Introspection

An Introspective Glance At Being A Nevadan

By Johnny Gunn

As we near a milestone in Nevada’s rich and sometimes lusty history, it’s an opportunity for me to offer some introspection and maybe just a bit of circumspection, in case I let my mind wander off target.  I’m well aware that I’m getting way ahead of the calendar, but that’s life.  On October 31, 2014, Nevada will celebrate its being a state for 150 years   The governor has named a commission that is supposed to help us celebrate this auspicious date, but I wonder just how many have taken the time to actually celebrate what we have, this grand Silver State, filled with so many twists and turns.

For instance on May 25, 2014. I will celebrate being a citizen of Nevada for fifty years, while at the same time celebrate being one half as old as the state.  The old saying comes to mind here, if I knew I was going to live this long, I sure as hell would have taken better care of myself.  During these fifty years Nevada has grown and grown and grown.  Our rural lifestyle has been taken from many of us, replaced with a mini-California.

In 1964, it was loudly proclaimed that Nevada had more head of cattle than people, and the members of Nevada’s legislature wore more western hats than Homburgs, more western boots than shoes, and bolo ties were rich in silver and turquoise.  It was also the year we lost the silver dollar, the cartwheel.  Gold sold for $37 a troy ounce.

Nevada has grown in population but is not more prosperous now than it was fifty years ago.  The cities affected by Interstate projects have suffered, some dramatically, and it’s still a long drive on a two lane road from Reno to Las Vegas, but with fewer stops along the way to chat with friends and knock the dust out of your teeth (Think cold beer).  In 1964 distance was often measured in six-packs, every pick up had a rifle rack, and it only took a couple of road trips to make life long friends along the highways and byways.

Politics were just as rough and tumble but without the personalization that has come about recently.  It was issues and ideas that dominated political debate and discussion, not the hate and vitriol that we see today.  Reno had two daily newspapers, blazingly active gambling casinos, with hotels popping up like asparagus in the spring, and you didn’t vie for a buck tag, you simply picked one up.

Paydays on the ranches brought the buckaroos to town, and gamblers from California found themselves standing next to a real cowboy, not one dreamed up by Hollywood.  Horses often were moved in the back of pick up, which is a sight I haven’t seen in too many years.  Horses often weren’t trailer broke, they were trained to jump in the back of a pick up and hold on tight.  Same way we taught our kids.

I’ve been one lucky young son, being able to live in some pretty exotic places over my three quarters of a century.  I was born in Santa Cruz, went to high school on Guam, served my country for a time in Puerto Rico, and have spent half a century as a citizen of the Silver State.  In Nevada, I’ve had homes in Virginia City, Gold Hill, Jacks Valley, Carson City, Middlegate, Manhattan, Silver Peak and Reno.  It just isn’t time to settle down, quite yet.

I’ve done mustanging, won races on top of crazy camels, worked underground in more than half a dozen mines, worked on the air for some of the finest broadcasting companies in the state, published my own weekly newspaper, and milked goats that have given me some of the sweetest milk, cheese, butter, and ice cream available.  Nevada has been kind to this young son.

When I met my lovely bride, Patty, she had just moved to Reno from Orange County.  Talk about change of scenery.  She loves road trips just as much as I, and we have been on so many over the years, but on some of our first excursions together, she commented, “Do you know everybody in this state?”  It seems that way sometimes, but on reflection, it was simply a case of arriving in a town and looking for a cold beer, and of course, knowing the bartender or owner.  You apparently don’t do it that way in Orange County.

One of Patty’s favorite places is Bruno’s in Gerlach.  On our first time there, we had left our little rancho in Cold Springs, driven north to Alturas, then over the pass to Cedarville, and south to Gerlach.  We went into the bar, got that first beer, and told the bartender we wanted to rent a room.

