Georgia at War

Boy, was I ever disappointed to see Georgia at war with Russia. Several things come to mind. First, I'm concerned about my Brother (OldBrotherWise) and my lil sis Maiinga who live just across the border in Chattanooga. Then, I wonder why Georgia lets itself get into a war in the first place. I mean, their record's not so good. They started off as a penal colony for the British. Then they got Americanized. Then they secede from the United States.

During the Civil War, one-third of the 300+ battles were fought in Virginia. One-tenth were fought in Tennessee. Tied for third most battles were Missouri and Georgia at 27 each. Three of the battles in Georgia were inconclusive. Of the other 24, the United States won 16 and the Rebels won eight. Three of the eight victories were designated as "I" after the site of the battle. In each of the three's "II" battles, the Union was victorious. One of the eight victories had a Mississippi army and the other seven victories had a Tennessee army fighting in Georgia. Far as I can determine, Georgia's troops had zero (0) victories.

Now I read in the paper that Russia has invaded and Georgia is trying to surrender and the Russians are ignoring the offer.

Back to the Tennessee armies for a minute - I was born in Tennessee, moved to Mississippi when I was two, moved back to Tennessee when I was nearly six, had my secondary education in Tennessee as well as my undergraduate education. Tennessee's decision to secede from the Union was by two votes in the Tennessee legislature. East Tennessee considered seceding from Tennessee and forming a separate state like West Virginia did - but being surrounded by Rebel governments, they thought better of it. Tennessee provided 50,000 troops to the United States, and I don't know how many Rebel troops they provided, but those troops which won in Georgia were Rebel armies, I guess from Middle and West Tennessee. Just wanted to throw that in FWIW.

Twice, Georgia and Tennessee had border disputes. Once was about what state owned Chattanooga. Tennessee won. Just superior firepower, I suppose. The second dispute also involved a train, as well as a border thing. Georgia stole a train from Tennessee. The General Jackson, I think it was called. I don't know how the story goes from the Georgia side, but in Tennessee they tell it like this:

The train was stolen sometime between midnight and 5 a.m.

Georgia boasted about acquiring the train and indicated that a lawsuit to determine proper ownership of the train and Chattanooga would follow. Georgia assured the train was secured in a locked compound with two dozen armed guards so Tennessee might as well not try to "steal" it.

Next morning, the locked compound was still locked. The armed guards had disappeared without a trace. The train was NOT in the compound and nowhere to be found in Chattanooga or in Georgia. A day later the train was in Knoxville. Two weeks later, the armed guards reappeared in Georgia. No one ever talked about what happened, publicly, at least.

End of story so far as I know.

I still can't believe Georgia and Russia are at war.

During the civil war, Sherman pretty much had his way marching across Georgia. There was one battle with an "inconclusive" decision, in which a Tennessee army "slowed" Sherman for awhile, but otherwise, Sherman stomped and burned his way across Georgia, including burning Atlanta to the ground. The only town in the path which was not destroyed was Savannah, on the Atlantic Coast. It is told that the mayor, the town council, and business and home owners met Sherman's troops 22 miles west (northwest?) of town, displaying white flags and American Flags, offering Sherman the keys to city hall, businesses and homes and with fresh food for the troops. I wonder: Is this where the "keys to the city" thing came from? Sorry I ended a sentence with a preposition, but sometimes that's easier.

Being an English major and Speech minor in undergraduate, I generally used to go to great lengths to keep from ending a sentence with a preposition. I guess I agreed with Winston Churchill who addressed the matter thusly: "That is one thing up with which I will not put." Sounds awfully stilted, doesn't it?

Those of you reading this who are not yet asleep (actually, I don't think anyone will read this but me) can read my next blog about ending sentences with prepositions. You may not enjoy it, but I did (and will).

Good luck to Georgia. I sincerely hope the fighting stops soon.

Dan Fogelberg Christmas album

OMG! How could I have left out these?!!!!

==============================

The First Christmas Morning
Snowfall
In the Bleak Midwinter

==============================

The hauntingly aerie Snowfall softened me
up for what was about to come next. I had
already been mesmerized by the first few
songs on the album, then, after Snowfall,
Dan began to quietly, slowly, softly sing
"In the Bleak Midwinter." In my half-
century of life, this had never happened.
Twice in the song, I was moved to tears.
If ever the angels wept, overcome with
emotion, this was it.

Dan Fogelberg favorites, part two

Today's favorites, by album, beginning 1982:

Greatest Hits
Make Love Stay

Windows and Walls
Believe in Me
Sweet Magnolia and the Traveling Salesman
Tuscon, Arizona (Gazette)

High Country Snows
Sutter's Mill
Down the Road/
Mountain Pass

Exiles
Seeing You Again
She Don't Look Back

The Wild Places
Song of the Sea

River of Souls
The Minstrel

No Resemblance Whatsoever
Isle au Haut

Portrait
Don't Lose Heart

Full Circle
Whispers in the Wind
Reach Haven Postcard
Drawing Pictures

Love in Time
Sometimes a Song
Love in Time

========================

I suppose that's it for the day.
It'll be different tomorrow.

Peace.

Let it Shine!

