'Them' sorry rich folk!

Little Known Facts:

1.    In 21 states, Wal-Mart is the single largest employer.

2.    It's against the law in Kansas to catch fish with your bare hands.

3.    There are 2,000,000 millionaires in the United States.

Note that last fact.

 There are a lot of rich folk in the world and we have our share here in the USA. Some inherited it, some earned it on their own.  Fact is, we have always had wealthy folk and most of the time they actually ran this country. Only NINE of our 45 presidents have not been millionaires PLUS.

Now, I ask myself, “Were the early wealthy folk better folk than the wealthy of today?” I thought very highly of Washington, Jefferson, Adams and all those guys who actually started this country.  I hold them in high esteem.  I never thought of them as being wealthier than I could even dream. Example: today George Washington would be worth $125 million. BUT he laid his life on the line. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were wealthy when they signed, but it cost most of them their wealth and their lives.

          (Me 'n Patrick Henry at the entrance to Red Hill)

We just returned from Red Hill a few days ago. One of our greatest orators, Patrick Henry, who loudly declared, “Give me Liberty or give me Death,” was very wealthy. He bought over 2000 acres at Red Hill Virginia and retired there. He was not killed, but stuck his neck out for it to be cut off.  He was rich and did not have to do that.

Folks, the rich and the poor we will always have.  I have never considered myself poor.  We have always had an income and something to eat. In Washington DC I worked two jobs, but we could have survived since Sherry also worked there.

I have never begrudged one dollar of Bill Gates’ money. I enjoyed working and knowing Sherry and I were making our own way.

Most of the men and women in Washington are very wealthy, we elected them. 

 

They tell me (and it appears true) unless you are wealthy, or have wealthy backers, it is impossible to get elected to most offices state and federal. Truman became president due to FDR’s death.

Just the registering fees and jumping thru all the hoops would stop most of us. So I guess, we must pick the most reliable rich folk then cast our vote.

Being rich does NOT mean one is uncaring or callous. In my life I have  known a couple very rich folk. I would trust them. My brother was a great guy and he became wealthy.

This wasn’t a ‘smart’ entry, but I promised myself a long time ago, if I write it, I will print it.  LOL

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Nite Shipslog

Presidents worth less than a million dollars:

Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Garfield, Arthur, Wilson, Coolidge, Truman.

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 This 50's Chevy truck was outside the Court House Cafe in Rustburg, where we had breakfast

 Funny thing the nearest town to us is Rustburg. I thought this fit. help?  Is that a Marlin or Barracuda?  

The un Cilvil War and also mis-directions.

Little known facts:

…Average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000.

…Portion of land in the US owned by the government: 1/3.

…Ninety percent of New York City cabbies are recently arrived immigrants.

Back to travels:

Something odd hit my mind as I thought about thinking the Surrender happened in a courthouse.  Years ago on an Eastern US trip we were in New York State. We decided to go to Woodstock, NY and see what all the fuss had been about in an earlier part of our lives.  WE heard and read about it, and since we were near decided to go see Woodstock.

Driving thru the little town we did see many aging Hippies. Lots of tie-dyed clothing, but no signs or indications that something earth shaken had happened here.  We did find a small theater way out in the woods that would seat about 200, but the search was empty.  It was time for dinner so we stopped at a restaurant and Sherry asked the waiter, “Where the big concert had taken place?”

 He smiled real big and said, you are 70 miles from the site. The Woodstock Happening was Held in Bethel Woods, NY.  Yeah we did drive on down to see.  LOL

As to the Uncivil war, I hear some ignorant red-necks, my people, say: “We will win next time!”  God forbid there is ever a next time. A war where brother is against brother, family against family. There are at least 3 graves on the Appalachian Trail of NC boys who fought for the North and were trying to get home for Christmas and were ambushed and killed by their old neighbors.  How sick is that?

 Below is the Appomattox Court House landscape. Beautiful and quiet. It is hard to imagine all the death and maiming in this VA countryside.

I really do not think I am weird.  I had a good feeling knowing that I had stepped on the same steps Grant and Lee had climbed. I stood 6 feet from the actual place Lee signed the surrender. Just me, but I think that is awesome.

Shucks, I feel almost famous.  I once peed where John Wayne peed in Brackettville, Texas.  We visited the full size mock-up of Old San Antonio. It was a movie set where John Wayne filmed the movie, “The Alamo”.  ;-) 

 Virginia offers many points of interest concerning our early American history. And the drives are pleasant.

  We have visited several times but are thinking of going over by Williamsburg again. Then thru Norfolk where we were stationed twice, then crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  I have crossed it several times, but Sherry has not. She wants to give it a shot.  We might just do that.

Nite Shipslog

 1987 Avanti, last productions automobile out of South Bend

More on Appomattox Court House

Little known facts:

1… Title 14, Section 1211, of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, makes it illegal for U. S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles.

2… There are more cars in Southern California than there are cows in India.

3…Percentage of Americans who say that God has spoken to them: 36%.

 The following is a quote from documents at the historical site:
Lee asked for the terms, and Grant hurriedly wrote them out. All officers and men were to be pardoned, and they would be sent home with their private property–most important, the horses, which could be used for a late spring planting. Officers would keep their side arms, and Lee’s starving men would be given Union rations.
Shushing a band that had begun to play in celebration, General Grant told his officers, “The war is over. The Rebels are our countrymen again.” Although scattered resistance continued for several weeks, for all practical purposes the Civil War had come to an end.

Something really hit me hard with that statement ‘The CSA soldiers were to be pardoned.  All my life I have heard this and assumed it was a verbal blanket pardon. I never realized that the pardons were actually ‘printed’. The paper had the individual soldier’s names. Printing presses were set up in the Tavern there at Appomattox Court House.  Over 30,000 pardons were printed.

(This room is set up as it was in 1865 The pardons were hug up for the ink to dry!)
Above is a depiction of the printing area and lines with the ink drying on the pardons before they could be distributed. 30,000 papers printed quickly in 1865, isn’t that amazing.  Imagine the typesetters???

At many historical sites we have found folks wandering around dressed in the manner of the era depicted. They speak as folk did then and actually ‘try’ to live as though it is a time past. Our guy was a Union soldier who had worked in a newspaper print shop before the war. The time he was depicting is a couple months after the surrender. He is assigned back here to enforce PEACE. He does not like President Johnson but had admired Lincoln who has recently been assassinated by Booth.
We were warned not to ask present day questions like, “Can I take your picture? He will look at you confused, and think you want to take something of his.” You might ask, “May I copy your likeness?”  It is play acting of course but interesting. The clothes, shoes and hats are made the same as they were in 1865.  I like it.

Nite Shipslog

 1969 GTO called the Goat!