He said, “Sure, take such and such number,” and handed me the key.  A guy behind me said, “Hey, that’s my room.”  Seems the maid thought he had left, cleaned the room and made it available to rent.  Bartender, not flinching, said, “OK, fine, then take such and such room,” and handed me another key.

We got our stuff out of the truck and walked into the new room only to find it too was an occupied room.  The bartender never once got flustered as he handed me a third room key.  This one turned out to be empty, and Patty wedged a chair against the door when we finally hit the bed that night.  “Just in case,” she said.

We can’t go east without a stop at the Wig Wam in Fernley, Highway 50 means stops at Middlegate and Eureka.  Right next to the Eureka Opera House is a little saloon, yes, Virginia, it’s a Clamper Bar, and one New Year’s Eve we got involved in a karaoke party, and it only takes a couple to get me up singing (squalling) through numbers no one remembers.

Road trips today usually mean too much time on an Interstate, going too fast to enjoy the broad and fascinating land called Nevada.  The old two lane roads, 50, 95, 93, 6, 241, are far more interesting, and lead to wonderful places.  We spent two nights in Pioche a couple of years ago and I had told Patty about the colorful history of the town, with gangsters and robberies and murders on an almost daily menu.  When we arrived, we found the local casino closed.  It had been robbed of some $20,000 the day before.

The café there is one of the best in Nevada.  We had rib eye steaks that you could cut with a fork and dripped in flavor.  They came from a local ranch and were USDA Prime.  You can’t get that anywhere anymore.  We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner there for two days.  The hotel rooms sit just above the saloon with a rickety old staircase leading to the upped floor.  Just like in the movies, only as real as real can be.

Well, it seems, I did get off target a bit here.  There is a tendency today to shunt aside what is so special about Nevada in favor of what you would find just about anywhere else in the country.  Chain this and chain that.  No more Liberty Belle Saloon.  No more Kiah’s Squeeze In.  No more Harold’s Club.  And the characters.  No more Gordon Lane.  No more Tiny Carlson.  No more Grant Sawyer.  No more Bill Raggio.  And, one of my favorite politicians of all time, Jim Slattery simply can’t be replaced in the 21st Century.

I’m afraid this Silver Lady has grown up, and I’m not sure she will dance and sing as she has for 150 years, but I am sure that I’m proud to have become a Nevadan.  I’m a year early, and I don’t give a damn.  Happy birthday, old girl.

Constitutional Crisis

This old Libertarian is not at ease right now.  And I think there’s more to it than just the ins and outs of politics.  For several years our congress, and this is the description of representative democracy, our congress, those that are supposed to represent our wishes in place of us voting on each and every issue, has rolled over and played dead.  Within a three headed republic, congress is supposed to be an equal with the president and the supreme court, but from a point during the George W. Bush terms through today, congress has done virtually nothing.  Here are some thoughts:

            1. There is no budget and hasn’t been one for years.

            2. Fiscally, this country has fallen out of the bottom of the barrel and very few are willing to accept the fact. 

            3. Our CIA is killing people in foreign countries that we are not at war with.

            4. President Obama is acting like a dictator, setting aside areas of our constitution that don’t fit his plans.

I am not looking at republicans disagreeing with democrats, or the other way around, nor am I looking at congress and the president in a big old political brawl.  What we are facing is a constitutional crisis and it is my greatest fear that this could very well lead many people to start acting out in more of an anarchist manner than in a structured society in which political discussion can be had without it becoming an armed conflict.

Watching President Obama over the months since the election, and in particular, over the several weeks since the inauguration, I am mystified by what the man is attempting.  He has a congress that is not sympathetic and he doesn’t seem interested in discussing the issues with them.  On the other hand, if one were looking for a possible conspiracy, it would seem the man is campaigning for a third term.

He has already shown by deed and thought that he has little knowledge of the constitution, believes strongly is side stepping congress with presidential decrees that will probably not be upheld by the Supreme Court which he doesn’t believe has any use in our triple headed government system anyway.

