Potpourri

by Frank M. Roberts

January 2016

This is one of those 'little-bit-of-everything' columns, resulting from a pile-up of papers. The odds are pretty decent that you will find something of interest - I hope, I hope.

Let's begin lightly with something that applies to yours truly. Doggone right: "Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the the hell happened." Amen and amen; I wonder if clouds ever look down on us and say, "hey, look. That one is shaped like an idiot." Ladies, does this apply? "Some day your Prince Charming will come. Mine took a wrong turn, got lost and won't ask for directions; To moi: "So when is this 'old enough to know better' supposed to kick in? I love this: "I have stopped listening - so why are you still talking?" I consider 'on time' to be when I get there and, finally - I could be a morning person if morning happened at noon. Me again.

Presidential stuff: According to a 2-year Ancestry.com study of thousands of records from colonial Virginia, the president is the 11th great-grandson of John Punch, a black man who came to America in the 1600s as an indentured servant and was enslaved for life in 1640 after trying to escape his servitude; It is believed that although Obama's father was a black Kenyan native, his ties to slavery stem instead from his white mother, Stanley (cq) Ann Dunham. The enslaved Punch had mixed race children with a free white woman. The chilren were born free because of their mother's freedom. They later went on to become 'prominent' land owners in Virginia. Thanks, ABC news for the above info.

Speaking of the president, both Google and Snopes listed eight members of the current administration as Muslim or having Muslim ties. Another presidential item: After his resignation, Richard Nixon testified on Deep Throat's behalf in an unrelated trial. That's according to Owen J. Hurd in his book, "After the Fact." Hypocrisy reigns. He also lets us know that midnight rider, Paul Revere, was later kicked out of the military.

Boy, this is clever: During the cold war, the code to unlock nuclear missiles was, "00000000."

This is an old Coast Guard saying: "You have to go out, but you don't necessarily have to come back." That seems to hold true these days. That brings me to this: A ship was stranded off Cape Hatteras on the Diamond Shoals, and one of the life-saving crew reported the fact that the ship had run ashore on the dangerous shoals. CG to the rescue and the skipper said, "The Blue Book says we've got to go out, but doesn't say a damned thing about having to come back." That was the origin of the saying.

The roughest CG station is probably in Sitka. One pilot said, "I kid you not. We fly routine missions out of Sitka in weather they wouldn't even open their hangar doors to in San Diego or Elizabeth City. They couldn't even fathom flying in the kind of weather that we encounter during our everyday training exercises up here."

Okay, country music enthusiasts - who was the most popular star? Most likely, Patsy Cline. Look at the scorecard: Her 'Greates Hits' album has sold more than 10 million copies - the largest selling greatest hits package, no matter the genre; She was the first female inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame. The Grammy Hall of Fame includes two of her recordings, and she was given a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Take a breather. Okay. She was honored with a U. S. Postage stamp, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She placed first on the CMT countdown of the 40 Greatest Women in Country Music. Her life has been the subject of several TV documentaries, four stage productions, eight books, an Oscar nominated feature film, and a number of tribute albums.

Whew! Unfortunately,I never met her, but I did spend a day with her mom.

Lordy - the NRA will love this. A writer named Russ Kick (honest) said we shouldn't look to the Constitution for help. "In its landmark decision of DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, he writes, "the U. S. Supreme Court declared that the Constitution does not impose a duty on the state and local governments to protect the citizens from criminal harm.

"All in all," he says, "you'd be much better off owning a gun and learning how to use it. Even in those cases where you could successfully sue, this victory comes only after years (sometimes more than a decade) of wrestling with the justice system and only after you've been gravely injured or your loved one had been snuffed." There's ammunition for the folks who like ammunition.

Here's one for your next party: "Let's play horse. I'll be the front and you be yourself." Ouch!

My cousin, Zingo, had a nice apartment overlooking the park, until he made a mistake. He overlooked the rent. That reminds me of another 'house' tale. It's about the landlord who didn't maintain his building. His tenant slipped on the ice ---- in front of the bathtub.

And last, but certainly least, is the story about a lonely soul who joined the AAA for its dances.