What Would Jimmy Do?

Well, Thanksgiving is less than a week away and I was thinking about my Thanksgivings over the years. I’ve spent Thanksgiving in a lot of different places and with a lot of different people. Thanksgiving, like all holidays, has its own set of traditions like the turkey, watching football and Macy’s parade — but a lot of traditions have disappeared over the years….

A lot of people still send Christmas cards and of course kids (especially) trade Valentine’s cards, but around the turn of the 20th century, people also used to send Thanksgiving cards, that had illustrations of pumpkins, turkeys, pilgrims, etc. — the verses conveyed seasonal sentiments of thanks.

When I was little, there was always a kids’ table at Thanksgiving — it seemed like a tradition to separate the kids and adults during dinner. That doesn’t seem to be the case today — the entire family usually sits together around the table, regardless of age.

It hasn’t been that many years ago when you sat down for dinner on special occasions, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, there were usually place cards on the table. Most people don’t use place cards anymore. That was one of the more formal Thanksgiving traditions that hasn’t stood the test of time.

Special meals on holidays like Thanksgiving, used to call for using the family’s finest china and silverware. But today, no one wants to spend a day polishing those special knives, forks and spoons that were too good to be put into the dishwasher and that were probably inherited from the grandparents. Most families just stick with the everyday dishes and silverware on Turkey Day.

I remember a lot of families made it an annual tradition to retell the story of the first Thanksgiving before starting to eat. Today everyone around the table can just access the history of Thanksgiving on their phones…. and people do use their phones during the Thanksgiving meal — but I’m pretty sure they’re not reading about the first Thanksgiving.

One activity that I remember well is the wishbone tradition. This tradition is much older than even I am — in Ancient Roman times, chicken bones embodied good luck. So, when two people pulled apart a wishbone, the person left with the larger piece was, in theory, rewarded with good luck or granted a wish. Breaking of the wishbone was something I always looked forward to. But today, you hardly ever even hear it mentioned. Probably because the wishbone has to dry out before it will break — that means waiting…. patiently. That doomed the wishbone ritual for today’s culture of instant gratification.
I guess that’s the thing with traditions — they usually adapt to the times, morph into something different, or fade away entirely.
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This may come as a surprise to you, but no, Christoper Columbus did not discover America. There were already 50 million indigenous peoples living in the area of land Mr. Columbus claimed to “discover.”

I know this is a busy month and lots of activities bid for our attention, but the month of November is Native American Heritage Month — giving Americans time to consider the important contributions of Indigenous Peoples, honor their histories, and advocate for solutions to the struggles they still face today.

Native Americans have been confronted with discrimination and hardship since European settlers first stepped foot on their land, and have suffered injustice in many ways since.

‘Indigenous” means the original inhabitants who first occupied a land or region, so the Indigenous peoples of America has the same meaning as Native Americans.
The indigenous people of North America spoke a huge number of spoken languages prior to colonization — somewhere between 300 and 500. However, many of these languages have disappeared as a result of assimilation policies by the government. In 1868, President Ulysses S. Grant declared, “In the difference of language today lies two-thirds of our trouble… their barbarous dialect should be blotted out and the English language substituted.”

Beginning in the 1800s, Native Americans were displaced from their communities and moved onto reserves, and children were taken to Indian boarding schools and educated in English. It wasn’t until 1972, when Congress passed the Indian Education Act, that Native American tribes were permitted to teach their own languages. In 2013, there were 169 Native languages spoken in the United States and many of them had very small numbers of speakers. In 1990, Congress passed the Native American Language Act, which provides support for Native American language preservation and revitalization. It’s estimated that all but two Native American languages are in danger of disappearing altogether by 2050.

Prior to colonization, Native American languages were orally transmitted. After the arrival of Europeans, several tribes began to adopt writing systems. Sequoyah, a member of the Cherokee Nation, spent 12 years developing a writing system so that his people could learn to read and write in their language — he completed his 86-character “a;phablet” in 1821. 

On February 21, 1828, the first edition of the Cherokee Phoenix was published in the Cherokee capital of New Echota, Georgia. It was the first bilingual newspaper in the United States — printed in both English and Cherokee.