So, by decree, will this man say, just a couple of years from now, ‘I’m setting aside that constitutional amendment that forbids a president’s third term and will be running for president for a third term’? He has already shown that it is in his character to do so.  The First, Second, and Fourth Amendments are also in jeopardy if this man continues on his current path.

In two years, every member of the House of Representatives, and several members of the Senate will be running for election.  As it stands right now, Mr. Obama could very well be facing an even uglier congress following that election.

We have all met people that have the attitude of, ‘Do it my way or else.’  This president fits the image of ‘It’s my way or the highway.’  Politics doesn’t work that way.  He decries a lack of conciliation and then demands things be done his way or else.  He won’t talk to congress, but he will go on what can only be described as campaign junkets.

I have rarely bought into conspiracy theories.  In most cases one could drive trucks through the holes in them, but what I think I see here is the beginnings of a campaign for a third term, the setting aside of even more of the constitution, and a giant step for mankind into chaos and rebellion.

If that isn’t the case, if it’s just that this president doesn’t have the ability to debate the issues with congress, doesn’t have the knowledge to work within the constraints of the laws of the land, and can only give speeches on the campaign stump, then as a people we have to see to it that the other two mainstays of government are prepared to ask him to leave.  Congress will have to get its act together, and they sure haven’t had it together for some time now, and the judicial system will have to be ready to make some serious decisions about what our constitution is really all about.

Too many people, in open discussion in public places, are saying that a possible rebellion is not out of the question.  Letters and missives to congressional representatives have been blunt to the extreme, and it’s time for members of congress to accept the position of leadership that they were sent to Washington for in the first place.  There is an undertone of resistance that isn’t that many steps from rebellion, and the love that most Americans have for the constitution and the laws of the land are in jeopardy right now.

We have had constitutional crises in our history, and in most cases it has been determined that what our founding fathers wrote and what we have amended, is the way our government and our people should live.  Today, this administration sticks people in prison without the benefit of representation or trial, it has killed our own citizens in foreign countries, it attacks foreign soil without benefit of a declaration of war, and it has tortured people to the point that they die.

And we have a president that is in favor of all of that and a congress that won’t repudiate the system.  We are in the midst of a constitutional disaster and it appears the only answer to the problems will come from the general public itself because the elected leadership is a major part of the problem.  The old phrase “Power to the People” might have to ring out on every street corner and be heard in every meeting hall from coast to coast.  The failure of those elected to do their duty, do their job, needs to be explained to them in the strongest words and deeds possible.

As always, read good books and stay regular.

Important quotes

Thoughts on a stormy day from a somewhat storm tossed mind …

I was forced to stay inside the cloistered walls of the rancho by waves of an increasing Washoe Zephyr recently, and found several pages of rather poignant quotes dating back to the origins of Greek Democracy, and very relative to what is happening in Washington even as you peruse these pages.

Cicero is said to have commented one time: “Freedom is the power to live as you will.  Who then lives as he wills?”  That would bring a Homeland Security check if sent by e-mail.

In 1928, Supreme Court Justice Brandeis is quoted as saying, “The makers of the Constitution conferred, as against the government, the Right to be let alone; the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by civilized man.”

Whilst my old friend Jimmie Durante said, “Put no constrictions on the people.  Leave ‘em ta Hell alone.”  Amen brother.  When I was publicity director at John Ascuaga’s Nugget at the end of the 60s and first year of 1970, Durante appeared often.  No different in person than on stage. 

“All government, of course, is against Liberty.”  Those are the words of H.L. Mencken, said many years ago.  Doesn’t anyone in Washington listen?

It was Robert Frost that said, “Freedom lies in being bold.”  And Hunter S. Thompson said, “When you are INNOCENT you can do ANYTHING that you want.”  Unless, of course, if the Patriot act intervenes.

