Today we took a carriage tour

You've probably heard it all before, thinking that this is what the tour companies tell you just to sell you their tour packages, but a carriage tour really IS an amazing way to learn about a city. Maybe it's not true of every city or even every carriage tour within that city, but I can tell you that our experience with Palmetto Carriage Company was a great one.

Today our family took a tour in a city we already know quite well, thank you very much, and we all learned a lot from our very well-informed guide. I fluctuated between being impressed and slightly freaked out as our guide deftly navigated the narrow streets between parked cars, moving cars and other carriages, all the while looking at his passengers. This means he was not looking ahead. At the road. Ever. Like I said, it was borderline freaky. But I figured he did this all the time and our adorable mules "Hit" and "Run" were smart enough to know where to go anyway. I also knew that carriage wrecks in downtown Charleston are infrequent no matter which way the driver is looking.

The pace of a carriage, combined with the expanded viewing area that you don't get in a car, topped off with the fact that you're not walking the whole way, make a carriage ride worth it. I saw architectural elements on buildings that I've walked or driven by for years without noticing. And the stories are fun, of course. Every guide is different, but tour guides operating in Charleston are licensed and trained, so they all know quite a bit.

I came away from our carriage tour adventure today thinking 2 things: 1) Has anyone ever thought of doing an "Earthquake Tour" to discuss the 'Quake of 1886?
~~The result of having read City of Heroes: The Great Charleston Earthquake of 1886 recently~~
and 2) Wow, there is just SO much to learn about this city!!! I guess when you've been settled since 1670, there's a lot of history to toss around.

There are plenty of ways to tour Charleston, and plenty of things to see. Take it from this local--Palmetto Carriage is a winner.

Operation Overlord, June 6, 1944

Today we remember the most famous of all "D-Days", the Allied invasion of France, also known as Operation Overlord. In the planning in one form or another since the Allies retreated from Dunkirk in 1940, this D-Day amassed the largest invasion force in history. The Nazis knew that an invasion was imminent, although they did not know where or when it might begin. The Allies used this to their advantage in order to preserve what edge they might have from the element of surprise. For many months leading up to June 1944, misinformation was systematically fed to the Germans in an effort to convince them that the invasion would come at Calais. This strategy helped keep the German focus on areas other than Normandy, ensuring that the Allies would have a chance to gain a foothold in France before the Nazis could mobilize sufficiently to launch an effective counterattack.

Prior to the landing of the troops on the beaches, 24,000 paratroopers were dropped behind German lines in France. Then the first of the more than 6000 ships arrived, and the first troops attempted to land on Omaha beach, wading through the water into relentless machine gun fire. Of all the beaches, Omaha was the most heavily fortified, and American casualties ran high...most of the 5000 killed there were killed in the first hours of the battle.

The invasion of Normandy was the beginning of the end for the Nazis, as the Allies pushed steadily toward Germany. Less than a year later, the war in Europe was finally over.

Ginger Rogers--TCM's Star of the Month

If you are reading this and you don't have access to Turner Classic Movies, or you have never heard of Ginger Rogers (gasp), then this might not mean too much to you. But stick around and maybe you'll learn something new...keep those brain cells working and they'll last longer, I always say!

Ginger Rogers was a STAR. She could sing, she could act and she was undeniably Fred Astaire's best dance partner, their ten films together still amazingly stunning today. My own affinity for Ginger was firmly in place long before I knew she lived for several years in my home town of Fort Worth, Texas. No, really! But it is a nice bonus, to say we essentially hale from the same locale. And you know I say that.

If you want to check out this very talented performer and TCM is an option for you, they are showing more than 40 of her films during the month of March. Wednesday, March 10 they will be showing, in no particular order that I can fathom, all 10 of the movies she made with Fred Astaire. I'll get the popcorn....

When Passions Collide

Ok, to me the title of this post is eerily reminiscent of those cheesy romance novels we used to read in high school. You know the ones, with half-dressed drawings of flawless beauties standing submissively quivering next to equally half-dressed brooding hunks. "When Passions Collide!" Too funny.

