Slavery...

When I started this blog, it was my intention to keep it light, and I sincerely attempt to be accommodating. However, every once in a while, my carefully constructed little world just goes awry...

One of the ways that I spend quiet evenings is catching up on reading. I'm currently in the midst of two books: Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella, and a serious history tome, The Colony of New Netherland: A Dutch Settlement in 17th Century America by Jaap Jacobs. First of all, I take golf a wee bit too seriously. Rotella is helping me to realign my emotions (and this is the second time I've read the short book). Be grateful he says, concentrate on the positive. Visualize, set a routine, and reach new horizons. So far, my handicap has changed from 11.8 to 11.8. Then again, I'm playing on tougher courses. And blah, blah, blah. It is what it is.

On the other hand, spending spring in the Southland affords me the opportunity to get away from my home computer and its usual applications -- one of which is Reunion, a genealogical data base. So reading Jacobs is exciting for me because I have ancestors who literally appear in this book, and I take notes. I'm not all that far into it yet, but tonight, in Chapter Two,  a sub-topic, "Enslaved Blacks" brought more than one sigh out of me. I find slavery appalling.

I learned from Jacobs, for instance, that in 1639 there were about 100 blacks who worked in the colony,  a number that grew to approximately 250 in 1664 and doubled upon the arrival of 291 more slaves on the Gideon in August of that year. They made up about 8% of the total population, concentrated in New Amsterdam, where the rate rose to about 17%. Slaves in New Netherland typically did not come directly to the colony but through a circuitous route that involved Spain and the Caribbean. The Gideon was a rare exception. Prices for slaves averaged 140 to 375 Guilders in the 1650's. By 1664, the price for a healthy slave approached 600 Guilders -- they did not come cheap! About 12% of New Netherland landowners could afford slaves. But most astonishingly, by 1730, 41% of the households in New York City owned slaves, and by then New York had the toughest slave laws in the colonies. [Jacobs, pp 55-56].

This revelation about a northern colony made me wonder about the southern colonies, so off I went to Google.

Although sometimes couched in generalities, I found a few Web sites that gave me realistic and authentic broader statistics. Perhaps the best of them was <http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/wahl.slavery.us>. Although it might seem a bit inconvenient, simply click on the site and then hit return. Astonishing!

Another site that I found and liked was this one: <http://listverse.com/2009/01/14/10-fascinating-facts-about-slavery/>. This one brought me to a new perspective. Worth your time...

Naturally, it occurred to me that slavery is not a new human problem, and for centuries it has included children and orphans in the sex trade. Pretty abysmal. To look at some statistics on current (21st century) slavery go to <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_slavery>.

I'm apologetic to lay this on you. And I'm not sure what can be done about it. I can't even offer you a means to help eliminate the problem.

All of this makes me less and less tolerant of my species. If you know of a way to change cultural mores, please respond -- not to me but to the appropriate, new found organization. I'm just sitting here feeling somewhat stunned.

Yes, I know, it's a downer. Kindly forgive me for occasionally bringing us all back to reality.

Stay calm and carry on,

Paul, temporarily in South Carolina
http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
http://loucksap.smugmug.com
http://madstop68.blogspot.com 

Hugo

Well, I hope you all watched the Academy Awards show last evening. For me it was a toss-up between the Oscars and Masterpiece Classic's new series, The Old Curiosity Shop. The former won.

Before I go any farther, I need to comment on Billy Crystal's appearance. His make-up was over the top. In fact, I thought he looked as though he was embalmed. And Ms. Jolie appeared bony and out of sorts. I like my women a bit more zaftig. And her overdone lips; well, I'm just not going to go there.

I was not terribly surprised by the results. About the only movie I had not seen earlier (in the Best Motion Picture category) was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close . It only played a week in Potsdam...

Today it was rainy on Hilton Head. Not much to do beyond indoor swimming, reading or going to the movies. We chose to go down to Coligny and enjoyed Hugo, which. likewise, only appeared in the North Country for a brief period. 

In short, I LOVED the Scorsese-Depp production. And for me last evening the Academy Awards ceremony was all about "the magic of movies." Most notably, it was a nostalgic trip back into time. As a kid Dipson's Palace and the Winter Garden in Jamestown, NY were all that was necessary to set the tone for me. Both theatres were Art Deco at their finest. And the balcony was the supreme place to sit. The Kodak venue in L.A. was Dipson's Palace ten-fold.

But let me not digress too far. I need to run through the list of nominees.

War Horse -- A movie of epic proportions, but no producer or director wins Best Picture with a non-human entity. Still a fine movie, but not worth #1.