It was Alexander Tyler writing about the fall of the Athenian Republic, which fell, by the way, some 2,000 years ago, that democracies only last about 200 years, progress through specific sequences.  To wit:

From bondage to spiritual faith;

From spiritual faith to great courage;

From great courage to Liberty;

From Liberty to abundance;

From abundance to complacency;

From complacency to apathy;

From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage.

Samuel Adams backed that up, 200 years ago, saying, “Democracy never lasts long, it soon wastes itself, exhausts and murders itself.  There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”

It was John F. Kennedy that said, “Every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated.”

And Abraham Lincoln said, “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.”

Your job then, if you wish to accept the position, is to convince 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 members of the U.S. Senate, and one rather uppity President of the United States, that what has been said in the past still holds true today.

Have a great day, read good books, and stay regular.

Regarding the Current Gun-Rights Debate

First, I must make the necessary caveat.  I own weapons, and have since I was twelve years old when I received my first .22 rifle, a Mossberg, tubular feed, bolt action.  I rarely go hunting any more, mainly because the Nevada Wildlife people have allowed the herds and flocks to decline radically.  My wife, Patty and I love to shoot black powder, have participated in many rendezvous, and will continue to do so.  My dad was a life member of the National Rifle Association, I grew up with the NRA safety rules bounced off my head regularly but have never joined the group.  Their safety training is the best in the world.

All of that said, the current arguments to limit or do away with the Second Amendment have little credence.  If every law in the books today were acted on by the agencies responsible, there would still be violence, from guns, from knives, from hammers, from anything that could be considered a weapon.  When a person is robbed late at night in an awkward part of town, and dies from the inflicted knife wound, there is a mention in the paper.  When a person shoots his neighbor, in a nicer neighborhood there is a front page headline.

An argument was offered recently that is seriously naïve.  The argument was that any nation with bombers, fighter aircraft, nuclear weapons, or other weapons of mass destruction could attack the United States and all the weapons in private hands would have no effect.  Nonsense.  The argument was probably written by someone who has never seen military service.

Atomic bombs, other bombs, other weapons have never won a war or battle.  It still takes an invading force, and any fool that thinks the many millions of weapons in the private hands of American citizens aren’t a deterrent, isn’t thinking.  That is the primary purpose of the Second Amendment.  Its secondary purpose is to keep the government in power in check, and if you don’t believe that you haven’t read your history.

History does tell us that the Second World War was won through the use of the atomic bomb.  But, it was the government of Japan that would not accept the fact they were whipped until two of those monsters had to be dropped.  It kept us from having to invade, and it’s the invasion and subsequent win that would determine the victory should some despot be foolish.

There was no standing United States army in 1776, only bands of revolutionaries willing to take out the government in power at the time.  Those revolutionaries became Washington’s army, and even then most were considered private militia.  The constitution and Bill of Rights made it clear that we will be a free nation because of a well armed militia.

The current administration, from day one of the first term, has made it clear they plan to make serious changes in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.  Naming Eric Holder as Attorney General should have sent red flags screaming up flag poles across the nation.  The continued arresting and holding of American citizens without charges, without benefit of counsel, and the activity at Guantanamo and secret CIA sites where fingernails can be ripped from someone or water dripped in forced open mouths, and the drone attacks on countries on which we have not declared war are all unconstitutional, yet adored by this administration.

Now, we have the man lovingly known to his far left supporters as “Uncle Joe’, in reality, one that those of us who believe in the constitution should be most frightened.  When Holder was outed, President Obama called in his other attack dog, Vice President Biden.

This is not the time to sit back and hope the other guy gets the job done.  There is a full frontal assault on our rights as citizens of this country, and it is time to stand up and be counted, because if we don’t, there will come a knock on your door, probably about three a.m., and men with black hoods and big rifles will take you and your rightfully owned weapons into custody, and your neighbors will not know where you went, nor will they see you again.

Have a great day and read good books.

