“Opening minds and angravating liberals since 2001”
“I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.”
Genesis 3:19 / John 3:16
My Friends and Fellow Candle Counters:
This is a very, VERY special issue, stick with me.
In the last one-hundred years we saw (this very limited list of) the following inventions: Hamburger bun, Lincoln Logs, the supermarket, cloverleaf highway interchange, tow truck, condenser microphone, toggle light switch, marshmallow cream, French Dip Sandwich, torque wrench, crystal oscillator, grocery bag, hydraulic brakes, blender, pop up toaster, Eskimo Bar, jungle gym, polygraph machine, flow chart, adhesive bandage, overhead garage door and later the automatic opener, convertible automobile, bulldozer, Q-tip, instant camera, locking pliers, gas chamber, power steering, drive thru’s for shopping, banking, food, etc., bread slicer, jukebox, Kool Ade, corn dog, recliner, ice cube tray, electric razor, Freon, sunglasses, frozen food, chocolate chip cookie, thermistor, electric guitar, bug zapper, gold cart, radio telescope, Richter scale, black light, parking meter, Philips head screwdriver, chair lift, O-ring, computer, beach ball, nylon, Teflon, soft-serve Ice cream, twist tie, ATM, deodorant, bazooka, the slinky, microwave oven, Tupperware, credit card, transistor, supersonic aircraft, cat litter, television broadcast and later cable and satellite, video game, radiocarbon dating, the Zamboni, atomic clock, crash-test dummy, color TV, aerosol paint, leaf blower, TelePrompTer (grrr!!), wet suit, air bag, bar code, artificial heart, WD-40, whiffle ball, Ziploc bags, CPR, radar gun, nuclear submarine (and later other ships), lint roller, hard disc drive, the Betamax later VHS and camcorder, the Bobcat, LASER, sugar packet, bubble wrap, zip tie, IC, LCD, VLSLCD, weather satellite, spandex, Astroturf, GPS, user friendly computer programs, LED, computer mouse, Buffalo Wings, Moog and other music synthesizers, snowboarding, Kevlar, wireless phone, beepers, cell phones, smart phones, CD, DVD, handheld calculators, super computer, laser printer, wide body aircraft, CCD, personal computer, floppy disc, email, PET scan and MRI scans, jet ski, jet, post it note, UPC/Bar Code, Gore-Tex, microwavable popcorn bag, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo flights, SkyLab, Space shuttle, internet and so on and so on and so forth (and that is only up to about 1980.)
We also saw the discoveries of Einstein’s theory of relativity, black holes, quantum mechanics, the Big Bang theory, the Milky Way, the neutron, quarks, hadrons, Higgs Bosun, fission, DNA, polio vaccine, dark matter and dark energy, cloning and more.
There was WWI, WWII, Russian Revolution, Irish freestaters vs the Irregulars and later “The Troubles”, Spanish Civil War, Chinese Civil War, Korean War, Cuban Revolution, Yom Kippur War, Vietnam War, Panama Coup, Afghan Civil War, War in Iraq and Afghanistan plus untold regional wars, conflicts, uprisings, police actions since 1914.
While there have been a number of sera and vaccines developed over the past century, sadly their distribution has not been as widespread as could be hoped. More sadly some diseases which have been eradicated in the United States have returned carried by people from foreign nations. I shall not editorialize on this, you know how I feel.
Sirloin steak was eighteen sense a pound, light bulbs twenty cents. Cocoa was thirty cents a pound, theatre tickets were a quarter. You could rent a four-room apartment for ten or twelve bucks a month. Milk was a dime a quart, butter was forty-two cents a pound. Eggs could be had for a quarter a dozen and a loaf of bread was about a nickel. Gas was twelve cents a gallon for your car that cost about five hundred smackers to park in front of you two to four thousand dollar home.
While those prices sound inexpensive, the average guy made about ten to fifteen dollars a week, some even less!
There were still just fewer than 100,000,000 Americans that year.
More than a third of people worked and lived on farms and most of those hundred-million Americans lived east of the Mississippi. In fact the population center of the US was near Bloomington, Indiana back them.
(My goodness, there were still a fair number of Civil War Veterans walking around and four kids of our 10th President, John Tyler, were still alive. Bear in mind Tyler was born in 1790.)
Born that year was TV producer Mark Goodson, Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets, baseball player Preacher Roe, Zero Mostel ,McKinley Morganfield (aka “Muddy Waters”), Billie Holiday, Orson Welles, Saul Bellow…
However, celebrating her 100th Birthday is our most senior reader, Jean Butterfield, born in beautiful downtown Minnesota a century ago.
Please join me in wishing the special lady (who is sharper than I am on most days) a very Happy and Blessed 100th Birthday.
Some years ago, I said I would do my best to have a Republican President for her 100th Birthday. I did promise that I would do a special issue for her on that day.
Jean one out of two is not bad. Not great, as I am sure you would gladly trade this issue for a real president but this is the best I can do my dear.
I think I speak for all when I wish you a very Happy and Blessed Birthday. May you live for as long as you want but never want for as long as you live.
With much Love, Happy Birthday Jean!
John
thedailyfish.net 