A little rain in the AM, but nice and sunny around noon.
Genealogy
Went to the Genealogy Gang meeting this morning, where we talked about bizarre relatives. Bill did his Jack the Ripper story that everyone likes. I talked about my cousin Billy. What.. you haven't heard that story? Well, here is what I said:
My Aunt Laurana married a man in Boston. His name was William, and he liked to build store-front churches, or so I've been told. Apparently, some of his activity was not considered kosher and he may have spent some time in the slammer. He and Laurana had two children before she divorced him. One was Billy.. (Laurana went on to have at least three more husbands and died early, possibly connected with her having only one kidney.)
Billy was a wild kid. Every year, when our family had a clambake at Aunt Ella's house, Billy would show up with a brand new car, and a different wife. He said it was the same one, but even us kids weren't fooled. Aunt Ella, however, was a soft-touch, and would let them "shack up" at her house for the night, even though, as a good Christian lady, she didn't like it.
Anyway.. I lost touch with Billy for many years until Billy apparently learned that I was working for the Social Security Administration. He gave me a call and said that the people at the Social Security office were giving him a hard time about his application for disability benefits. He said that he was completely blind and also deaf. He asked me to straighten the situation out before he got more sick and died.
I promised him nothing..but I did mention the call to my supervisor. My boss reported the call to the Boston District Office manager, who sent a Claims Representative out to check and make sure that they were not doing anything to impede Billy's claim for benefits. The Claims Rep went to see Billy, and he sent me a copy of his Report of Contact:
"I went up the stairs of the brownstone building and pressed the doorbell. A loud voice said: 'Who the hell is that? Go away!' So, I rang the bell again. The loud voice cursed again and told me to go away. So, I knocked hard on the door, and it opened to an angry looking man, who looked me right straight in the eyes and yelled; 'Didn't I tell you to go away?'"
"I told him that I was from Social Security to talk to him about his disability claim because of deafness and blindness. He immediately closed his eyes, moved his head all around and said: 'What? Who's there? I can't see you."
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Jane Nupp is a descendant of Swiss immigrants, and took a trip back there to visit with relatives still living in a small village. When she walked into a family gathering, one of the men fainted. He thought that he had seen a ghost because Jane looked exactly like his deceased wife.. Jane said that everybody in that village seemed to look alike.
This sounds like the story I submitted to Creative Expressions about Edith Carr and the twin sister that showed up at her wake.
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One of the ladies told about her legendary outlaw relative who wound up in jail because of a "toe print". I mentioned the outlaw who changed his name to Joe Vaughan and started a family in Arkansas.
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Rifle Packin Papa
I watched the u-tube video on Facebook of guys in Texas toting assault weapons into fast food joints. They seemed to be surprised at the stores' negative reaction and by other patrons leaving quickly when they saw the weapons. I liked what one commenter called these guys: ammosexuals.
Baltimore Area News
Oriole Fans
The two men who beat a fan at Camden Yards because he was a New York Yankees fan, danced to YMCA, while the victim lay bleeding with a fractured skull. The victim is suing for $5 million.
Safe Streets
Baltimore Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake walked through downtown Baltimore to promote the safety of those streets... of course, she was accompanied by several police cars. I wonder if she would walk alone, after dark, in the same area, without a police escort?
Salty Saliva
An Ocean City man accused of assault has the last name of Spitzer.. that seems appropriate to his crime, which involved spitting in a woman's face.
National News
Global Warming?
Carson City, Nevada, has warmed up more than any other city in the US during the last 30 years. The temperature rise averaged 4.1 degrees.
Swap
Sargent Bowe Bergdahl's return after 5 years as a Taliban prisoner in Afghanistan is causing some criticism.. even from famous prisoner, John McCain.. and also lots of "hate" mail. What do these critics know about the situation?
Was Bergdahl a spy? Was he on a secret CIA mission? Did the 5 men released receive microscopic GPS implants? Or was he just a son, sent to a stupid war, who was united with his loving family by a caring President?
Chief!
It has now happened. The last of the WWII Navajo Code Talkers has died. One of these guys was my friend, "Chief".. who I've written about many times. He was a gentle man, who was hassled by stupid 2nd Lieutenants, whose teaspoon sized brains were unable to recognize a true hero. Rest in Peace, at the Happy Hunting Ground all of you heroes.
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