Tag Archives: History

Childhood Memories – Road Trips

14 Dec

I am amazed at what my friends call a vacation. They talk about going to the beach; staying in a condo; eating seafood; and, generally, lying around for several days. They talk about how great it is to relax in the sun and read books. I know that many people think this is the perfect idea of fun and frivolity. I think it is hell on earth. It’s hot. It’s sweaty. Sand gets everywhere. Seafood is not meant to be eaten for a solid week. But most of all, sitting around all of that time is mind-destroying. I need to see something besides the same waves coming in from the same horizon before eating the same crab legs while wearing the same lobster bib. And I know whose fault it is that I think this way…

My dad dreamed of being a truck driver when he was a kid. He did not reach his dream but did become successful in the business world. With his dream of being a trucker dashed, my dad made sure that he ventured on that endless black ribbon by taking his family on road trips every summer. Other families went to the beach. We picked a cardinal direction, usually west, and headed out for a couple of weeks of constant changes in hotels and landscapes. My dad’s motto was “never burn daylight”, so we went from daylight to dark touring the country and checking out the scene. My mom even packed a cooler with sandwich stuff and drinks, so we could eat on the move. We were the real Griswold’s, and nothing from a movie can come close to what we experienced.

Because of my dad, I had visited all 50 states by the time I was 24. I developed a love for history from visiting the places where history happened. Some of my greatest memories are from the road, but it wasn’t all pleasant. Spending that much time in a cramped vehicle led to funny events that weren’t very funny at the time.

1. The Great Winnebago Trip – One year my dad got the bright idea to rent a motor home to drive cross-country. It started out good enough with my dad driving while the rest of us whooped it up in back. However, problems soon arose. The Winnebago broke down. And it broke down again. And it broke down again. In fact, it broke down all the way to California and back. It ended up with three fuel pumps that my brother had to hose down every time we stopped. The trip is legendary in these circles and can’t be accurately depicted here, but a few things stand out.

On a Saturday night, we broke down in Amarillo while heading west. The next Saturday night we broke down in Amarillo on the way east. The same mechanic worked on it both times. My mom took his picture. In between those two stops, we broke down in the middle of the Los Angeles freeway. We also broke down in a blasting zone. There was also the time we broke down in Needles and watched them fry eggs on the sidewalk. That was the last motor home.

2. The “My Mom Lost Her Mind” Trip – We spent the night west of the Colorado/Kansas border with the plan to drive to St. Louis the next day. Road trips are a loop, and the turn home was always seen as the home stretch. My mom was driving as we neared St. Louis in a rain storm. It was then that we discovered no rooms at the inns. St. Louis, big city that it is, was completely booked. My mom drove on. And drove on. And drove on. We tried to get her to stop, but she held a death grip on the wheel and wouldn’t listen. Her eyes got wide as she focused on the road. Ignoring the pleas of myself and my dad, she drove all the way home. We drove from Colorado to Tennessee in one day.

3. The “Speed of Sound” Trip – In junior high, my teacher asked us to write an essay about our summer. I wrote about our road trip, and she gave me an F for making it up. My mom had to call her and explain that it was all true. Simply, we drove to Virginia and toured the sights around Washington. We saw Mt. Vernon, Monticello, Arlington Cemetery and the Smithsonian. We then drove to Philadelphia and saw the history made there. Next, came New York (which I will discuss in more detail in #4), and a drive up to Niagara Falls. After the falls, we went into Canada and reentered the United States at Detroit. There we toured the Ford Museum. All of that took five days.

4. The “Tour of New York” Trip – Technically, this is the “Speed of Sound” Trip, but it deserves its own number. By this time, I was the official navigator and map-reader, and this was my job as my dad drove through the streets of New York City. He wanted to see Central Park, so I got him there. As we went through the park, I set the map to the side and looked around. When we came out of the park, we began to notice a degradation of our surroundings. Cars were on blocks. Windows were smashed out of buildings. It looked like a war zone. I picked up the map and told my dad not to stop at any cost. Don’t stop at red lights. Don’t stop if someone walks in front of us. My dad was driving his Cadillac down the street that separated Harlem and the Bronx. His orders were to drive to Yankee Stadium as fast as possible and get on the interstate.