The Artist -- Okay, the dog was great! And Peppy Miller was as peppy as peppy can be. I loved her. And this movie was about movie history, and movie history (The Artist) was the theme that engendered nostalgia last evening better than any other. I saw the film here in Hilton Head, and was glad I did. This is the way it used to be, and it was a fine thing. The acting was superb. Quite deserving of the top award, but it had an even stronger contender.

Midnight in Paris -- Woody Allen at his best, and I loved Owen Wilson's and Marion Cotillard's performances. Yet when all is said and done, Midnight is a bit fluffy in the nostalgia department. Doesn't mean that I didn't adore the film. It just didn't meet nostalgia's level of honesty.

Moneyball -- Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill were superb. Baseball movies, especially concerning front office politics, however, don't win Oscars. It's a shame. This was a topical theme in today's untidy world of sports as entertainment and big money. Politically, it spoke to me in spades. Brad Pitt is all grown up, even if he's a bit too self-assured.

The Descendants -- I wanted George Clooney to win everything. In the end he had to be gracious. His time will come. The Descendants was too much about acting. It was also kind of creepy. Pretty dysfunctional family in the end...

The Tree of Life -- I did not like this film. It was pretentious.

The Help -- Eat shit and die! Great performances and a sympathetic plot. Neither was enough to carry the day.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- I did not watch this film and have no immediate plans to do so. I've had enough of 9/11. And frankly, I am tired of my wife asking me if we need to take tissues to the movies.

Hugo -- Martin Scorsese and Johnny Depp scored 125 out of 100. Hugo won five academy awards and should have won six. In the nostalgia department, IMHO, it was superior to The Artist. It tugged at my heart. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every character -- from Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour, to Sacha Baron Cohen, to Chloe Grace Moretz and Asa Butterfield, the performances were absolutely wonderful. Hugo had the MAGIC. I don't understand why the academy didn't award the film's brilliance with a first place. Say what you will, Hugo was the real winner! No, let me take that back. It was silent film and Paris that finally captured my heart. And was it Gare St. Lazare or Gare Nord or an earlier version the Musee d'Orsay...? In the end it didn't really matter. The wrong film won the Oscar for BEST motion picture.

Take a serious look and then decide for yourself...

Stay calm and carry on,

Paul, temporarily on Hilton Head Island
http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
http://loucksap.smugmug.com
http://madstop68.blogspot.com

Fools and Idiots...

When was the last time you heard of a naked man stealing a fire truck? Well, in nearby Beaufort-Port Royal, SC, off-island from Hilton Head, the local fire department was answering a medical call and attending to a needy person. The next thing they knew, an individual sans clothing, jumped into their fire engine and sped off with it. On-lookers noted the high speed of the fire engine. The first bad thing happened at the next intersection when it plowed into seven vehicles. That didn't stop the fellow though. His next feat of stupidity was striking one of two pedestrians walking beside the highway in front of the Dollar General store. That individual was declared dead at the scene.

One rubber-necker declared: "I've never seen a fire truck come out of nowhere like that. The truck did not have its lights on. I knew it wasn't a fireman behind the wheel. It was faster than I've ever seen any fire truck go. And I've seen my fair share of fire trucks." Was this guy's name maybe Bubba?

The collision with the pedestrian caused the fire truck to spin out of control, whence it next crashed into a wooded area between the Dollar General and a bowling alley. The crash extensively damaged the truck and pinned the driver inside. When Port Royal Police arrived, the captive driver began fighting them and had to be subdued. It made me wonder if the jaws of life needed to be employed to extricate him, and if so, just how carefully they had to be utilized. At any rate, Mr "free-as-a-bird" is currently incarcerated and charged with two counts of assault and battery on a police officer, as well as resisting arrest. Nothing was mentioned about any charges of vehicular manslaughter or even about property damage... [information drawn from the 24 February issue of the Island Packet]

Okay, so now you're beginning to seriously wonder about the sanity of the nearby crackers when only two days previous to above's amazing incident it had probably already been confirmed.

In the outbound or west lanes on Highway 278, a four-lane, high speed thoroughfare, and the only egress (other than by boat) from Hilton Head Island, two cars overturned on the Graves Bridge above Skull Creek. Traffic was clogged for hours as medics extricated the victims from the wreckage of their automobiles, both of which actually climbed onto the guard rails and dangled precariously upside-down. One driver had to be taken by helicopter to Savannah, while the other was treated at Hilton Head Hospital and later released.

As it happened, I was traveling with Mike my golfing buddy back onto the island and passed the scene of the accident in one of the eastbound lanes. It was absolutely spectacular and as bad a crash as I've ever seen. I thought perhaps it was a sudden lane change gone crazy and genuinely made me wonder how either driver or passengers could have survived. But that was all I knew at the time...