That, however is NOT what this post is about. So sorry!

I was spending some time in Blogland with The Best of WWII, and I noticed that Melissa, the fabulous blogger there, had added a button since my last visit. It announces that she is a proud member of The Greatest Generation Society. Nifty! So I clicked it and applied for my very own membership, which as of this writing is currently "pending". After applying I was directed to this page, and began to utter loud excited noises of approval, along the lines of, "Oh, wow! Look at this!! This is SO coooooooollllllllll!!!!!!!!!!! Woohooooooooo!!!!!!!" You get the idea. It was the same thing that happened when I was in the mall before Christmas with the kids and discovered the WWII: A Day-by-Day History Calendar. Except when you are in the mall with your kids, you can't really put that much volume into your excitement, lest they suffer needlessly the Shame of an Uncool Mom.

The collision of passions came when I settled in to examine this page and blindly swung my feet to the footstool (or is it an ottoman?) and landed them messily on top of the Olympic Reindeer Hat that I've been knitting. Oops! I think the reindeer survived my Lands End loafers on their pointy heads, thank goodness! The moment made me thankful for my passions, ahem, and for the time and ability to pursue them. And for the Olympics which are frankly not exciting me much at this moment--hence the extra knitting and Blogland visits.

So the next time you find yourself in the midst of pursuing one passion, and you stumble over the evidence of another one, be grateful. With our without the cheesy romance novels.

MLK and Benny Goodman...

In honor of MLK Day, we at "...by what we give." would like to pay tribute to a bandleader who hired musicians based on their ability rather than their color.

In 1935, Benny Goodman hired Teddy Wilson, a jazz pianist, to join him and Gene Krupa (drummer extraordinaire) as the Benny Goodman Trio. This made Wilson the first black musician to perform in public in a previously all-white orchestra. Soon after, Goodman invited Lionel Hampton (vibraphonist--cool, huh?) to join his Trio (thereby making it a Quartet, because if there was one thing a good bandleader could do, it was count!).

Hampton is quoted as saying this about Goodman:
"As far as I'm concerned, what he did in those days—and they were hard days, in 1937—made it possible for Negroes to have their chance in baseball and other fields."

Here is the Quartet in 1937. You'll swear that Wilson's hands are computer enhanced versions of the real thing, sped up to look that fast! Man, those cats could play!

Talk about the weather

At the risk of drawing the ire of friends who live in much colder parts of the world, I have to mention that the weather here has been a hot topic, so to speak, the last week or so. Today the temperature might eke past 49 to 50, which will seem balmy after so many days of 44 degrees for a HIGH. At night we've had lows of 22 in some places--night after night. Yes, I know this is nothing compared to a summer's day in Scotland, but this is Charleston, SC, not Charleston, WV, and we just don't live like this. Most of us don't even own a real coat, much less thermal longjohns or an ice scraper. This is serious, people. We're running out of cotton sweaters to wear layered over cotton t-shirts under our cotton hoody sweatshirts! This can't be the sort of weather that people retire here to experience, and judging from what I hear from my transplanted Yankee friends, it's worse when you don't expect it. To either add insult to injury or icing to the cake, depending on your perspective, there is a chance that it will SNOW tonight and tomorrow morning.

All these days in the 40's put me in mind of days in the '40's (1940's, of course), so to warm up your day, wherever you are and whatever the weather, here's a hot little number, written by my favorite composer of such tunes, Irving Berlin, and masterfully played by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. Ah, the days when music was music and musicians were snappily dressed! Enjoy!

Remembrance Day

I know it's 2 days past Veteran's Day/Remembrance Day/Armistice Day, but better late than never, right?