5. The “That’s A Big Hole” Trip – Like a lot of people, my dad always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, and he made sure to stop the first chance he got. We parked the car and walked to the edge. As we stood there my dad declared, “That’s an awfully big hole.” We replied that it was. Then, he asked, “Ready to go?” In unison, we said, “Yes.”

Everyone should see the Grand Canyon once. It’s one of those things that makes the American landscape what it is. But, I’m not impressed with it. I think that it may be too big to appreciate, but it is not my favorite natural wonder. My nephew camped in the bottom last year and said it was great. That may be true. Riding the mules or flying over in a helicopter may be great too. However, I would rather see a lot of things than stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon and look into a big hole.

I know. All of this sounds terrible, and you are thinking that we would have been better off at the beach. However, these bad experiences were few and far between and gave us great stories to tell at family gatherings. The road trips were great bonding experiences and gave me the opportunity to see things that many people do not. For that, I am eternally grateful. Therefore, I am going to end this post on a positive note and list my favorite historic sites and natural wonders. I owe my parents for the love I have for these places.

My Favorite Historic Sites

1. The Little Big Horn Battlefield – I have mentioned this several times in other posts and will not go into great detail here. Just know that this is the one place where I can mentally take myself back in time.

2. Alcatraz – The first time I saw it the prison wasn’t open for tours. The second time it was and proved to be an amazing experience. You haven’t done anything until you have stood in Al Capone’s cell.

3. Biltmore Estate – This is the largest privately owned home in the United States. Built by an heir to the Vanderbilt fortune, it is the perfect example of Guilded Age decadence. No castle in Europe has anything on this.

4. The OK Corral – Tombstone, Arizona is the quintessential tourism laden ghost town. It looks kind of hokey today, but it held an important place in Old West history as the location of America’s most famous gunfight. As a bonus, Ben Traywick, who is from my home county, is the unofficial Tombstone historian.

5. Pearl Harbor – Technically, I did not see this on a road trip. Even my dad couldn’t drive to Hawaii. However, this is a historic site that everyone should see. Walking onto the Arizona Memorial is a spiritual experience.

My Favorite Natural Wonders

1. Monument Valley – The banner at the top of this blog is a photo I took at Monument Valley. Those buttes have been shown in countless movies and have long been symbols of the American West. It sits in the Navajo Nation and serves as a reminder of what they lost in the United States’ drive toward Manifest Destiny.

2. Yellowstone National Park – There is so much in the park that it is indescribable. Therefore, I will boil it down to my favorite thing. There is nothing like waking up in the Old Faithful Lodge; walking onto the porch; and, seeing buffalo walk through the steam of the geysers.

3. Sequoia National Park – Imagine trees sold old that they started growing when Jesus supposedly walked the earth and so large that they look as if they had been constructed. That is the best way I can describe this park. I will leave out the time I got lost in it when I was two.

4. Bryce Canyon – This is a canyon filled with rock formations called “hoodoos”. They fill the landscape and make you feel that you have landed in another world.

5. Denali National Park – We did not drive to Alaska, but Mt. McKinley is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. We were lucky enough to view it on a clear day and see the peak. I have no idea how big the mountain is, but I know that it filled the landscape from miles away.

There you have it. My road trip adventures. Isn’t that better than a beach?

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Boarding Mr. Peabody’s WABAC Machine

7 Dec

When I was a kid, “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” was shown in reruns, and I would often catch an episode or two. It wasn’t my favorite show by any means because Bullwinkle always drove me crazy. I think it was his voice, but it could have been any aspect of his goofy self. However, I was fascinated by Mr. Peabody and his WABAC Machine and the idea of going back to witness historic events. Obviously, I was a weird child to like the time-traveling, talking dog over the goofy, talking moose. Through the years as a historian, I keep going back to Mr. Peabody and thinking how cool it would be to actually be present at historic events. I have even been known to mention the WABAC Machine in class. I know the students have no idea what I am talking about, but they aren’t usually listening anyway.

Of course, time travel, as we know through countless references in popular culture, has it drawbacks. We could alter the course of history and change the world as we know it. That’s why I favor the “duck blind” method from “Star Trek”. Use a force field to hide a viewing station in the natural terrain. If walking about is needed, then use an individualized force field for hiding a protection. See, problem solved. All you have to do is combine the worlds of Mr. Peabody and Mr. Spock, and the problem is solved.