It wasn’t until 1924 that all Native Americans were granted citizenship, when Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act. At that time most Native American were able to vote, but many laws at the state-level prevented voting rights for all — it took over 40 years for all 50 states to allow Native Americans to vote.

The very first American Indian Day in a state was held in New York and took place on the second Saturday in May in 1916. The first year of dedicating November as National American Indian Heritage Month was in 1990 ± proclaimed by President H.W. Bush. The name was changed under President Obama, in 2009, to National Native American Heritage Month.

The United States of America was founded on the idea that all of us are created equal and deserve equal treatment, opportunity and dignity. Unfortunately, we have fallen short many times. That equality has often been denied to Native Americans who have lived on this land since time immemorial.
Maybe the Native Americans figured us out years ago…. A Sauk Indian from Oklahoma, Black Hawk, said, “How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right.”
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There are a number of subjects that are almost impossible to discuss without creating arguments, disagreements and maybe even fisticuffs. A lot of people are die-hard sports fans and can’t tolerate any criticism of their favorite team. Of course politics, especially the past few years, is a subject to stay away from if you want a civil conversation. Religion has always been a subject to disagree on. And it seems like the Bible is one book no one can agree about. 

The Bible is the bestselling, most-read book in the world. But the religious world can’t even agree on one Bible. I’m pretty sure all Bibles have 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament, but there are additional books accepted in various religious sects. For example, the Protestant Bible has 66 books, the Catholic Bible has 73 books and the Orthodox Church doesn’t have a universally approved biblical canon — Orthodox Bibles can have between 79 and 86 books.

There are I don’t know how many “versions” of the Bible. There is a King James Version, a New King James Version, an American Standard Version, a New Revised Standard Version, a New American standard Bible, a New Living Translation Version, a New Century Version, the Holman Christian standard Bible — just to name a few.

One thing that seems to contribute to misunderstanding/disagreement about the Bible is that many Bible stories or verses are taken without context. Another thing that probably contributes to the problem is that the context for many of the parables occurred thousands of years ago and don’t necessarily translate very well to to the modern era. Of course that doesn’t stop people from trying to apply them in today’s world.

There’s no doubt that the Bible has some great advice for Christians or anyone trying to be their best self. Do not judge lest ye be judged yourself, love thy neighbor, may he who is without sin cast the first stone, and lots of other verses aren’t generally the ones that stir up the controversy. But the Bible is full of stories that seem to condone deplorable practices — even some that are prohibited in the 10 commandments. Here are a few that taken at face value, or our of context might make you say, “Whaaa?”

• (Exodus 21:20-21) And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.”
• (Leviticus 20:10) And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
• (Matthew 5:28) But I say unto you, that whosoever loocketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
• (Exodus 22:19) Whosoever leith with a beast shall surely be put to death.
I’m sure there are tons more verses in the Bible which seem to contradict modern values… but remember when the Bible was written.

Religion is a very personal thing — maybe it’s good that the Bible is open to so many interpretations. The problem, of course, is that your interpretation is your interpretation… not to be forced on someone else that interprets it differently. The majority of wars have been fought over “interpretation.”
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Today is Sadie Hawkins Day — or, maybe not. The date of Sadie Hawkins Day can vary. Some people celebrate the day on the first Saturday in November. Some choose November 15 because that’s when it actually “originated,” (more on that later) and many choose today — November 13.

Sadie Hawkins Day has been around since the year before I was born, but actually came into prominence in 1939 when “Life” magazine published a two-page spread about it.

When I was little, I always heard about Sadie Hawkins Day, even though it didn’t mean much to me. Nowadays, you don’t hardly hear it mentioned…. maybe Sadie Hawkins Day just doesn’t seem relevant today. So what the heck is it, and how did it come about?

It all started with a comic strip called Li’l Abner, drawn by cartoonist Al Capp. The comic strip was set in a fictitious town called Dogpatch. On November 15, 1937, the comic strip introduced the idea of a day when all unmarried ladies, including the character Sadie Hawkins, could pursue their men. If the men were caught, marriage was unavoidable. This finally led to an annual “girls-ask boys” day.

