Printed in the High Desert Advocate Edition September 3, 2021.
Showing our children that their past is prelude to their future
by John Grimaldi and David Bruce Smith
P.T. Barnum made a fortune selling fantasies under his eponymous Grand Scientific & Musical Theater, American Museum, and the circus, which was reputed to be “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Often entrepreneurial, he also invented the “Big Top” and filled it with side shows that featured midgets, Siamese twins, and other imagination-stretching anomalies.
Once, while he was touring Europe with the not-quite three-foot tall Tom Thumb, Barnum encountered Miss Jenny Lind, the celebrated “Swedish Nightingale.” She was an operatic singer with a great following on the continent. Barnum quickly signed her for a national tour of America, and on September 1, 1850, he showed the world just how far his tastes reached.
The trip was a triumph.
As someone once said of him, P.T. Barnum was “Disney before Disney.”
For more information the Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Life of P.T. Barnum by Phineas T. Barnum, himself.
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Allegedly, Peter Minuit purchased New York City from the Algonquin Indians for a few baubles in 1626, and then renamed it New Amsterdam to honor its newly acquired Dutch heritage.
Thirty-eight years later–on September 8, 1664—Peter Stuyvesant, Governor of New Netherlands, surrendered the territory to an English naval squadron, and changed the name to venerate the Duke of York.
According to History.com, “in 1686 it became the first city in the colonies to receive a royal charter. After the American Revolution, it became the first capital of the United States.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Island at the Center of the World, by Russell Shorto.
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In 1845 the U.S. government annexed Texas, which set a feud—in—motion with Mexico. President James K. Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to occupy the disputed territory along the Rio Grande River; meanwhile, the Mexican army attacked Taylor’s troops, and America declared war.
Eventually, General Winfield Scott invaded Mexico with an army of 10,000 —-including 400 Marines–and won the day. He landed near Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Mexico and defeated their forces. Then, he moved on to Mexico City, and won his final victory at a fortified military academy known as the Halls of Montezuma; there, he raised the American flag on September 14, 1847, and declared victory.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Mexican War, 1846-1848 by K. Jack Bauer.
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…Smile…
A story you can milk
Bernie was on his way home from the fair near Marshfield, WI recently and felt a bit peckish. So, he stopped off at a McDonald’s for a burger on his way home. After all, you can work up quite an appetite shopping for livestock, says the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC], especially if you have to pack the three calves you just purchased in the backseat of your sedan. Another patron in the drive-through line, Jessica Nelson, spotted what she thought was a decal of a cow’s face staring at her from the rear window of Bernie’s car and quickly realized that it was the real thing when she saw it “moo-ving.” She quickly reached for her cell phone and captured a video of the not-so-little critter. She found out later that two of the calves were lying down while the third calf was pressing its face against the window doing a little sightseeing.
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Weird but true
There’s a town near Tampa, FL with the official motto: “Keep Gulfport Weird.” How weird? Weird enough to have a house that was built around a very big, very old and very mighty oak tree. The tree is centuries old. Its roots are beneath the kitchen; its hefty trunk grows through the kitchen floor and up through its roof. Realtor Stacey Purcell didn’t give up when she tried to sell the property recently. Prospective buyers would walk in and walk out, according to Stacey. But, as she put it, “We have a lot of tree-huggers here.” And, sure enough, one of those tree-huggers made a bid on the property. Sold!
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Another way to say thanks
The struggling employees of an eatery in Gainesville, FL that was hard hit by the coronavirus epidemic got a lift recently when a patron paid his $144.66 dinner tab, adding a $10,000 tip. When the unnamed philanthropist, his wife and son finished their meals he asked the owner of the Wahoo Seafood Grill if he would gather his staff so he could have a word with them. The diner thanked the restaurant’s ten employees, informing them of the big tip each of them had earned — $1,000 each. Shawn Shepherd, who owns the Wahoo Grill, took to Instagram to express his thanks, writing: “I’m not usually an emotional guy, but this really got me. I’m blown away. We’re ALL blown away by his generosity. The last year and a half hasn’t been easy on this industry. We’re hurting and we’re exhausted, but this incredible act of kindness has restored our faith in humanity.”
