How Asia Booth Saw Her Brother

In her gentle autobiography and memoir about growing up with her brother John Wilkes Booth, Asia Booth treated him with kindness, respect and love.  She claimed that she was not being an apologist for him in spite of his assassinating Abraham Lincoln, which she was sure would bring her whole family to eventual ruin.  Instead, she stated that she simply wished that the country would be served by illuminating another side of her brother, of which they were unaware and that the our nation would find in its collective heart a way to forgive and heal from its wound.  At the conclusion of my manuscript "John Wilkes Booth Before the Civil War", I quote one of her lines of tender mercy, as she recalled a happier time of their youth together. Asia descrbed her brother Wilkes as "lover of nature, tender with bugs, etc."  A glimpse of John Wilkes Booth that many historians tend to ignore.

Uber Smuber

This past week, Uber tested a proto-type of the driverless vehicles they plan to use in the future.  On the Sunday morning news today, I saw the CEO of Lyft being interviewed and saying that they plan on offering the same services as Uber.  The Lyft dude thought driverless vehicles would be the norm within 10 years.  I watched with great interest because I drive for Uber now, and was curious about how soon they plan on replacing me with a robot.  I did a little digging and came across an article I wrote for Machine Design Magazine way back in 2005.  This article describes manless robotic vehicles too.  Back then, DARPA (the research arm of the Department of Defense) had been mandated by the Congress of the United States to make 30% of its vehicles driverless by the year 2015.  That didn't happen either.  I am sharing the link to the article for my techie friends.  If you aren't a techie, you will probably not enjoy the article.

http://machinedesign.com/archive/making-robotic-cross-country-racer

Nazi Fun Facts--Nazi Rock Star, Hermann Goering

A fascinating thing happened at the Nuremburg Trials after WWII.  Immediately after he first testified, preaching German propaganda from the witness stand and outshining the US Prosecutor, the despicable, vain, greedy and funny Nazi war criminal, Hermann Goering began to receive thousands of letters in the form of fan mail, which he was never allowed to read.  The messages were all similar with phrases like, "Way to go Herman", "Hang tough Hermann", (unintentional double entendre), "Keep ;your chin up", etc.  These letters came from all over the world, not just Germany.  This iconic idol and caricature of a human being was admired for his wit and humor in spite of all his flaws by people in America,as well as remote places on the globe.

Reduced Price Again--Now only asking $2500

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© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap

Lot Buxton Oaks Lane at Hwy 12

(google map)

1997 Wilderness

fuel: other
transmission: other

• safety tips
• prohibited items
• product recalls
• avoiding scams

Reduced again from $3900 to $2900 to current price of $2500. Final offer, cash only, As Is. Beautiful RV Park, lot rent only $4300 per year or $358 per month. 35 ft.,dual axle, self contained with shower, vanity, sink, storage, and commode. Separate master br with queen sized bed. Older model but in very good condition. View of Pamlico Sound from either deck on a shaded lot, a real rarity on the island. Must see it to believe. Lots of storage space and a lot of extras thrown in. Turn key situation with silverware, cooking pots and pans, camping equipment etc included in the price. I will be down on Labor Day Weekend to sell it. If it doesn't sell now, the price will revert back to $3900 and must be viewed from whatever storage lot I park it in Hatteras, or the Richmond area. If you are serious about it, call my cell phone rather than texting. This is a one weekend deal.
do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers

I'd give it away but my wife won't let me.

1. View of the Pamlico Sound
2. Shady lot right next to the woods
3. Dirt Cheap
4. All the extras like silverware, camping equipment, cookware thrown in for free.