So here’s the whole story as pieced together from my extensive research:
This whole thing started from a plot line in Al Capp’s comic strip “Li’l Abner.” The comic strip was set in the American South. The story involved a rich man’s daughter named Sadie Hawkins in the fictional town of Dogpatch, Kentucky, who was so “homely” that she was still unmarried at 35. Her father was worried and gathered all the bachelors of the town together and set up a sort of race, with the men running ahead of Sadie. The one she finally caught would have to marry her.

The original Sadie Hawkins “Li’l Abner” comic strip was printed in 1937 in many American (and foreign) newspapers. Al Capp didn’t intend for his comic strip story plot to gain so much social momentum, but after he revised the storyline in November of 1938, American college students started to honor the idea of gender role reversal by holding Sadie Hawkins dances and other events. Then in 1939, “Life” magazine published a two-page spread with the headline, “On Sadie Hawkins Day Girls Chase Boys in 201 Colleges.” And from that… the tradition was born.

Capp received tons of fan mail, and he went back to the Sadie Hawkins theme every November — and put a new spin on it each year. One year there was a “Sadie Hawkins Eve dance,” where the women wore hobnail boots and stomped on the men’s feet, to make them run slower in the next day’s race so they’d be easier too catch and marry.

Over the years, Sadie Hawkins dances became popular, not only at colleges and universities but at high schools and junior high schools…. probably most of the young participants weren’t even aware of the old comic strip storyline. 
Of course today the idea of women “needing” to be married — at any age, is an antiquated point of view.

I should mention that Sadie Hawkins Day isn’t the only day associated with the “girls-ask-boys.” A similar tradition is associated with February 29 in leap years. Long ago, Leap Day was also known as “Ladies Day” or “Ladies Privilege,” the only day when women were free to propose to men. No one knows for sure, but the event may have been based on a Scottish law in the 1200s or on an Irish legend. 

But today is Sadie Hawkins Day for a lot of people and its one of those holidays that you may celebrate or criticize as you see fit…..
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You always know the mark of a coward. A coward hides behind freedom.
A brave person stands in front of freedom and defends it for others.
~ Henry Rolins
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Today, November 11, is Veterans Day — a holiday to remember all who have served in the U.S. Military.

Veterans Day is spelled as it is for a very specific reason. The apostrophe, which would be the little curly mark between the “n” and the “s” is not used — that would denote possession. Veterans Day is not a day that belongs to Veterans or is owned by Veterans in any capacity. It is a day for everyone, regardless of they’ve served or not, to reflect on the sacrifices of people who have served. The day may be dedicated to Veterans, but Veterans do not own it.

I think I’ve mentioned before that when I was a kid, every Veterans Day, volunteers went to all the stores in Maysville and handed out red (paper) poppies. They were free, but most people that took the poppies made a donation that went to help the VFW. I never knew the significance of the poppies until long after I had left Maysville and became more “worldly.”

The WWI battlefield was a place where no life could flourish or even survive. After the fighting ceased and the bombings stopped, however, the ravaged land began to heal as nature took its course. During the healing process, red poppies bloomed and gave new life to the death-tainted landscape of WWI.
A Canadian physician Lieutenant, Colonel John McCrae, wrote a heart-wrenching poem depicting the visage of the war-torn, poppy filled battlefields…. called “In Flanders Fields.”

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hand we throw
The torch; be your stop hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Over the years, lots has been written about Veterans Day, but these words may the most poetic and poignant.

In 2016, President Obama signed the Veterans Day Moment of Silence Act. This means that at 3:11 p.m. (Atlantic Standard Time) each Veterans Day, the current President will call for an official moment of silence for two minutes. Why 3:11? I’m not sure, but we’ve all heard about the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month…. this was when the Armistice call for a (temporary) cessation of hostilities was signed, but it was not the official end of the war. The ending of World War I is officially marked by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in France on June 28, 1919. But we still celebrate Veterans Day on November 11 because that date marked the beginning of the end of WWI.
Today is Veterans Day — an important day in our history — celebrate it appropriately.
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This has been a crazy week or two and I let November 4th pass without mentioning that it was the birthday of Will Rogers. A lot of the younger generation(s) don’t remember, or know much about Will Rogers. In case you fall into that category, Will Rogers was an American humorist that was born in the Cherokee Nation — in what would become Oklahoma. 