Anarchism

Laws and Lawlessness

It was a tragedy that simply can’t be explained in simple statements or simplistic thinking, with very young people dead because of one man’s problems with life.  He killed his mother and stole her weapons and did the unthinkable, and the only way that could have been prevented would be a complete restructuring of our constitution and its attendant amendments.  There are limits placed on all the amendments, including those first ten that represent our way of life more directly than anything else ever written, but there has never been a call to eliminate one of those most important ten, and there shouldn’t be now.

Citizens of the United States enjoy a way of life envied by most of the other peoples on the planet because of the structuring of our constitution, the Bill of Rights, and a political system free of most of the problems faced by other countries.  Corruption will exist in any society that is as free as ours, and it’s laws and rules that are supposed to control those that don’t play well with others, but today, laws, rules, ethics are products of yesterday, not holding any meaning today.  When one looks at the deteriorization of our society, the first word that comes to mind is rampant anarchism.

When two thirds of the attorneys smoke pot and snort cocaine with apparent impunity, someone should recognize a serious social problem.  This isn’t a question of whether pot should be legalized, it’s a question of those sworn to uphold the law flaunting the law.  Without the rule of law, there is no society, and those of us of a certain age can remember in civics class an instructor saying over and over, “If you don’t agree with the law, work within the framework of government to change that law.”  Laws are changed through social pressure, through politically active individuals and groups, and through increased knowledge of a subject.

A perfect point of fact, the recent legalization of pot in some communities and states.  The problem being, it is still a federal issue, and in order for that law to be fully realized, there will have to be more political activism.  Not just ignoring the law, flouting the law, denying the law.  That is not the American way, it is lawlessness, anarchism.

We have become a nation of lawbreakers and don’t seem to understand the consequences that is having on so many people.  With a wink or nod, illegal merchandise is transferred from one to another, one or both of whom are sworn to uphold the law.  Joe citizen sees this and says, “good enough for him, good enough for me.”  Cops on Nevada’s highways break the law everyday by intimidating people into letting them do illegal searches, that is, searches without a warrant.  Dogs are trained to “sniff out” drugs by way of a hand movement, thus setting up the warrantless search, and most of the time, guess what?  No drugs.

If those charged with maintaining the peace, upholding the laws of the land won’t, why should John Q. Citizen?  There are controls on the First Amendment, think “don’t yell fire in a crowded theater.”  There are controls on most of the others, and it is possible that some other controls might be needed, but when a vast number of people simply don’t give a damn about law and rule, what would another rule actually mean?

The Justice Department through the ATF sold illegal guns, federal agents died as a direct result of the sales, and the Attorney General is still in office.  The reasons for each of the amendments called our Bill of Rights have been debated for well over two hundred years, and often, it’s the second amendment that seems to be most difficult for many to understand.  It’s one of the strongest reasons that our shores have not been invaded, and it’s one of the strongest reasons our government actually responds to our wishes, most of the time.  Our government is our people, and our people are letting themselves down by way of losing the concept of a society determined by the rule of law.

First Solstice, Then Christmas

“The days dwindle down to a precious few,” the song tells us, as the sun seems to have been doing for a few months now, leading up to the time when the sun will be giving its warmth and life for the least amount of time in a day.  That time, they tell us, will be 11:11 a.m. GMT on December 21.  Winter has arrived.

It’s almost a contradiction, for as the days grow longer, they also grow colder, and the icy blasts of old Jack Frost cover our souls, forcing us to stand ever so close to that roaring and spitting fireplace.  The ancients celebrated the winter solstice as a beginning; Mr. Sol would be with us a little bit longer each day.

We recognize the winter and summer solstices, the spring and fall equinoxes, mostly because of our Neolithic relatives thousands of years ago.  It was during the Neolithic age that agriculture came into being, and with it a sense of weather patterns.  Knowing the length of the day and placement of the sun in the sky were essential to timing for planting, tilling, harvest.

