Quiz: Andrew Johnson or Andrew Jackson

After hearing the Reverend Al Sharpton discussing President Andrew Jackson on his television show this evening, it quickly became apparent that he was confusing President Andrew Jackson with President Andrew Johnson.  It made me wonder who else may be confusing the two men.

Take this short quiz to see how well you are able to distinguish the two President Andrews.

1) Which one was from Tennessee?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson
c)  Both men

2) Who was the first President that was neither an Adams from Massachusetts or a plantation owner from Virginia?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson

3) Who was a slave owner?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson

4) Who served as a mayor, congressman, senator, military governor, and vice president? Bonus question: Who’s vice president was he?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson

5) Who was the first President to be impeached? Bonus question. The impeachment vote failed by one vote. Who cast the vote that saved him from being impeached?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson

6) Who served as an Army general, a congressman, and a senator?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson

7) Who sought to advance the rights of the “common man” against a “corrupt aristocracy”?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson

8) Who was the only senator from a succeeding Southern state who did not resign his Senate seat?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson

9) Who was the only president to completely pay off the national debt?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson

10) Who did not support equal rights for African-Americans?

a) Andrew Jackson
b) Andrew Johnson
c) Both men

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Reaction to Redaction

Erasure poets are known to find

Poetry in words still left  behind

Where blackened words have taken flight

The remaining words shine extra bright.

What censors block with zeal and zest

Thinking that only they know best

The remaining words have extra meaning

Because they have escaped the censors’ screening.

An erasure poem may look like a redacted document, but it has the opposite aim: to elucidate a hidden truth, not hide an obvious one; to create something new, not just remove what’s there. Still, redacted documents can be a hoot to read for poets who make the same decisions about which words to keep or cut.

From the Erasure Poets are Turning Heavily Redacted Mueller Report into  Art

My Father’s Deck Logs

For the past two years, I have been making a monthly trip to the Archives II in College Park, MD to copy deck logs for the USS Midway (CV-41).  I copy the deck logs to a thumbdrive and when I get back home, I upload them on to a virtual drive for the Midway.  Volunteers transcribe the deck logs and add the names to the Master Crew List.

A few months ago, it occured to me (not being the brightest puppy in the kennel) that I could also copy the deck logs from a  destroyer that my father was CO (Commanding Officer) of in the mid 1960s.  It is fascinating to read the handwritten logs.

So far I have learned that they were one of the possible rescue ships for two Gemini missions, and that Dad seemed even handed when handing out punishments during Captain’s Mast.  I had to chuckle at one of the Officer’s of the Deck (OOD’s) who consistently charged two sailors for failing to appear at Muster when the ship was at sea.  The  names would be written down and then crossed out.

I have not yet gotten to the logs that cover the ship’s round the world cruise, including on station time off Vietnam.

Once I get all of the decklogs copied, I plan to copy them to thumbdrives and give them to my siblings for Christmas.  Since none of them know about this blog, much less read it, I think the gift will be a secret.

Reblog–Stay weird because you are a limited edition 💕

This is a lovely, off-beat look at why you should remain weird.  (Austin is not the only thing to keep weird these days.) via Stay weird because you are a limited edition 💕

In Praise of Weekday Mornings

I’ve always been an early bird.  Even in retirement, my husband and I still get up around 6 am.

Weekday mornings are a pleasure for  the retired.  While the rest of the world hurries off to work or school, retirees often have the luxury of waiting until rush hour passes.  Then we often have the road, the stores, and the restaurants to ourselves.

If you go to a popular restaurant for lunch on a Monday through  Thursday,  you often see gray haired couples, or ladies who lunch.  Sometimes a bridge club will be holding its meeting and playing bridge at the same time.   Imagine going into a Barnes and Noble cafeteria where you don’t have to wait in line for your Starbucks beverage and there is table available where you can read your book or get on your computer.

The gym is also less crowded.  It’s easier to take a class, find an open piece of cardio equipment, or an open lane in the pool.  There are fewer people competing for the benches of the weight lifting equipment so they can read their emails or texts. The locker room is not crowded with ten of your brand new BFFs.

While students and 9-to-5 ers countdown to the weekend, retirees countdown the hours until Monday morning–when the rest of you go back to your classroom, your office, or your factory.

Once or twice a month I drive to DC or Northern Virginia.  If I time my drive right, I can get to Fairfax County from Charlottesville in about 2 hours.  Otherwise, it can take 3 hours (if there are no traffic accidents or road construction).  Along the way, there is seldom a line for gas or the McDonald’s drive-through if I need a break.

Summer can mean more teens and children around, but what you gain in kids, you lose in school bus traffic.

In addition to less people and less traffic, early mornngs have fresher air. In the summer,  temperatures are cooler and  plants are more refreshed. Birds sing and animals may be out and about. In the winter, retirees often have the luxury of waiting for the sun to melt the frost on their windshields so they don’t have to scrape.

Don’t pity us.  It does suck to get old, but we have weekday mornings to enjoy.

Happy Armed Forces Day, 2019

Have you ever been part of something bigger than youself?  You may have been a cog in the machine or a face in the crowd, but you knew deep down inside of yourself that your being there was making a difference.