If you’ve read this blog over the years, you know that I joke about there being two famous people from Maysville, Oklahoma — me and Wiley Post. Wiley Post was famous for a number of reasons as was Will Rogers — two men from Oklahoma who broke free from their ordinary background and became prominent figures of their time. Wiley Post and Will Rogers were long time friends.

As I said, Will Rogers was born in the Cherokee Nation, that later became Oklahoma. Will was part Cherokee and he started life on a large ranch in what was then Indian territory. He was taught, by a former slave, how to use a lasso as a tool to work Texas longhorn cattle. He became a rope-trick cowboy and all-around entertainer and his rope tricks eventually led to a career on Broadway and in the movies. He later became a popular broadcaster and syndicated newspaper columnist. He became famous for some of his quotes, like “I don’t make jokes, I just watch the government and report the facts,” and “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

Wiley Post’s parents settled on a farm near Maysville and Wiley fell in love with flying after seeing an air show, or “flying circus” when he was young. He attended a school in Kansas where he learned to fly and supported himself by working in the oil fields in Oklahoma — he referred to that as his day job. It was an accident in the oil fields that cost him his sight in one eye. He used the financial settlement from the accident to buy his first aircraft.

Despite missing an eye, Wiley Post became an exceptional pilot. In 1931, Post and his navigator, Narold Gatty, flew Post’s airplane (Winnie Mae) around the world in just under nine days — breaking the previous record by nearly two weeks. That feat made Wiley Post famous around the world. Then in 1933, he flew around the world again. This time not only did he do it solo, he also broke his own record.

Other than being famous, Wiley Post and Will Rogers seemed like very different people, but as I mentioned, the two had been friends for a long time. It was that friendship that led to them taking a fateful flight together….

Wiley Post was planning an investigative tour of Alaska and Russia to see about creating a mail/passenger route from the United States to Russia. He was originally going to take his wife, Mae, and aviatrix Faye Gillis Wells — however, at the last minute, Wells dropped out.

As a replacement, Post asked Rogers to join (and help fund) the trip. Rogers agreed and was very excited about the adventure. So excited, in fact, that Post’s wife decided not to join the two on the excursion, opting to go back home to Oklahoma rather than endure the harsh camping and hunting trips the two men had planned.

During the trip, on August 15, 1935, Wiley Post and Will Rogers, took off in a Lockheed hybrid airplane from Point Barrow, Alaska — the engine stalled just after take-off and they crashed 15 miles outside of Point Barrow. Both Post and Rogers died instantly. The deaths of the two great men, who had brought hope and lightheartedness during the dark days of the Great Depression was a shocking loss to the nation.
So here’s to two (three if you count me) famous Okies…. 
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Tomorrow is election day…. I’ve voted in pretty much every election since I was old enough to vote — even when I was out of the country and it was more “inconvenient” to do my right as an American.

The freedom to vote is America’s most important political right — outside of maybe the Bill of Rights — and it is also the most hard-won right. The United States Constitution, as originally written, didn’t define specifically who could or couldn’t vote — but it did establish how the new country would vote.

Article 1 of the Constitution determined that members of the Senate and House of Representatives would both be elected directly by popular vote. The president, however, would be elected not by direct vote, but rather by the Electrical College. Over the years, many people and groups have have fought for the right to vote — a lot of us were born with that right, so we probably don’t appreciate how precious it is.

The 2022 midterm elections hold tremendous importance, and the results will impact every American. These elections go beyond who will represent us in Congress — voters will also elect representatives at the state, county, and city levels.
Voting is your chance to stand up for the issues you care about, like affordable housing, economic justice, environmental protection and quality education.
Everyone pays taxes and yet, most people don’t know that money is being used. Voting is your chance to choose how your tax dollars are spent.
Voting is your chance to make a positive impact on your community.