There were parties and celebrations leading up to the solstice thousands of years ago, because many believed if they didn’t coax that sun to stay up longer, it wouldn’t.  Then when it did, well, it’s time to celebrate that fact also.  One legend dating from the time of Mesopotamia says there was a twelve day festival.  No indication that turtle doves were involved, or dancing girls, but they probably were.

The science of the seasons can be quickly explained by simply stating that our planet’s rotational spin is tilted, thus the northern half gets more sunshine some of the time and less sunshine at other times.  If you must know, the angle of tilt is 23 degrees and 27 minutes off perpendicular.  While we’re chilling, Sydney’s baking.

The importance of the winter solstice today doesn’t relate to planting of crops or dancing to force the sun to stay up longer each day, but rather, it brings on the Christmas season.  Now we’re getting somewhere.

The Legend of Santa Claus

Who is this spirit so closely associated with Christmas?  According to legend, there was a man who became Saint Nicholas, and he lived in Asia Minor during the 4th century, A.D.  Traveling through Egypt and Palestine he became known for his extraordinary kindness, in particular his penchant for giving gifts to needy children.

St. Nicholas became Santa Claus, but not before the concept was splintered into many variations among European churches.

This jolly old elf eventually made it to these shores during colonial times, and of course, now Santa Claus in known more as a vehicle for driving retail sales from a week or so before Hallowe’en until moments before the end of Christmas Day.

It was initially his spirit of giving that brought forth what we so look forward to each year, a visit from St. Nicholas.

One must eat well during these delightful times, it’s cold as all get out, one can get chilled to the bone, so let’s have a real feast.  A few years ago I published a holiday cook book, and this was judged by many to be the best offering in that little tome.

Johnny’s Oyster Roast

Notes: This can be a first course at a long and involved holiday meal, it can stand alone as a light, late in the evening meal, or, if served in small bowls, can be a hot appetizer.

The recipe is slightly involved, so make sure you really want to take the time to do it.  You’ll be rewarded !

Use the refrigerated bottled oysters and drain them over a sieve, reserving the liquid.  Do this first as you’ll need some of the liquid for the glaze.

Glazing Sauce

Pour about a 1/2 cup of oyster liquid and fill the cup measure with milk.  In a 10-12 inch frying pan over high heat, stir 2 tbl butter and 1/4 cup onions, minced, for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 tbl flour, 1 tsp dry mustard, and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg.  Return the pan to high heat and stir until flour is pale gold, 1-2 more minutes.  Remove from heat and add the oyster liquid and milk mixture along with a 1/4 cup whipping cream.  Whisk over high heat until boiling, and continue to boil, whisking often, until mixture is reduced to about 1 cup.  Scrape into a bowl and let cool.

Oysters

3/4 cup coarsely chopped bacon

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper.  Red, Green, or mixed

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp dried thyme

8 ounces spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 jar shucked oysters, drained (see notes)

1 cup glaze

2 tbl dry white wine (not cooking wine, use the good stuff)

1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

In a 10-12 inch frying pan, crisp the bacon and remove to paper towels to drain.  Save about 1 tsp of the drippings and add the bell pepper, spinach, onion, and thyme, stirring over high heat until wilted and most of the liquid is evaporated.

Return the bacon to the pan, mix, and add whatever salt and pepper you like.

Lift the oysters from the sieve, and at this point you may wish to cut some of the larger ones into bite size pieces.  Divide the oysters into four shallow ramekins, and put them put them into a baking pan that you can fill with water.

Spoon the spinach mixture equally over the oysters.  In that same 10-12 inch frying pan, add glazing sauce, lemon juice, and wine, and whisk over high heat until bubbling.  Spoon this equally over spinach and oysters, sprinkle cheese over the sauce, and bake in a 450 degree oven until tops are lightly browned and bubbling.  About 7-10 minutes.

This is best served right in the ramekins, with a nice cold white wine to wash it down.  Some John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, or Aretha Franklin fills out the recipe.

