What Would Jimmy Do?

Memorial Day is approaching, and one event always held on Memorial Day weekend is the Indianapolis 500 race. There’s been some controversy about it being held that particular weekend because it takes away from the somber reason for the holiday, but the race continues to be run on Memorial Day weekend. 

While I’m not a huge race fan, when I was younger I got into “stock car races” and always enjoyed them, so one of the rings I always wanted to do was attend the Indy 500. I’d flown over the race track a number of times and it was much larger than any stock car track I’d ever seen. I remember being impressed that there was a 9-hole golf course in the middle. 

Anyhow I got my chance in 1971 — I was back in Washington over the Memorial Day weekend, so myself and a friend flew to Indianapolis and attended the race. It was the 55th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Al Unser Sr. dominated most of the race and won for the second consecutive year. He became the fourth driver to win the race in back-to-back years. 

But — who won the race in 1971 wasn’t the big story. The race was marred by a crash involving the pace car at the start of the race. If you follow racing at all, you probably remember the event. The pace car, a bright orange 1971 Dodge Challenger, was provided by, and driven by a local Dodge dealer — Eldon Palmer. (Prior to 1971, car manufacturers provided the pace car — for advertising purposes, but Chrysler, Ford and GM sensed the impending end of the muscle car era and chose not to supply an official pace car.) 

Sitting next to Palmer was the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony Hulman Jr. and in the back seat were astronaut John Glenn and ABC sportscaster Chris Schenkel.

Palmer had practiced braking in the pits before the race and positioned either a flag or cone at the point where he should have started to brake. However, before the pace lap and the start of the race, somebody removed the marker, so Palmer ended up braking late and careening out of control into a photographers stand — 29 people were injured, two seriously. 

Palmer reportedly felt so awful after the incident that he held on to the Dodge Challenger for years. Only a few years ago did he restore it and sell it to an Indiana collector, Steven Cage. The car is currently in his museum in Fishers, Indiana, just outside of Indianapolis. Eldon Palmer died in 2016 — he was 87.

While we’re on the subject of the Indy 500, I guess this would be a good time to talk about a couple of traditions associated with the event. You’ve probably noticed that the winner always drinks milk to celebrate — not champagne, but milk. The first three-time winner of the 500 was Louis Meyer, winning for the third time in 1936. In Victory Lane, he asked for buttermilk. His mother had told him years earlier that milk was good to drink on hot day, so that’s what he requested.

A dairy industry executive saw a photo of Meyer drinking milk and decided to offer it to the winner every year. The Indiana Dairy Association became an official sponsor in the 1950s and today every driver is asked what kind of milk they prefer — whole or skim — just in case they win. It’s interesting that buttermilk and chocolate milk are not options. But since most of the milk gets poured on the winner’s head anyway, the flavor probably really doesn’t matter.

The command to “start your engines” started in 1946 — the first race after World War II. The command was, “Gentlemen, start your engines.” In 1977, the command became “In company with the first lady ever to qualify at Indianapolis, gentlemen, start you engines,” to accommodate the first female driver, Janet Guthrie. Today, the command is “Drivers, start your engines,” or “Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.”

Anyhow, the Indianapolis 500 is an American tradition, not intended to take away from Memorial Day remembrances. Every year when I watch the race, I always think of something Steven Wright said, “I watched the Indy 500, and I was thinking that if they left earlier they wouldn’t have to go so fast.”
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As you probably know, there are a number of days every year that celebrate wine — like Malbec Day, National Drink Wine Day, etc. And today is another one of those days. Not that we need an “official” reason to celebrate over a bottle of wine, but we again have one — today is National Wine Day. It’s celebrated annually on May 25.

Wine has been enjoyed by humans for thousands of years. According to the wineries, the drink is popular not only because it tastes wonderful, but also because of its nutritional value and psychotropic effects. Wine is frequently cited in in the Bible.
California leads U.S. wine production and is home to over 4,000 wineries. But wineries exist all across the U.S. with at least three in every state. According to my extensive research, the most frequently visited winery today is Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina — over one million people visit every year.

There are over a dozen different sizes of wine bottles, many named after Biblical kings or other historical figures. The largest wine bottle size (30 liters) is named “Melchizedek” or “Midas” and holds 200 glasses of wine.
Almost 70% of wine bottles are sealed with natural cork — the majority of the cork comes from Portugal.
One bottle of wine is made of, on average, 600 grapes….