So, if I could board Mr. Peabody’s WABAC Machine to travel to a “duck blind” from “Star Trek”, then these are the historic events I would venture to see.

1. Montana Territory, 1876 – George Custer and the 7th Cavalry find their way to the banks of the Little Big Horn River. There they find Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. The Battle of Little Big Horn does not end well for Custer and his men, but for the Native Americans it is a classic case of winning the battle and losing the war. After the defeat of one of America’s most famous soldiers, the U.S. Army makes it a point to bring an end of the Indian Wars. The battlefield is my favorite historic site, as I can sit on the hill and sense the history around me. It is probably the markers that designate the places where soldiers fell (although inaccurately) that make the battle easy to track over the terrain.

2. Dayton, Tennessee, 1925 – As a publicity stunt, leaders of Dayton arrest John Scopes of breaking a new law disallowing the teaching of evolution in public schools. The stunt gets out of hand when two of the nation’s most famous lawyers. William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, agree to fight it out in court over the difference between the creation story of the Bible and the theories of Darwin. It must have been a fascinating scene as a circus atmosphere descended upon the town. I love teaching about the Scopes Monkey Trial and have even taken a group of students to the actual courtroom to discuss it. I am amazed that 86 years later we are still fighting over the same issue.

3. The Moon, 1969 – Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on a celestial body that was not Earth. This is the greatest achievement in human history. Watching the astronauts leave the capsule and walk around would have been a literal other-worldly experience. Also, viewing this event as it happened would prove to the skeptics that it wasn’t faked. Next semester, one of our history professors is offering a class on conspiracy theories and why people latch on to them. You would be amazed at the amount of students who do not believe that the truth is known.

4. Maryville, Tennessee, 1974 – This event is on a more personal level. My dad used to sponsor a men’s slow pitch softball team, a hobby for which he was inducted in the Tennessee Softball Hall of Fame. His teams won 10 state championships, but the first came in 1974 against the Number 1 ranked team in the nation. Actually, I was there, but I do not remember it. I was 4 years old at the time. The game was close and came down to a diving catch for the last out. I would like to go back for several reasons. First, I would like to watch the game. Second, I would like to see my dad and all of the people who I know as they looked in 1974. Third, I would like to see what I was doing as a 4-year-old.

Those are my WABAC wishes. If I really had a machine, then I would go to those events first. Of course, I would not be able to stop there and would get addicted to the travel. I would also probably start messing up the timeline. Where would you go if you had access to the WABAC Machine?

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Why is Starting to Write Always the Hardest Part?

3 Dec

As as a historian, there are two aspects to my profession. Obviously, we are expected to teach, and that is what I got into the business for. I really like to talk about history, and that’s what the classroom is all about. However, we are also expected to write and publish articles and books. This is where I am lacking. That may sound weird since I am writing a blog, but I am hoping that this will help loosen up my writing in other areas. I can never get started. I had a terrible time with my Masters thesis because I could never figure out how to start it. It rolled out as soon as I got going. I also faced the same problem with my Doctoral dissertation. So, here’s the question? Why is starting to write always the hardest part? Does the subject not inspire me enough?

I wrote a short story once. The whole thing just came to me all at once. It was running like a movie through my head, and I had to get it out. I wrote and wrote until there were 60 pages. It was about a couple whose daughter had been abducted and murdered. As a result, the marriage struggled until they moved to a faraway city. There he became a detective who specialized to finding lost children. I won’t tell the whole story here, but, suffice it to say, it was the only time I was inspired to just sit and write with the length and detail I need for my profession.

And, here is the thing. The story came to me while I was listening to one of my favorite songs, “Badge” by Cream. Each line led me to a different part of the story. I even used the lyrics throughout the story. They are not used in order. I took a song; rearranged it; and made something else out of it. If you don’t know the song, then here are the lyrics:

Thinkin’ ’bout the times you drove in my car.

Thinkin’ that I might have drove you too far.

And I’m thinkin’ ’bout the love that you laid on my table.

I told you not to wander ’round in the dark.

I told you ’bout the swans that they live in the park.