The next day's paper showed the crash scene, but didn't contain much information. It wasn't until the day after that [24 February issue of the Island Packet] that details emerged. So here's what occurred. A 42 year old local woman was traveling west, mid-morning, in her Mustang at highway speed and in traffic when she was bumped from behind by a 34 year old male driving a Honda. She was able to keep control of her vehicle. However, the Honda then backed off, sped up and suddenly intentionally smashed into her full force. This impact sent both cars careening in different directions, with both vehicles finally landing atop the bridge guardrails, one on either side.

A lover's quarrel gone crazy? The worst case of road rage imaginable? Most likely. As it turned out, the female driver was from nearby Bluffton. The male was from Minnesota and did not even possess a valid driver's license. Right now I suppose he's slowly recovering in that Savannah hospital.

There are a few warnings that immediately come to mind. First, if you are a regular reader of my blog, by all means stay away from Dollar General stores. They are bad business whether you're a welfare mom, Amish or a South Carolinian pedestrian.

Second, always remember that there are genuinely crazy fools out there. It doesn't matter how good a driver you might be. Watch out for the other guy!

And third, if you are traveling in these here parts, keep in mind that NASCAR aficionados take their driving pretty seriously. That said, even they manage to screw up every once in awhile, especially the deranged ones.

Stay calm and carry on,

Paul on Hilton Head Island, SC
http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
http://loucksap.smugmug.com
http://madstop68.blogspot.com
 

More Than Just a Good Walk Spoiled...

Okay, yes, I'll admit it. One of the main draws for me on (and off) Hilton Head Island is playing golf. I have now been on the island for four days, and two of them have included shelling out (in February) bargain outlays of Pedro's pesos. The rust is gradually wearing off -- today, for instance, I managed to take 14 strokes off yesterday's score. After all, I hadn't hit a golf ball since last October.

Ah, just imagine, championship courses at championship prices. Sometimes I even imagine that I'm Phil Mickelson, swashbuckler extraordinaire. But not that often. Phil always goes for it. Sometimes it costs him a major victory, but, at least in his case, it still pays off over the long run. I am no fool, however. Mostly, I'm in the game for a quarter a hole, and so far, my buddy Mike (to whom I give six or seven strokes per nine) is ahead by $2.50. Yesterday was a major defeat -- two dollars down; but today, I lost only 50 cents. And all of that because (no shame on Mike intended), I offered him the use of my 3 metal on the 17th hole, and he laced it to 12 feet from 200 yards. So who do I have to blame? Frankly, it was my own fault, and Mike has also been here since early January. Have to watch that guy every second! Tomorrow morning, bright and early, Mike and I are headed out to the local golf outlets to let him buy his own goddamn 3 metal!

But this blog is not about my personal humiliations. It is more about the joys of being out there in the fresh air, the camaraderie of good companionship, the competition, catching the rays, sometimes even with thunder clouds looming, while still reveling in SC's 68 degree weather as opposed to NY's 30 degree icy depths. And then there's the wonderful wildlife.

Yes folks, the gators are already out of hibernation. I'm told that global warming has nothing to do with it, but lazy alligators sunning themselves in the fairways and on front lawns in mid-February does make one wonder...

Yesterday, on the back nine at Arthur Hills in Palmetto Dunes, Mr. Ten-foot himself was relaxing across the way. His appearance, of course, reminded our playing partner in the opposing twosome to retell a story of how she nearly walked backwards into the gaping jaws of death. It was only the loud hissing noise of warning from three feet away that brought her out of her hypnotic golfing trance; and from there she suddenly (at age 45 or thereabouts) ran the next 50 yards in under six seconds. Alligators are scary creatures. I too have been hissed at, but that was last spring. I mean, after all, a five iron can be an effective weapon if called upon -- not that that happened to me. The sucker simply was too close to my ball.

Today's foursome allowed our group to watch two amorous raccoon squirrels, flaunting their sexuality right there on the 15th hole. We had a confrontation of sorts. Once again, we were paired with complete strangers; strangers who became, as usual, fast friends over the course of the four plus hours that it takes to play 18 holes of golf. This time the randy squirrels were brought to abrupt attention by the loud thumping on the ground from our fellow player's driver on the ladies tee. Everyone came to attention and the squirrels suddenly stopped, frozen in time, at her order to behave. Then she hit her drive and the entire gallery was dismissed. Those squirrels knew what they were up against!

Playing a round of golf at Hilton Head National is a pleasure. It is scenic and delightful; it is a constant challenge, with unexpected obstacles at each turn of every dogleg. It was very nice to hear the delightful calls of the cardinals, the quiet "who, who" of the owl in the adjoining forest, and observing anhingas drying their wings amidst the pampas grass while searching for Mr. Bridgestone RX-330.

