Today is October 1. As we count down to the great Irish holiday Halloween, it's important to remember that all monsters don't wear masks...
For 25 years, I worked with Peter von Kleist at Avery Corporation. The "von" in his name means that his family is German royalty. He once had an old lady show up at his house claiming to be a German princess when he was a boy. He said his dad allowed her to live with them for years before finally tossing her out. It seems that German royalty doesn't have any money since the Kaiser's downfall... Pete said that he once attended a business meeting where he was the only American in the room. Most of the men were Germans and when he was introduced, as Peter von Kleist, the men let out a gasp of recognition and every one of them stood, and moved toward him to shake his hand... It seems that Peter is the grandson of one of the greatest military heroes in German history: Field Marshal Paul von Kleist. His grandfather was a hero of both WWl and WWll. He was one of the architects and field commanders of the invasions of France, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. When he stood up to Hitler, he was fired. After the war, he was captured by the Americans, handed over to the British, and died in a Soviet prison. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist - Wikipedia
Another reason the name von Kleist is sacred to modern Germans is this guy: Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin - Wikipedia He was a lawyer who was allied to British spy Admiral Canaris and carried messages to London and Berlin for the plotters against Hitler. When the assassination failed in July, 1944, he was executed by being hung on a meat hook and strangled with piano wire. His death was filmed for Hitler's pleasure. Pete said that copies of the film as well as photographs have been given to his family by the modern German government...
Not sure if this should be in the Sports forum or here. But I got it from a history site so posting here. https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/08/27/al-davis-oakland-raiders-nfl-100-seasons
Bob's vid: "Riding my bike in the snow seems like a great idea! Aha... look at those folks having a bit of a frolic... I'll just easy between..." Great stuff!
Here is an amazing discovery. I was unaware of it's existence until this morning! In this small, biopic of the Booth family, someone found an actual recording of the voice of Edwin Booth made in 1890. It's a very deep and theatrical voice, which is hardly surprising. It has been said that Edwin Booth and his brother Wilkes had nearly identical voices; very similar to their father Junius Brutus Booth. Indeed, when the soldiers surrounded the burning tobacco barn, they recognized Wilkes Booth by his deep, theatrical voice, before they ever saw him.
The Discovery Chanel began running their new "Lost Lincoln" discovery on October 4. This is a must see. Someone has uncovered an actual photo of Lincoln's corpse, on his death bed, before the corpse was moved. It seems to be authentic. Please watch for this show on the Discovery Chanel and let me know what you think.
Love this topic and still have some catching up to do. Thanks JO'Co. Here's a lengthy article on Harpers Ferry. Reading it is interesting, long but interesting. I have to admit that I didn't ave a real understanding about this part of our history. Re-evaluating John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry
That was an excellent article and familiar territory for me. It was part of the course that I taught. It shows two fundamental misunderstandings that led directly to the Civil War: 1. Northern belief that white southerners would retreat from an armed conflict to free the slaves. 2. Southern belief that northerners would never fight to preserve a "united states of America" rather than the casual collection of sovereign states that they believed in. The first is almost laughable. To this day, the south is the most militarized section of the country, with many families having long traditions of military service and support stretching all the way back to the very beginning of the country itself. The idea that they would peacefully allow the immediate destruction of their entire economy and culture was never realistic. The second is also strange to modern understanding. The white southerners seemed to know nothing at all of northern customs and culture. When they fired on Fort Sumter, most southerners thought the war was over. What actually happened was Sumter's flag was neatly folded; ceremoniously guarded, and transported on a ship to New York Harbor...... where it was greeted by over half a MILLION Yankees; cheering, singing patriotic songs, weeping, and shouting their threats to kill anyone who had dared to fire on that flag. A parade marched the flag down to Central Park, where it was hoisted up next to the statue of George Washington. It remained there, honored and guarded around the clock for four years. It was returned on the same ship, with the same soldiers who had been forced to surrender and raised back up the same flag pole as every cannon that had fired on it was forced to fire a salute to it. That ceremony was held on April 14, 1865, the day Mr. Lincoln was murdered. I think John Brown was just part of the ignorance of those times. I firmly believe that we can avoid future civil wars by educating ourselves......especially about those Americans who disagree with us.
Finally read the article about the photo and my bad I didn't do it in time to watch the documentary. I wouldn't have any idea what to believe or not to believe. The photo looks authentic to me and I have to wonder who would fake it and why. Did you watch it JO' Co and if so what did you think?
I saw the Lincoln video and it was convincing. My son-in-law stopped by today on his way home from Nevada and it was the first thing that he wanted to talk about. I'd like a few more guys here to see it and chime in before I give my opinion. Even the experts are divided on this one. I'll probably post my opinion after Halloween.
Sumter flag cheered by crowds in Central Park, NY. Photograph of the crowds cheering Old Glory. Raising the Sumter flag on the same flag pole, April 14, 1865...