Great neighbors in a year-round campground in Paradise.  Who could ask for anything more?  Most inquiries want to know lot rent etc.  $4300 yearly or $358 per month.  Must have good credit either way. I am selling the trailer AS IS and cash only.  Kevin Morris of Morris Mobile RV Service in Buxton says it is in good enough condition to move, but I believe that the ideal buyer will want to keep it where it is for the next 10-20 years.  It's an older model, but still in great shape, but it has been on the island for a few years now.  Keeping it where it is avoids the expense of new tires and DMV etc.  I am posting this as a public post to Facebook, so please, please, please FB friends, reshare this like crazy.  My lease runs out at the end of August.  I don't want to fool with moving it again.  I didn't get to use it enough last year to get my money's worth, so my best option is to sell it now and regret it later.  I couldn't find this deal in a million years if I was trying to find it.  So come on.  Take advantage of me.  Buy it today.  I am including the craigslist link.  If you can't use the link for some reason, the path you can use to find it on craig'slist is  Craigslist--Richmond--for sale--RV's.  Then under options, type in the dollar amount as minimum $2900 and maximum $2900.  After that, when you click on "search" it pops up.  More pics and details at the craig'slist site.  You can call me on my cell at 804-586-8617 but please don't bother me unless you are serious about buying it.  I'm frustrated because I went down the last two weekends to show it and neither party could buy it.  One guy gave me a deposit but his wife would not allow it to happen and the other person did not have a good enough credit rating to rent the lot and she didn't have enough money to buy the trailer for cash and have any money left over to move it. Help me out guys, time is running out on my lease.  https://richmond.craigslist.org/rvs/5685535752.html

Yesterday I made a post directly to Facebook requesting that my friends "like, comment, share" or to either call or email me about details, or to buy the trailer. I made a similar appeal on Facebook through my Return of the Moops blog.  I did that at about 9AM.  Today, as of 4:20 AM, between the two posts, there have been 8 likes, two comments and 5 shares.  I am a little disappointed.  I made an appeal because I really needed help with the time left on my lease being so short.  So here is another appeal directly to my Facebook friends. Please help me sell my trailer by sharing this post with your circle of friends on Facebook.  I am assuming that there a lot of friends of friends that I don't know who may be interested.  It's is better to assume that than to assume that my Facebook friends are not really friends.  Regardless of my disappointment, the demographics of the people who responded are quite interesting.  All three of my sons shared the post.  All of the respondents were males, with the exception being my wife.  All of the respondents were either family members or former athletes from Atlantic Christian College, with the exception of one person being a former co-worker. Of the Atlantic Christian College athletes, two were on the basketball team and one was on the baseball team.  All of the people who responded were white, with the exception of one African American.  Only two responders were under 30 years old. None of my old friends from Henrico High School or the Northminster Baptist Church youth group responded, which kind of surprised me.  I can't waite to see what develops today.  As of now, I would like to thank Allen Searson, Robert Pegues, Joe Murray, and David Phares for helping me out.

Fantastic RV in Paradise

I really need some help from my friends.  My lease at Buxton Oaks RV Park runs out at the end of August and  I would like to find a buyer for my RV before that time is up.  I have priced it way below market value.  I am only asking $2900 for it.  You can't find a decent used pop-up for that amount.  Its on a lot with a large double level deck, which has a view of the Pamlico Sound from either one.  It is well shaded, right next to the woods on two sides, which is very rare and valuable on Hatteras Island. The trailer is an older model, but has been kept in great shape and serviced locally.  If I was looking for a deal this good, I would not be able to find it in a million years.  The lot rent is $4300 per year, or $358 per month and includes water and sewer in that price. The owner will require a application if you pay yearly, quarterly or monthly.  The campground is well groomed and  is a quiet, family oriented place which is open all year.  This is an ideal situation for a retiree or for some guys from an anglers club etc.  Please like and share this post and help me sell this trailer.  You can look at a bunch of pictures and learn more details at the craigslist site.  Just search for the Richmond, Sales, RV section and enter $2900 as your minimum and maximum price.  It will be the only post that shows up with that criteria.  Thanks for your help.  Please like and share as much as you can.
https://richmond.craigslist.org/search/rva?min_price=2900&max_price=2900

Truth Stranger Than Fiction Over and Over Again

John Wilkes Booth photographed by Charles Deforest Fredricks circa January 1860

This is an excerpt from a manuscript I wrote a couple of years ago for a class I took at University of Richmond. The title of the manuscript is "John Wilkes Booth Before the Civil War".   I have been unable to find any trace of this original material from the Governor's website (one of my resources) during a few recent searches.  However, these quotes are in their original form and exactly as I found them at the time that I was writing this manuscript.  We all know that now Bobby Mac has larger fish to fry and now is taking a lot of heat for other actions during his reign over the State of Virginia.  Since the writing of this material is dated from a couple of years ago, it is unlikely that the reader will be able to find any official web site from the state of Virginia with this information.