Yes, there is more to golf than snapping a drive 235 yards down the left side, then hitting an approach onto the green or possibly sinking a 20 footer. But don't you believe any of that stuff. Golf is all about hitting it stiff, and knocking your opponent on his keister.

Golfers never, ever talk about that aspect of the game though. We are civilized and content to wax eloquently about those magical 8 irons that drop dead to the hole after being caught up in the flag itself. It's what keeps bringing us back, in spite of those insolent reptiles...

Stay calm and carry on,

Paul on Hilton Head Island, SC
http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
http://loucksap.smugmug.com
http://madstop68.blogspot.com

South of the Border

If you live on the east coast and drive south for vacations or holidays, it is inevitable that you will spend at least part of your time on I-95. I call I-95 the "beat your brains out" highway. Not only does traffic speed along between 75-80 mph on average, the scenery, compared to the Grand Canyon, would be on a 1-10 basis (with 10 as high) rated as a minus 25. Virginia and North Carolina along I-95 are frankly undistinguishable from one vast strip mall, an endless array of chain discount houses, fast food restaurants and countless billboards.

All of this changes, though, when one hits the South Carolina border. After the border, the scenery to Florence begins improving, relatively speaking, to continuous pine forests and rural wetlands. It is a new environment that reminds one of copperheads, rattlesnakes and gators. We finally exit I-95 after hundreds of miles on I-95 at South Carolina SR 462, the Coosaw Scenic Drive, which eventually connects to the primary highway to Hilton Head Island.

But enough of the downside of I-95...

There is one feature along America's main artery to Florida that delights me every time I make the now annual trek to Hilton Head. It is called South of the Border. Pedro's, as it is also known, is the first, and I mean first landmark one encounters in South Carolina. Actually, one can even see Pedro's towering sombrero during the final two miles of North Carolina.

South of the Border at <http://www.thesouthoftheborder.com/> begins to make its presence known long before however. About 100 miles north of the border, generally above Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Pope AAB, new themed billboards suddenly begin appearing beside the southbound lane. They are not like the Burma Shave signs of grandpa's day, since they do not relay a serial message that depends upon viewing the next sign, and the next and the next.

These signs are enticements drawing you to visit Pedro's South of the Border, and they are big and garish. I will now give you the complete rundown of the best signs we noticed alluring us to visit Pedro's:

103 miles: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet! South of the Border
85 miles: Free Air, Water & Advice! South of the Border
76 miles: Caliente! Pedro's South of the Border
76 miles: Fort Pedro, Rocket City. South of the Border
71 miles: Good Stuff is Hard to Find! South of the Border
67 miles: A Little Razzle, A Lot of Dazzle! Pedro's
58 miles: No Shoot Ze Bull... South of the Border
31 miles: Greetings from South of the Border
29 miles: Keep Yelling Kids (They'll Stop!) South of the Border
26 miles: 300 Luxury Rooms, South of the Border
26 miles: Something !tnerefeeD (Deeferent!) South of the Border
25 miles: FIREWORKS! So Loud it Hurts! Pedro's South of the Border
23 miles: South of the Border Motor Hotel
19 miles: World's #1 Miniature Golf! South of the Border
16 miles: Reptile Lagoon! South of the Border
16 miles: Pedro's Campground. Helping People Relax Since 1949
15 miles: Camp Pedro
12 miles: Too Much Tequila! South of the Border
11 miles: You Never Sausage a Place (You're Always a wiener at Pedros)
7 miles: Kids Love Pedros!
7 miles: Fort Pedro/Rocket City
5 miles: Fuel for You and Your Truck. Pedro's Diner and Truck Stop
3 miles: Fireworks! So loud it Hurts. Pedro's
2 miles: Pedro's All New Around the World Shop
1 mile: Give Pedro the Business
1 mile: Hats Around the World. Pedro's South of the Border
.5 mile: Pedro's Silver Slipper Indoor Flea Market
.3 mile: It's Always Sundae at Pedro's
Ground zero: Welcome to Pedro's South of the Border
.5 mile beyond: Back up Amigo!

So there you are -- mile by mile being drawn in to the Tackiest Theme Park in America (a biased judgment on my part). Mindy was dabbling with Facebook on her iPad. I was listening to tunes from my iPod connected through the entertainment system. We zoomed right on by. See ya Pedro!

Someone on Facebook asks Mindy where we are. She says, "We just passed Pedro's South of the Border -- now in SC.

Her friend Jan immediately writes: "And you didn't stop?!"

Mindy replies: "Paul refused to..."

Her friend Bonnie replies: "What a curmudgeon!" Obviously, Bonnie has never driven past Pedro's...

And so it goes. Maybe next time Pedro.

Stay calm and carry on,

Paul, now on Hilton Head Island, SC until April
http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
http://loucksap.smugmug.com
http://madstop68.blogspot.com