless, it’s kind of a fun topic whether you believe in it or not. According to a study a few years back, the words horoscope and astrology are the two most searched topics on the Internet. 

A few days ago I ran across an article that discussed how the month in which a person was born determined that person’s characteristics. For instance, the article concluded that more millionaires were born in the month of September than any other month. I thought that was interesting, but not interesting enough to take time for extensive research on the subject — so it might be true or maybe it’s not.

But because today is the beginning of June and three members of our (immediate) family were born in June, here’s what the report says about them:
“June babies have the best personalities and are the life and soul of the party. They love to make new friends and are extremely outgoing. Those born in June are expert flirts and therefore often have very attractive partners. They are insanely hot. June babies more often than not have an affinity for vinyl so they have massive record collections. They are film connoisseurs and could even become a famous actor/actress one day.”

So there you have it — if you know Claire, David and/or Chassie, draw your own conclusions. I think the part about often having very attractive partners is true, though….
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