Dan Fogelberg - Today's favorite songs, by album

Arranged by album:

Home Free
Wysteria
Stars
Be On Your Way
Looking for a Lady

Souvenirs
Souvenirs
Song from Half Mountain
Part of the Plan
As the Raven Flies
Morning Sky

Captured Angel
The Last Nail
Old Tennessee

Nether Lands
Dancing Shoes
Scarecrow's Dream

Twin Sons of Different Mothers
Paris Nocturne

Phoenix
Along the Road
Wishing on the Moon

The Innocent Age

(side one)
The Innocent Age
The Sand and the Foam
In the Passage

(side two)
Lost in the Sun
Run for the Roses
Leader of the Band
Same Old Lang Syne

(side three)
Stolen Moments
The Lion's Share

(side four)
Times Like These
Hard to Say
Empty Cages
Ghosts

===========================

This list covers the first ten years of
Dan's professional singing career. I
must go make funeral arrangements.
Afterwards, I will list favorites from
the next several albums.

Peace.

Let it Shine!

Home Runs

Top Ten: 755 Hank Aaron, 749* Barry Bonds, 714 Babe Ruth, 660 Willie Mays, 600* Sammy Sosa, 586 Frank Robinson, 583 Mark McGwire, 582* Ken Griffey, Jr., 573 Harmon Killebrew, 569 Rafael Palmiero.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following statistics pertain only to the ten players listed above:
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Average # HR per year (highest individual year in parentheses):
1. 50, McGwire (70); 2. 46, Ruth (60); 3. 42, Sosa (66); 4. 41, Bonds (73) and Griffey (56); 6. 38, Killebrew (49); 7. 37, Aaron (47); 8. 36, Mays (52); 9. 34, Robinson (49); 10. 33, Palmiero (47).

Batting average:
1. Ruth .342, 2. Aaron .305, 3. Mays .302, 4. Bonds .299, 5. Robinson .294, 6. Griffey .290, 7. Palmiero .288, 8. Sosa .273, 9. McGwire .263, 10. Killebrew .256.

Average RBI's per year:
1. Ruth 143, 2. McGwire 122, 3. Griffey 116, 4. Sosa 115, 5. Aaron 113, 6. Bonds 109, 7. Robinson, Killebrew, & Palmiero 105, 10. Mays 103

Lifetime at-bats:
1. Aaron 12,364; 2. Mays 10,881; 3. Palmiero 10,472; 4. Robinson 10,006; 5. Bonds 9,683; 6. Sosa 8,640; 7. Griffey 8,583; 8. Ruth 8,398; 9. Killebrew 8,147; 10. McGwire 6,187.

HR frequency (HR hit every x-times AB):
1. McGwire 10.6; 2. Ruth 11.8; 3. Bonds 12.9; 4. Killebrew 14.2; 5. Sosa 14.4; 6. Griffey 14.7; 7. Aaron 16.4; 8. Mays 16.5; 9. Robinson 17.1; 10. Palmiero 18.4.

==============================================


Barry Bonds needs seven HR's to overtake Aaron's record of most HR's. Of the other active players, Ken Griffey, Jr., is likely to reach the 700 mark before the end of his career, and Sammy Sosa needs 100 more to get there.

Alex Rodriguez currently has 491 HR's, with a season high of 57 and an average of 44 a year and has maintained a .306 batting average over his 14 seasons. If he can maintain this rate for another seven seasons, he should break Bonds' upcoming HR record. A-Rod averages 127 RBI's a year, and with a total 7,031 at bats, his HR frequency is once every 14.3 times at bat.

Close Encounter of the Oprah Kind

This week, Oprah had a couple of replays, shows originally aired as a result of shock-jock Don Imus, and the Kat insisted that I send Oprah a link to my "Why Empower Imus?" blog, although I contended that it was old news; nevertheless, at the Kat's insistence, I sent it. Hated to fill up Oprah's box will out-of-date material, but I caved.

In the mid-`70's, my office was across the street from WTVF-TV, Nashville's Channel 5, where Oprah was employed. My boss, a really sharp dresser and cosmopolitan-looking guy, asked me if I'd like to film a commercial, modeling a jogging suit. He told me it was a paying gig. I told him that's OK, I'll still do it. I learned that he had been offered the job, but he told me that being paid for modeling was something akin to using his body to make money. I had no such scruples, and, turning in my leave slip, I headed across the street for the filming on the following day.

Ruth Ann was applying make-up, and I must have been objecting to the method or the amount she was applying. Oprah came walking by and simply stepped in and took over, very quickly finishing me off with powder and brush so I didn't shine so much. I was surprised how she just stepped in and did the job very quickly, when she wasn't even involved with the commercial. It was like we knew each other, though we'd never met, and I had the feeling that I was in the presence of a perfectly efficient human being. I'm smiling, thinking about it. Oprah wasn't world-famous then.

But she was on her way.

Why Empower Imus?

Basketball players from both Rutgers and Tennessee have opined that shock-jock Imus has tarnished their seasons. Hey, players: Don't give this joker credit for ruining anything. He didn't. He can't. He has demonstrated simply how ignorant he is by his woefully pathetic attempts at humor, and a person this ignorant can only be pitied, that is, if you want to give him any thoughts at all.

Ruin the season. No! Ruin the championship game. Hell, no! Certainly, it is upsetting that someone can do what this man did, but the quick withdrawal of sponsorships followed by the withdrawal of his employment status should signal any other such ignorant person what might happen to him/her should such a stunt be pulled again.

My daughter is a Rutgers graduate. I am a Tennessee graduate. Neither of us gives Imus a second thought.

He doesn't deserve it.

Basketball players, like the coach used to tell us: "shake it off", and realize that public attestations that this ignorant person has somehow lessened great achievement might only give another misguided person inspiration to make similar ignorant statements. Don't give these idiots that fuel.

Ignore it. Don't give it any more press.

Imus can't ruin Tennessee's championship season.
Imus can't ruin Rutgers' exciting and surprising arrival at the Championship game.
These achievements are forever.
Imus is gone.