The exact origin of National Wine Day is unknown, but it dates back to at least 2009 and we can all use an “official” reason to have a glass…. or two.
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This is a particularly terrible day for all of us, especially the people in Uvalde, Texas. But apparently it’s just another ho-hum day for our leaders in Washington — although I’m sure they’ll offer their thoughts and prayers….
I suppose every generation says this, but I’m pretty sure that I grew up in a world that no longer exists.
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Update:
My apologies to our leaders — in addition to thoughts and prayers the flags are also being lowered to half staff.
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Most of my “complaints” on this blog are really more just “comments” on the state of things, but this is truly a complaint, directed to one particular company — FedEx.

Yesterday, a package was scheduled to be delivered to our house that required a signature. Based on past experience, we deliberately stayed home all day — and — carried on as much of our activities as possible very near the front door. After spending the morning sitting by the front door, around 1:15, I went into the kitchen/family room to turn on the TV and change the channel to the PGA golf tournament. My “round trip” took about five or six minutes. When I returned to the front door, there was a small sticker on it from FedEx, saying they were sorry they missed us — they had attempted to deliver our package. 

Here’s the deal — there was no attempt to deliver the package — they only stuck the sticker on the door, and didn’t even bother to fill in any information on the sticker. No knock on the door, no doorbell ringing. Our doorbell button is only about the size of a quarter, so maybe they didn’t see it. Claire, who is very patient, to a point, called FedEX and explained the situation. She was assured that the package would “re-deliverd” by six o’clock that evening. We had dinner plans at 6:30 at a restaurant about 20-25 minutes from our house, so delivery by six would work.
You may have guessed, six o’clock came and no package — called FedEX and were told that there was no record of a call from us — they would attempt to deliver the package again tomorrow.

I realize things like this happen, but this isn’t the first time it’s happened with FedEx, or the second, or the third… it’s their normal operation, at least with us.
If it’s at all possible, we try not to purchase anything from any company if the only way they can deliver it is by FedEx — but, sometimes it’s necessary. 

Right now the sign above is on our front door — it’s 8 ½ x 11 inches. Maybe they’ll at least let us know they’re here…
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For the past seventeen years, the 22nd of May has been known as Anniversary Day around here.
With an extended family as large as ours, it’s inevitable that any given day is likely to have more than one family event scheduled.
On May 22, 1999 we attended Mike and Sue’s wedding…. on May 22, 2004, we attended Chris and Kelly’s wedding — and Mike and Sue’s 5th anniversary. 

May 22, 1999 was the 142nd day of the year in 1999, the day of the week was Saturday.
May 22, 2004 was the 143rd day of the year in 2004, the day of the week was Saturday. 
On May 22, 1999, the U.S. President was Bill Clinton, the UK Prime Minister was Tony Blair and Pope John Paul II was leading the Catholic Church.
On May 22, 2004, the U.S. President was George W. Bush, The U.K Prime Minister was Tony Blair and Pope John Paul II was leading the Catholic Church.

On this date in 1999, Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling was one of the best selling books and if you were into video games, the most popular were Lego Rock Raiders and Darkstone.
In 2004 on this date, Worse Than Watergate by John W. Dean was one of the best selling books and video gamers were playing Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords or Quiet Weekend in Capri.

Today, May 22, 2022 is the 142nd day of the year and it’s a Sunday.
The U.S. President is Joe Biden, the UK Prime Minister is Boris Johnson and Pope Francis is leading the Catholic Church.
One of the most popular books is Heartstopper, Volume 4 by Alice Osman and Video gamers are playing Elden Ring.
And — Kelly and Chris and Sue and Mike are celebrating their 18th and 23rd anniversaries, respectively.
Happy Anniversary Day!!!
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A few blogs back, the subject was the face cards of a deck of playing cards. That got me to thinking…. there is an old recitation “song” that was popular in the fields of both popular and country music when I was younger, called “The Deck of Cards.” 

