Saint Valentine

Today is St. Valentine's Day. Whoopee (or so says Hallmark).

Do you know the origin of St. Valentine's Day? What's that? You have no idea? Then why are you buying so much candy, so many cards, and flowers, and jewelry? Oh, guilty conscience.

Well, if you don't know the origin, here is the story:



Yep, that's it. Nobody else does either. There is no one St. Valentine to pin this on, and no distinct origin for this "holiday." So there. Next year keep this in mind and your dollars in your pocket!

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

Friday the 13th. Freddy returns.

Why is Friday the 13th considered a bad day? Most researches believe it is a combination of two elements: first, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Second, though 13 is considered a lucky number in China, it is an unlucky number in the west.

The unlucky day received little notice until early in the 20th century, though it had long been held as an unlucky day. The tradition gained popularity when a book, cleverly titled Friday the Thirteenth was published in 1907. That seemed to solidify the tradition, that and Freddy!

BTW, Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. Anybody know the name of the spelling bee phobia?

Happy 200th Abe!

Today we honor Abraham Lincoln on his 200th birthday, though I'm not sure if he is aware of the honor. But here are a few words to think about:

Lincoln was not an abolitionist as we think of him in 2009. I say this because of his exact words, "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing and slave I would do it, if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that."

And save the Union he did! Even while wearing that big hat.

My Sweet Anna

Is there anything that touches a father's heart more than a great daughter? I have to brag. My daughter Anna, who is pictured to the left, will be her school's "Principal for a day." She wrote an essay explaining what she would do for her school if she were principal for a day. She won the contest! I am so proud of her. She will spend this Friday the 13th being principal, assisted by Mr. Dugan, the "other" principal. My hat is off to Treasure Coast Elementary School and to the great staff of people at the school. Special thanks to her wonderful homeroom teacher Mrs. Stull, and to Mrs. Loomis, Mrs. Staples, Mrs. Johnston, Mr. Hall, Mrs. Berg and to all those I have missed. Thanks for a wonderful school experience for Anna. As a retired educator with over 30 years of teaching, I don't think Anna could have gotten a better school experience anywhere.

"Say It Ain't So, Alex"

There is a baseball myth that goes something like this: After the trial of the eight players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series, also known as the "Black Sox" scandal, a young boy walked up to Joe Jackson and said, "Say it ain't so, Joe." It probably never happened, and actually the jury found in favor of the players, who, nevertheless, were banned from baseball for life.

Well, here we are 90 years later, and I ask, "Say it ain't so, Alex."

Roll models in the tank. Roger Clemens, A-Rod, and who knows how many more. If Joe Jackson, perhaps the A-Rod of his day, was banned for supposedly "cheating," what is any different for the "cheaters" of the modern era.

Are these players so arrogant, so spoiled, so rich, that they just don't care? The only solution for this problem is banishment.

Does anybody have a clue?

This stimulus package bullying and threats seem out of character for Obama. Do they feed the president some special food at the White House that inhibits their ability to think? One basic question: Do you have even the slightest clue if this billion dollars will do anything to help the economy?

To me, just your average American, wouldn't it make more sense to eliminate the wasteful spending that we all know will happen, and just give the American people BACK their own money? I sure could use it, couldn't you?

Robert Lincoln, Man of Mystery, Or Was He???

On Thursday, February 12, we will celebrate the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, perhaps our greatest president (okay George we know all about you). There are many unusual things about the man, the biggest mystery being, "Hey, Abe, what's under the tall hat?"

But, his son Robert has a couple of things to answer for, too. Robert was the only offspring to live to adulthood of the four Lincoln sons. Hmmmm. But wait, there's more. Robert thought Mary, his mom, was nuts so he had her arrested and committed to a mental institution. She swore he was a bad son. No wonder. But here is the weirdest thing about Bob. He played in politics but never got very far. He was president of the Pullman RR car company. As an emissary of the government he was scheduled to meet President James Garfield at the Washington railroad station on July 2, 1881. As he approached Garfield, Charles Guiteau walked up to the president and shot him. Garfield lingered for over two months before he died. But that's not the weirdest part (remember that Bob's dad was the first president to be assassinated, Garfield was second). On September 6, 1901 our friend Bob was attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. As he was approaching President William McKinley to speak to him, Leon Czolgosz got there first and shot McKinley in the stomach. He lingered for a few days then died. I don't know about you, but I think Bob has some things to answer for. Or maybe....