Participating in elections is one of the key freedoms of American life. Many people in countries around the world do not have that freedom, nor did many Americans in years past. No matter what you believe or whom you support, it is more important than ever to exercise your rights.
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Happy Birthday to our number one grandson — Locke.
Locke, as a given name, is of English origin and means “fortified place.” Not a usual name and not a usual grandson.
Being born on November 6 makes Locke a Scorpio…. I checked, and it seems that he is determined to get ahead in Life. He keeps his word and expects the same level of commitment from his friends.
If you know Locke, that comes as no surprise to you. 

A birthday is a gateway, or a door
Into brand new adventures you’ve never had before.
So jump right into this fresh new year,
Your teenage years are getting near.
You’re getting older and the message is clear!
Now you can eat more birthday cake than you could even hold last year!
And you can laugh even louder and enjoy it even more
This is a bigger birthday than you’ve ever had before!
So check the date
Yep, you’re eight!
Time to celebrate!

And this year you get to celebrate for an extra hour!!
Happy 8th Birthday to the best, smartest, and the coolest grandson — Locke.
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The other day, I mentioned “classic” board games. I figure that probably one of the most classic board games has to be Monopoly. It’s been around longer than I have and even has an official birthday — March 19. That’s the date Parker Brothers acquired the rights for the game from Charles Darrow, the original inventor of the game — or at least he claims to be the inventor of the game. Apparently the very first edition of the game that would later become Monopoly was invented by Elizabeth Magie about 30 years before Charles Darrow sold the game to Parker Brothers. 

Interestingly, the original game was designed to help people understand taxes. That may be why a lot of kids today think the game is so boring. Elizabeth Magie’s (who is credited with putting together the first version of the game) goal was to not only understand the tax system better but also real estate. Her name for the game that became Monopoly was “The Landlord’s Game,” and it was meant as a parody of a growing commercial practice as well as an educational tool.

But Charles Darrow made a few tweaks to Magie’s idea and sold the game to Parker Brothers, after the company initially rejected it due to 52 “fundamental errors” such as the length and complexity of the game. Obviously, Parker Brothers later changed their mind.

The original game is based on real-life places in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But Monopoly is truly an international game — it’s been sold in 114 countries and translated into 47 languages. More than 300 versions of Monopoly have been created, including “Star Wars,” “Pokemon,” and “Game of Thrones.”

The little “Monopoly Man” pictured on all the games was inspired by J.P. Morgan, a banker who helped finance the construction of railroads and organized several major corporations including General Electric. Even though the character was inspired by J.P. Morgan, the Monopoly mascot has a real name — Rich Uncle Pennybags. Pennybags has become the face of Monopoly and is generally known as “Mr. Monopoly.”

Other characters on the board have names too… that unfortunate guy in jail is “Jake the Jailbird” and the bobby hauling Jake away is named Officer Edgar Mallory. Mallory’s name is actually a play on an old stereotype of the Irish cop — an image popular in the early 20th century.

Every standard game of Monopoly contains $15,140. Parker Brothers prints about 50 billion dollars in Monopoly money every year — that’s more than twice as much money as the U.S. Mint prints in actual money.

You may have noticed, there’s no inflation in Monopoly — values on the game board are the same today as they were in 1935.

Parker Brothers has manufactured over 5 billion green houses — I guess that makes them the largest real estate builder.The original Monopoly game sold for $2 — they cost around $20 today.

I had heard that the most landed on square in Monopoly was Illinois Avenue, but my extensive research couldn’t confirm that…. it appears the top three most landed on spaces are Jail, Illinois Avenue and Go.

The original board pieces were inspired by Charles Darrow’s niece and were created to resemble figures on her charm bracelet.

And finally — if you think about it, this should come as no surprise, there is a special Monopoly version available just for cheaters — called “Monopoly: Cheaters Edition.” It was launched in 2018 and has incorporated cheating into the rules. In this version of the game, players can attempt to get away with “borrowing” money from the bank, skipping spaces and avoiding rent payments.

So if you’re looking for a “classic” board game — if you can sort through all the special editions to find it — Monopoly may be for you….. 
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