Although I have never served in the military,  at least once I was part of such an effort.  In 1997, as a Morale Welfare and Recreation Specialist I deployed to Taszar, Hungary as part of Operation Joint Guard.  Each day I awoke in my barracks room, trooped down two flights of stairs to the women’s bathroom and then moved over to the adjoining shower room.  While I was waiting my turn to use the shower, usually still dressed in my bathrobe, someone would ask me what the night’s movie would be or what the plans were for the next concert in  Budapest.  And so my day would begin about 0600.  After my shower, I would put on my uniform (green/brown BDU’s –battle dress uniform for the uninitiated), lace up my combat boots, and walk over to the mess hall, where the food was surprisingly good.

After breakfast, I would go over to the office in the headquarters building.  Taszar was an old Hungairan airbase with two MiGs still out front.  The only room in the building that had AC was the one where the computers were located.  The Hungarian staff did a miraculous job keeping the worn tile floors clean.  (In  many places the tile had been scrubbed away, leaving the rubber subfloor peeking through.)

In early July, we were busy preparing to celebrate the 4th of July.  It was a chance to show our allies an American good time.  What I affectionately called the Hungarian mafia, were busy telling why we needed all of their entertainment acts even though we had just seen these same acts for the Memorial Day celebration.   The fireworks contractor assured me his fireworks would completely burn up and not have cinders floating down to possibly start a fire in some farmer’s field.

Hungarians often used an elaborate style when writing or speaking in English.  The public affairs officer laboriously tried to emulate that style when creating the invitations for our Hungarian VIP guests.  Unfortunately, I did not retain an example of the invitation.

The staff from the MASH  unit was planning the 5K run for the American and Hungarian troops/civilians.  The MWR staff was planning a variety of sports competitions including Golf, basketball, horseshoes, beach volleyball, pinball.  I used the Internet to lookup how much sand was need for beach volleyball since our Root and Brown, the local Army maintenance contactor, wanted to provide as little sand as possible. (This was relatively early days for the Internet so they were surprised to find that we could prove how much sand was needed.)

Although, July 4th began about 0500 when we got the Mess Hall as soon as it opened so we could start setting up for all of the events (the 5K began at 0800) and ended just before midnight with a relatively safe and succesful fireworks display, it was a wonderful opportunity to share our Independence Day with the troops so far from home.  We also got to share it with our Hungarian friends and allies.  (One person did complain the next day about catching a cinder in his eye while watching the fire works.

For those of you who have been in the military  thank you for your service. I’d also like to acknowledge the people who support the military (as a friend, family member, volunteer, contractor, appropriated fund or nonappropriated fund employee).  We all support those who serve.

 

Me in front of a C-130 at Taszar Airbase, July 1997

 

 

 

Not Worth A Life

Lilly Eve explains a commonsense requirement THAT ALL AIR TRAVELLERS SHOULD READ!

via Not Worth A Life

Reflections on a Stormy Sky

Does the appearance of grey clouds

Reflect the storm of emotions that lie within

Or does the glimmer of sunshine

Better indicate what is really happening?

May Days to Celebrate

Additional Events–Click on these links rather than the graphic of the events.

Library of Congress Event Calendar

The National Archives Event Calendar

National Endowment of the Humanities Events Calendar

National Gallery of Art Events Calendar

National Park Service Event Calendar

Smithsonian Institution Event Calendar

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Public Events Calendar

May is Asian/Pacific-American Heritage month.   From the Asian Pacific Heritage Month about

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month originated with Congress

Choose Privacy Week is May 1-7. Why privacy? “Because the freedom to read and receive ideas anonymously is at the heart of individual liberty in a democracy.  Librarians defend that freedom every day.” from the ALA Choose Privacy Every Day

May 1 is Mother Goose Day. Mother Goose Day was founded in 1987 by Gloria T. Delamar in tandem with the publication of her book, Mother Goose; From Nursery to Literature.
To learn more tips on how to enjoy Mother Goose Day, click here.

How did you do with this Mother Goose quiz?  I got 9 out of 10 correct.

May 4 is Star Wars Day.  It stems from the “May the Force be with you” so “May the Forth be with you.” Celebrate a galaxy far, far away.

National Pet Week is May 5-11.  National Pet Month is a celebration of the benefits that pets bring to people’s lives – and vice versa. It is observed annually in the United States in May and during the month of April in the United Kingdom.

From the American Veteranarium Medical Association Website.

A survey conducted by the AVMA every five years reveals that the top 10 pet-owning states are: Wyoming where 72 percent of households owned a pet; West Virginia with 71 percent; Nebraska, Vermont, and Idaho with 70 percent; Indiana and Arkansas with 69 percent; and Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Colorado with 65 percent.

The 10 states with the lowest percentage of pet-owning households are: Rhode Island where only 45 percent of households owned a pet; South Dakota with 46 percent; New Jersey with 47 percent; Maryland, Illinois, and Massachusetts with 49 percent; New York and Connecticut with 50 percent; Georgia with 51 percent; and New Hampshire with 52 percent.

What Do I want in 2020?

What do I want in 2020?

Take a seat, ’cause I want plenty.

More inclusiveness all around

Less bite when making sound.

More humility and less conceit,

A bit of truth would be quite sweet.

Even making more frenemies

Is better than making more enemies.

Kinder, gentler, more points of light

Instead of perceiving every slight,

Especially when it’s  unintended.

Retaliation can’t be rescinded.