The song relates the tale of a young American soldier that was arrested and charged with playing cards during a church service. I’m sure the lyrics are available on the Internet, but essentially the soldier’s defense is that explains how the cards relate to his religion — he went through the deck and explained how each card represented something about the bible, e.g. the six reminded him of the six days that God made the heaven and earth, the seven reminds hime that on the seventh day, God rested, etc. Anyhow, a lot things have been written about a deck of playing cards and how the cards relate to our world….
52 cards in a deck represents 52 weeks in a year
The 4 suits represents the 4 seasons
13 cards in each suit represents the 13 weeks in each season
2 red and 2 black suits represent the 4 different solstices
The 12 Royals (face cards) represent the 12 months
And some believe the 4 suits also represent the four natural elements:
Hearts = Water
Clubs = fire
Diamonds = Earth
Spades = Air

These comparisons have been going on for hundreds of years — early writings say that the suits on a deck of cards represent the four major pillars of the economy in the Middle Ages:
Hearts represented the Church, Spades represented the military, Clubs represented agriculture and Diamonds represented the merchant class.

I suppose there’s enough interesting facts about playing card to fill a book — I’m sure someone has written a book like that, but since this is just a blog, here’s a couple that I discovered while doing extensive research on the subject….
The King of Hearts is the only king without a mustache — and — pictures of early English playing cards shows the King of Hearts wielding an axe. But due to poor copying by blockmakers the axe lost its head over the years and the shaft was turned into a sword that appears to be driven into the king’s head, and earned him the nickname of “Suicide King.”

During World War II, specially-constructed decks of cards were sent to American soldiers who were being held in German prison camps. The United States Playing Card Company collaborated with the government to produce these cards. Once they became wet, they peeled apart. Inside, the prisoners found parts of maps that would lead them to freedom.

Today, Bicycle Cards are the most widely recognized decks of cards in the world and their recognizable design we just take for granted, but the evolution of a modern deck of 52 cards is a process that took place over hundreds of years.

The earliest confirmed record of playing cards was found in a manuscript written by a German monk named Johannes in 1377. Johannes was living in a Swiss monastery and wrote about the development of playing cards and the variety of card games they could be used for.So like most things, something as simple as a deck of cards has a unique, fascinating history….
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Some friends of ours live next to a property owned by the Willard family — of the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. The other day while watching the news, there was a segment on lobbyists and the conversation got around to the term “lobbyist” originating in the Willard Hotel. Claire said that the term’s origin was a well known fact…. well, the “fact” is that I’d never heard it before. But without giving it much thought, it seemed to make some amount of sense to me.
But — I thought maybe I should do a little extensive research and check it out.

The term “lobbyist” in common political speak is someone who solicits the attention of an elected official or government agency in the hope of receiving preferential treatment in legislation, or regulations.

Anyhow, I found plenty of material to support what Claire said — the most popular story is that President Ulysses S. Grant would frequent the Willard Hotel to enjoy brandy and a cigar, and while he was there, he’d be hounded by petitioners asking for legislative favors or jobs. It is said that President Grant coined the term by referring to the petitioners as “those damn lobbyists.” The story has been told and published by the Washington Post, the American Society of News Editors, and most often by the Public Relations Director of the Willard Hotel. 

It is kind of a fun story and I’m sure it’s done a lot to increase visitors and revenue for the Willard Hotel. But — the story isn’t really true. President Grand did visit the Willard Hotel and enjoyed his brandy and a cigar, but he did not coin the term “lobbyist.”

The term “to lobby” first appeared in print in the United States in the 1830s. President Grant was in office from 1869-1877.
The term is believed to have originated in the British Parliament and referred to the lobbies outside the chambers where a lot of wheeling and dealing took place. “Lobbyist” was in common use in Britain in the 1840s. The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that the term was used as early as 1640 in England to describe the lobbies that were open to constituents to interact with their representatives. 

Once again, extensive research ruins a really good story. But that’s one of the good things about history — it’s full of so many stories to tell, some of which take on a life of their own, even if the facts don’t necessarily back them up.
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This was dance weekend for us. Turns out that all our granddaughters are turning into dancing machines. Emily has been at it for a few years now, and Ellie and Rory just started fairly recently, but they seem to be coming along.

I didn’t get a picture of both Rory and Ellie, but they were dressed exactly alike, and the look exactly alike. So the picture is of Ellie, or maybe Rory… I suppose I could have just printed it twice and not said anything — probably no one would know…. except Locke.
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A number of members of our family are convinced that a full Moon affects people’s behavior. I have to admit that over the years, I’ve witnessed some strange behaviors during full Moons — probably too many to be coincidental, so maybe there’s something to it….