If you can tear yourself away from the board, do you know why we hang our stockings by the fire, other than to get them dry and warm, that is?

The Legend of Christmas Stockings

The legend of hanging stockings by the fire on Christmas Eve dates back to the 1800s according to most who have studied this strange habit.

Do you hang your stockings?

It seems there was a young man who had three daughters but very little money, and on one particular Christmas Eve, his daughters had washed their stocking and hung them by the fire to dry.  It was the custom prior to washers and dryers.

The legend insists St. Nicholas heard the plight of the daughters, and that they might not get Christmas gifts.  He ventured onto their roof and threw three bags of gold coins down the chimney, and lo and behold, those coin bags landed in the girl’s stockings, one, two, three.

It wasn’t too many years later that children in Holland learned to leave their wooden shoes outside in hopes the jolly old elf would fill them with gifts and treasures.

I believe.  Do you?  Deep philosophical thinking like this makes me hungry.  Try this one on for size.

Eggnog Bread

Note:  This recipe will fill two aluminum loaf pans.

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup dairy eggnog

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp rum extract

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease bottoms and sides of bread pans

Beat eggs, sugar, eggnog, butter, rum and vanilla until well blended, add flour, baking powder, and nutmeg and stir until everything is moistened.  Don’t over stir.

Pour into the bread pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool, and remove from pans.  Let bread cool completely before slicing.

Uh, Oh … Have you sent out your cards?

The Tradition of Christmas Cards

The tradition of sending Christmas cards originated sometime in the mid 1800s according to most who study such things.

A few people began designing handmade cards to be sent to friends and family,

but it was a man named John Calcott Horsely who is credited

as being the first Christmas card creator.

Horsely printed his card in 1843 for Sir Henry Cole, the friend

who gave him the idea in the first place.

The card depicted a typical English family enjoying the holiday,

as well as scenes of people performing acts of charity, an important part

of Victorian Christmas spirit.

The card was inscribed:

“Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to You”

A thousand copies of the card were printed, selling for one shilling

apiece.  This is reportedly the first Christmas card to be produced and sold to

the general public.

I’ve taken a lot of your time and had a lot of fun doing it.  Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Thanksgiving

Some think of it in terms of a wonderful parade, others, a football game deep in the heart of Texas, while many more conjure sights and aromas of turkeys roasting with yams, and pumpkin pies cooling on an open sill.  For most, though, Thanksgiving in the United States is a time for family, reflection on our way of life, and gratitude for its bounty.  Grandma's house is still the location of choice.

Often we think of Thanksgiving as a purely American tradition but it is celebrated in some form or another in many countries around the world including Canada, Japan, and Liberia.  Festivities are also held in Brazil and Korea.  To dispel another historical myth, the first Thanksgiving in the Americas was celebrated in 1541 by the Spanish in the Palo Duro Canyon in West Texas.  It wasn't until 1621 that the Puritans, those of Pilgrim's Pride fame celebrated their Thanksgiving along with the Wampanoag Indians.

Thomas Jefferson would not allow for a Thanksgiving holiday, he said, because it was "a monarchical practice."  Jefferson fought against the concept of monarchy all his life and it wasn't Thanksgiving he was riled about, it was the practice of a presidential proclamation designating a holiday.  The traditions of his predecessors didn't have much impact on this thinking.  George Washington on the other hand proclaimed a Thanksgiving holiday in 1777 following a victory over the British, and the holiday was Colonies-wide.  This was the first Thanksgiving in the United States.

Today, even with our far flung economy spreading families in so many directions, it is tradition for children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and even good neighbors to get together at Grandma's and feast, chow-down, on turkey, pie, mashed potatoes, fruit salads, and don't forget the green beans with almonds.  It wasn't so in 1621.  There was no flour or potatoes.  There was no milk or butter since there were no domesticated critters from which dairy products might come.