A friend sent me an article that was slightly more intellectual than I think I was capable of absorbing with background noise of JrBravesFanatic building massive block towers on a wooden table. But, these were my comments to her on it and I thought I'd share:

As an amateur historian, I've studied WWII and its aftermath quite a lot as well as spending my life in total awe of my step-grandfather who served as a Marine Raider in the Pacific. Yesterday we watched a 1943 movie about a man who served as a spy in the ranks of the Nazi SS, which led us to speculate on how horrible it must have been to have to pretend that the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis were no big deal. If we value life, we have to be affected at the loss of it, whether in war or in peace. This is where I could get on my soapbox and decry the desensitization of our culture and its subsequent affect on Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day. If, after all, we count human life as cheap, then what would it matter that there are men and women who have served our country in wartime who bear the internal scars that come from witnessing atrocities? But the author of the article was focused on our response as Christians, not that of the culture at large. The question I see is--is there a difference? Do we really remember the death and resurrection of Jesus? Or is it another in a long line of stories far removed from our daily lives--stories like those about the men who liberated the concentration camps and were never the same again?

This is the lesson that history can teach us--that our lives are a gift, made possible in large part by the deaths of many.

Thank you, Veterans, for what you've done for all of us. And for my fellow historians, may we never tire in our efforts to remember yesterday for the good of tomorrow.

Today in history

Today we remember Henry M. Muhlenberg, who died on this day in 1787. He was born in Germany and came to this country in 1742 in response to requests from Lutheran congregations who wanted someone to provide leadership for the Lutheran church in America. Lutherans today still use liturgies descended from the one he proposed in an effort to unify churches in the colonies. He is considered the father of American Lutheranism.

Today we also celebrate the birthday of DaHubby, born on this day in 19 mumble, mumble, in the city where Muhlenberg first landed in America. Avid baseball fan, involved family man and hard-working grounds keeper for the castle gardens, DaHubby manages to find time to appreciate and support the knitting of those he loves. He has recently returned to the church of his ancestors, who are rumored to have known Martin Luther himself. Happy Birthday, Dear!

Glad Tidings

It's the birthday of Charles Wesley, born on this day in 1707 (or 1708, depending on what you're reading). He wrote over 6,000 hymns and is considered by some to be one of the most prolific poets in the English language.

And since it's a week till Christmas, I'll leave you with one of his hymns. Yes, I realize that you'll probably hear it so many times in the stores this season that you might wish Charles Wesley had been a plumber or a botanist. ***Has anyone else noticed that you can't go anywhere at all without an unceasing stream of Rudolph's and Frosty's? And isn't anyone else worried they'll get tired of it all long before the 25th?? But I digress... ***

Ok, so, despite the fact that you've probably learned to tune this out already, read the words and let Christmas be real for you, since that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about. Merry Christmas!!

1.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King,
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th' angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"

2.
Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th' incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"

3.
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"

Remember Pearl Harbor

"Remember Pearl Harbor" (lyrics to the popular song by that name here) was a rallying cry for America, especially during the early days of our involvement in World War II. Until this day in 1941, the debates between the isolationists and the interventionists were heated and frequent. Those who advocated war wanted to send troops to Europe to put an end to Hitler's relentless onslaught there. Conversely, there were those who thought that the reports of Hitler's atrocities were greatly exaggerated, and maybe his plan to "unify Europe" wasn't so bad after all. Despite the fact that Japan had been fighting in its corner of the world for many years, Americans were largely unconcerned about a threat from that direction.

Japan's unprovoked attack on our naval and air forces in Pearl Harbor initially achieved two things: 1) The fighting among the isolationists and interventionists came to a halt and 2) Japan's alliance with Nazi Germany assured that the U.S. was going to war on two fronts.

You can listen to President Franklin Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor address here.

And here's something from The Writer's Almanac, many thanks to Garrison Keillor:

"It was on this day in 1941 that Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That morning soldiers at Pearl Harbor were learning how to use their new radar technology, and they detected a large number of planes heading toward them. They telephoned an officer to ask him what to do. The officer said they must be American B-17s on their way to the base, and he told the soldiers not to worry about it.