Anyhow, this month’s full Moon is special in a few ways — it reaches its peak illumination early tomorrow morning at 12:15 a.m., May 16. So tonight, weather permitting, you should get a really good view. 

This will be the first supermoon of the year — there will be three more in 2022. A supermoon is defined as any full Moon that occurs when the Moon is at least 90% of perigee (the point in the Moon’s orbit that is closest to Earth.)
And — May’s full Moon coincides with a total lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth comes directly between the Moon and the Sun, which results in the Earth casting its shadow on the Moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is fully obscured by Earth’s shadow, giving the Moon a reddish hue. This phenomenon is where the term “blood moon” comes from.
Depending on the weather, we should be able to see the eclipse here in Shepherdstown. The maximum, or peak, eclipse should occur at 12:11 a.m.

Full Moons are often given names and these names come from (usually) Native American, Colonial American, and European sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not just to the full Moon..
This month’s name is the Flower Moon. The name has been attributed to Algonquin peoples and the name isn’t particularly surprising given that flowers spring forth in abundance this month….

The name “moon” is derived from the Latin word luna and it’s the Earth’s only permanent natural satellite, and it is in synchronous rotation with the Earth — that’s the reason we can only see one side of the Moon. Even though the Moon appears white, it’s just reflecting the light from the sun…. its surface is actually dark.

So the Moon is really pretty cool — on nice rights, it’s always fascinating to watch the Moon — it’s always gong through various phases — just like we all do….
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We had a discussion during our last “winter golf” session that always amazes me. A lot of people that I know are not aware that brooms (before plastic came along) were made from corn — specifically, broomcorn. (You can read about broomcorn in a number of places in this blog — search the archives if you’re interested.) Anyhow, explaining broomcorn to people always produces an interesting dialogue.

But “regular” corn is a pretty interesting subject, too. For instance, did you know that corn always has an even number of rows on each ear? Here’s the “scientific” explanation as to why…. An ear of corn is actually an inflorescence (the complete flower head of a plant) that produces nearly 1,000 female flowers. These flowers, or potential kernels, are arranged in an even number of rows (usually from 8 to about 22 rows.) The number of rows is always an even number because corn spikelets are borne in pairs, and each spikelet produces two florets: one fertile and one sterile. Stress at a particular stage in development could theoretically produce an ear with an odd number of rows, but if you look under a microscope, you’ll probably find an unseen row that failed to develop fully. 
The average ear of corn has 800 kernels, arranged in 16 rows.

Many years ago, finding odd-rowed ears of corn was sometimes used to make impossible-to-come-true promises. For instance, slaves might be told that they could have their freedom if they could find an ear of corn with an odd number of rows. 

There’s a story told of a slave who, on being promised his freedom if he could find an ear of corn having an odd number of rows or kernels, went into the corn field and carefully opened the husks on a number of ears and deftly cut out a row kernels from each, closing up the husks over the ears again. The corn grew and ripened, closing up in its growth the vacant spaces, and when it was gathered he found an ear with an odd number of rows, and presented it and claimed his promised freedom.

If you’re ever in South Dakota, you should stop by Mitchell, South Dakota — home of the world’s only Corn Palace. It was built 1892 to display the products of the harvest of South Dakota’s farmers — in murals on the outside of the building. The murals are made from thousands of bushels of corn and other gains and grasses such as wild oats, rye, straw, and wheat. Each year the corn decorations are completely stripped down and entirely new murals are created. 

Corn is the 3rd most important crop of the world measured by production volume, behind wheat and rice. In terms of acreage planted, it is second only to wheat. 
Corn is used in the production of alcohol, and distilled spirits, corn syrup, sugar, cornstarch, synthetic fibers such as nylon, certain plastics, in the manufacture of wood resin, lubricating oils and synthetic rubber, as an abrasive, corn cob pipes, corn oil, margarine, saccharine, paints, soaps, linoleum and gasohol. It’s an ingredient in more than 3,500 grocery products.

So if you’re not like me, growing up thinking corn was just something brooms were made of, you realize the importance of corn in our lives…. it was discovered by Indians, is distributed by farmers, distilled by moonshiners, and dispensed by comedians.
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