Then I told you ’bout our kid, now he’s married to Mabel.

Yes, I told you that the light goes up and down.

Don’t you notice how the wheel goes ’round?

And you better pick yourself up from the ground

Before they bring the curtain down,

Yes, before they bring the curtain down.

Talkin’ ’bout a girl that looks quite like you.

She didn’t have time to wait in the queue.

She cried away her life since she fell off the cradle.

I have no idea what all that means, and I don’t know where the story came from. I only wish that something could inspire me to write history as well as that song inspired me to write the story – the only story I have ever written. I even wish I could write another one of those.

In an attempt to find inspiration for another story, I downloaded an app called Inspiro. It comes up with phrases or scenarios to spark the imagination and maybe a narrative. However, it’s kinda dumb. As an experiment, I will crank up the “Scenarios” section and show you what comes out.

1. a sheep involved in a love triangle with a weasel (I wonder what the third animal is.)

2. a violent real dickhead sitting in the library next to your neighbor (This has possibilities for a serial killer story I suppose. The cause of death could be suffocation by condom.)

3. a real dickhead doing a slo-mo “beach run” towards a lighthouse keeper (A phallic symbol running toward another phallic symbol. The lighthouse keeper needs to hope that he is not the third in this love triangle.)

4. an Elvis impersonator loving a politician (Now, this has some possibilities. I imagine the politician being Nancy Pelosi, but she is beneath Elvis impersonators on the “importance to America” scale.)

Now, a few from the “Muse” section.

1. careless locksmiths with Danzig (Danzig was/is a great band. I can see locksmith’s losing their keys while jumping and shouting to “Mother”.)

2. lugubrious jackets up your ass and around the corner (What does lugubrious mean?)

3. potbellied spies possessed by a demon names Pazuzu (Hey, this is good. Think about an old Sean Connery and an old Roger Moore being taken over by demons and getting in a fight with Max von Sydow.)

4. mummified drawings as a punch line to a bad joke (What do you call Egyptian tomb filled with marijuana? High-roll-glyphics)

Not very inspiring is it? Maybe I’m still stuck with nonsensical lyrics to classic rock songs. But, what am I going to do about writing history?

The search for inspiration continues.

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Events of November 25 (My Birthday)

25 Nov

November 25 is my birthday, and, as a good historian, I like to know what happened on this very important date in history. Therefore, today’s post is a list of a few events.

1. 1783: The last British troops left New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. (To get this straight, the American Revolution was over, and the British were still sticking around. The United States must have learned something from them. We tend to hang around after the occupied areas want us gone.)

2. 1876: In retaliation for the American defeat at the Battle of Little Big Horn, United States Army troops sack Chief Dull Knife’s sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River. (If anyone has a right to protest in the United States, then it is the Native Americans.)

3. 1947: The “Hollywood Ten” are blacklisted by Hollywood movie studios. (I am a staunch capitalist, but the Red Scare was a sad time in American history.)

4. 1963: President John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (People often ask me about Kennedy’s presidency. Their opinions vary from his sainthood to his evilness. Honestly, I don’t think he was in office long enough for anyone to know how good he would have been. However, I think he, like most, was somewhere between the two extremes.)

Other people born today:

1835: Andrew Carnegie (He was slightly successful in the business world.)

1844: Karl Benz (He was slightly successful in the automotive world.)

1846: Carrie Nation (She wanted prohibition of alcohol in the United States. Can you imagine?)

1914: Joe DiMaggio (He owns baseball’s most unbreakable record and married Marilyn Monroe. What else can you say?)

1920: Ricardo Montalban (As Mr Roarke, he offered people the chance to live their deepest fantasies. The show would have been a lot better on Cinemax.)

1926: Jeffrey Hunter (He played Captain Pike in the pilot episode of “Star Trek”, but I like him better in the greatest western of all time, “The Searchers”.)

1941: Percy Sledge (He sang “When a Man Loves a Woman”.)

1960: John F. Kennedy, Jr. (That famous photograph of him saluting his father’s casket was made on his third birthday.)

1983: Joey Chestnut (He is the current world champion in various eating contests, including hot dogs.)

As Walter Cronkite used to say, “That’s the way it is – November 25, 2011.”

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