The natives living on the east coast of North America only had dogs as far as domesticated animals go.  Bison and deer were never domesticated and the Puritans did not bring cattle, goats, or sheep with them.  The Spanish had a little more foresight.  One thing that survives unto today is Indian Fry Bread, and that was served.  Ground corn fried into a flat bread is a staple in many cultures in the Americas today as it was 400 years ago.

Potatoes were known in the New World but Europeans considered them poisonous, similar to tomatoes, and weren't eaten.  It's never really been determined why those early immigrants didn't bring farm animals with them on their journey.  Speculation of course abounds and centers on space.  In fact most of those that arrived on the Mayflower were not Puritans but were hired security people by the company that booked the passage.

That 1621 Thanksgiving table was filled with venison, probably fish from the streams and bay, wild fruit such as plums, and of course nuts from the great hardwood forests of New England.  Turkey?  This isn't known for sure since the Puritans called all wild fowl turkey, but it is safe to say there were ducks and geese on the board.

Those Puritans arrived in 1620 at what we now call Plymouth, Massachusetts and could very well have died of starvation that first long cold winter.  Many believe that is why the Thanksgiving celebration of 1621 was so important to them and why they invited their friends the Wampanoag to join them.  The Pilgrims learned well and survived on their corn harvests for years afterward.

Many religious organizations don't feast at their Thanksgiving celebrations but rather they fast and spend great amounts of time in prayer.  With so many lost during the previous year, Governor William Bradford had a celebration in mind with a bountiful harvest and plentiful game.  Massachusetts Bay was filled with lobster and clams, which had to be part of the feast.

Four hundred years from now what will be written about traditions celebrated in the early years of the 21st Century?  Shopping!  While Santa Claus, his elves and reindeer have been seen in stores well before Hallowe'en, it is the day after Thanksgiving that is now the traditional start of the holiday shopping spree, which is so much a part of our lives.

That started with Franklin D. Roosevelt during a period of economic disaster in this country and just prior to our entry into WW II.  He proclaimed Thanksgiving to be the next-to-last Thursday in November to, as he put it, "Create a longer Christmas shopping season."  Following public uproar over his move, Congress passed the Thanksgiving law, which dictates our holiday to be on the fourth Thursday of November.  It was the first time the holiday was decreed by law rather than proclamation.  Jefferson would like that.

Rivalries on the gridiron are traditions at the heart of many family celebrations.  A football game before the feast featuring clashes between college rivalries, tough contests between competing high schools, brisk fall temperatures, a taste of Apple Jack maybe, and that turkey is always slightly better.  Professional football teams have gotten into the mix including the Dallas Cowboys that have played a game almost every Thanksgiving since 1966.  They missed 1975 and 1977.  It was a bad turkey year?

Commercialism is never far from any American holiday and Thanksgiving holds up its end of the bargain with large parades in major metropolitan areas sponsored by such economic luminaries as Macy's Department Stores.  The Internet is filled with sites that discuss thanksgiving and its history and traditions, some even slightly irreverent.  Of all the holidays celebrated in the United States, Thanksgiving and Independence Day stand out as truly American.

No history of Thanksgiving is complete without a dose of Sarah Hale, editor of one of the first women's magazines in the country.  Mrs. Hale was constant in her efforts to create a national Thanksgiving Holiday.  After withstanding her efforts for years, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1863 finally declared a national day of Thanksgiving.  Mrs. Hale spent more than 36 years in her effort.

However you celebrate the bounty of our way of life, it was probably Theodore Roosevelt that said it best; "Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds."

This is the proclamation written by Abraham Lincoln, which many people believe was the intent of Congress many years later in creating the holiday by way of the law of the land.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.

Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one

thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

The words that seem to be misspelled are the way the president wrote them, and in their day, were consdiered correct.  Gotta go, I smell punkin’ pie …

As always, have a grand holiday, enjoy good books, and stay regular.