The Japanese bombers began their attack at 7:48 a.m., with two waves of 360 planes, beginning with slow torpedo bombers and then dive-bombers. Many of the soldiers there that day woke up to the sound of alarms and explosions. Most of the damage occurred in the first 30 minutes. The U.S.S. Oklahoma capsized, and the California, Nevada, and West Virginia sank in shallow water. The U.S.S. Arizona was completely destroyed, killing more than 1,500 soldiers aboard. When nurses arrived for morning duty they found hundreds of injured men all over the base. The nurses ran around, administering morphine, and to prevent overdoses, they wrote the letter M on each treated man's forehead.

There were ultimately 2,390 Americans killed at Pearl Harbor and 1,178 wounded. FDR used the event as the grounds for entering World War II."

Quake!

It was on this day in 1886 that the Big Quake of '86 occurred in Charleston, SC. There's a nice write-up at the History Channel's website.

I have to wonder what went through their minds...only 21 years since the end of the Civil War, and the folks here weren't exactly living it up. Economic conditions in Charleston never really began to recover until WWII (see, I told you it was an important time!). So then this huge quake hits. It must have been bewildering, to say the least. And destructive. They estimate the number of chimneys that fell to be around 14,000. When you think about the fact that these chimneys weren't just recreational, but vital to cooking and heating, you get an idea of the mess they were in. You can still see evidence of that long ago quake in areas around Charleston--among them ruins of grand houses that were damaged beyond their ability (financial or otherwise) to repair.

I wonder if anyone blamed the US government for the quake, for not warning the residents fast enough, for racial profiling (or it could have been regional profiling in this case), or for moving too slowly in supplying assistance. I wonder if, on the subsequent anniversaries of the quake, the survivors joined together to criticize the current administration and reaffirm their status as victims. Or did they rather give thanks for being alive, continue to rebuild, and look to the future? I wonder if they could have foreseen what Charleston is now and how the lack of wherewithal that plagued the area for so long has helped contribute to Charleston's status as an historical treasure of old homes, old buildings and quaint cobblestone streets. (Somehow I doubt it! I think they probably hated those cobblestone streets as much as I do!)

So that's your history lesson for today. Now go knit something!

Swing, batter!

Another WWII poster, this one in honor of Ted Williams, born on this day in 1918.

Wind and War

Greetings from beyond the wind tunnel! I had the carpet guy (aka Da Hubby) deep clean the carpets, and now every fan is on HIGH and I feel like I'm in Chicago during the windy season. Or in the Dust Bowl without the dust! The incessant blowing is starting to get to me!

Good news, though. While catching the last few minutes of History Detectives the other night, I found out what I'm going to be doing in September. Ken Burns, that poetic purveyor of delicious documentary, has hit one of my own personal fanatic buttons. From the press release:

"THE WAR...The seven-part documentary series, directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, explores the history and horror of the Second World War from an American perspective by following the fortunes of so-called ordinary men and women who get caught up in the greatest cataclysm in human history."

Starting in mid-September, South Carolina's PBS stations will be broadcasting a whole lovely array of related programming, culminating with The War beginning Sunday, Sept. 23. Anyone else notice the fabulous coincidence of that being the first day of Autumn? Love it! Or there's always the option of catching a screening somewhere around the state--my personal favorite choice being aboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. I don't know, though. I tend to cry when I'm on the Yorktown, so it might be hard to actually see the movie! Yes, WWII history means that much to me. And I'm a big crybaby anyway! The kids think I cry during movies, etc, just to embarrass them, but it's just not true. But I digress.

What a great opportunity to start a scarf for a WWII veteran (probably my very own Papa, a Marine Raider who served in the Pacific). And I'll need to lay in a good supply of tissues! Thank you, Ken Burns!

Happy Beginning of Summer!

In honor of the official start of summer, I'd like to share this WWII propaganda poster that I found somewhere recently (I keep a virtual collection of them that I use as screen savers). I think it's the most unusual one I've ever seen....somehow I doubt they posted it at the Charleston Navy Yard during the war, since I'm sure they were already pretty hot!