Excerpt:

On April 14, 2010. the headlines read, "Breaking:  Bob McDonnell Declares John Wilkes Booth Day in Virginia".  147.  The  article stated,

"In conjunction with his declaration of April as Confederate History Month Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell declared today John Wilkes Booth Day  in the state of Virginia.  'Booth was not only one of the brightest stars of the American stage in the antebellum era,' noted McDonnell, 'but he was a member of the stock company of Richmond Theatre in Virginia and often said to be the most handsome man in America.  I am also proud to honor Booth,'  the Governor added, 'for his military service with the Richmond Grays.'  McDonnell seemed nonplussed when pressed on whether it was appropriate to honor the murderer of the sixteenth President of the United States on the 145th anniversary of the crime. 'Mr. Booth was a fine actor and a true Southern gentleman.  With this proclamation I honor him for those parts of his career that are most important to Virginians."  148

It was one of those "truth is stranger than fiction" moments and it passed almost unoticed.  McDonnell probably wasn't the only one who was "nonplussed" when reading this announcement in the newspapers.  The fact that the governor was questioned on it, probably means that some staffer was later grilled for not filling the governor in on the full story.  One would hope that the governor would know the full story about the Lincoln assassination and that maybe honoring an assassin on the anniversary date of his act of assassination could be deemed by others as inappropriate.  However inappropriate, the proclamation was made and one can only assume that the McDonnell administration didn't know any better, or that they didn't care that they were dispensing political dynamite.  Today, no mention of John Wilkes Booth can be found on the governor's official web site, so somebody must have eventually been informed that they made a serious error.  Surprisingly, what McDonnell took heat for at that time was something else completely-- when proclaiming April to be Confederate History Month, he failed to give the institution of slavery its due.  Now, the new and improved version of the proclamation gives slavery its own "WHEREAS".  On the Proclamation page of the Governor's official web site, it now reads,

"Whereas" it is important for all Virginians to understand that the institution of slavery led to this war and was an evil and inhumane practice that deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights and all Virginians are thankful for its permanent eradication from our borders, and the study of this time period should reflect upon and learn from this painful part of our history:  149.

As absurd as it may seem, now as part of Confederate History Month, Virginia has the distinction of being the only state in the Union to have an official John Wilkes Booth Day.

   

But what does the title really mean?

The title, Return of the Moops, is an oblique reference to the Seinfeld episode called the Bubble Boy.  George Costanza was playing Trivial Pursuit with the Bubble Boy.  It was Bubble Boys turn to answer.  The question came up, " who invaded Spain in the 7th century"? The correct answer is of course, the Moors.  But as fate would have it, the game card had a misprint which simply read "The Moops". So when Bubble Boy answered George, with "The Moors",  George smiled smugly and said, "oh no Bubble Boy, it was The Moops" .  This agitated the Bubble Boy so much that he ended up calling George a jerk and in an ensuing struggle, popped the bubble.  This then resulted in the Bubble Boy being carted off on a stretcher at the end of the episode.  

Now the question remains, can anyone see the relevance of the title in today's world?  Hint: just look at the Islamization of Europe and the current modus operandi of ISIS, who studiously imitate the practices of Mohammed and the converted Berbers (Moors) who conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the 7th Century.  I have actually met people  from Europe recently who believe that everything is just fine regarding the spread of Islam on their continent.  These people are doomed and are too ignorant to realize it.  All you have to do is watch a 10-minute Vice News video on You Tube of a European journalist embedded with ISIS troops to understand their intentions.  Since I was a child, I remember Europeans saying that Americans were naive.  I would like to quote Michael Corleone from the movie "Godfather" here.  "Who's being naive now, Kay?"

Tennis Collage

If the match doesn't get rained out, I will be shooting (photos) Midlothian High School Women's Tennis team today.

Nazi Stuff for Memorial Day--Photos Added

 Albert Speer

Baldur von Schirach

A couple of Nazi fun facts to honor our dead, who fought against that evil regime.  At the Nuremburg trials after WWII, only two Nazi leaders denounced Hitler:  Architect, Albert Speer and Hitler Youth Leader and Gauleiter of Vienna, Baldur von Schirach.

German officer's joke after D-day; if you see a white plane, it's American, a black plane, it's British, but if you see no planes at all, it's the Luftwaffe.

According to the diary of Goebbels, one of Hitler's worst character traits was procrastination.  Never in a million years would I have suspected that without reading it from a source who would be in a position to know.

Lebanese Food Festival

Me and my new pal, Congressman Dave Brat, just chillin' at the Lebanese Food Festival

Collage of Allen Searson of Atlantic Christian College

I am hoping that some of the other basketball players from the last reunion will see this and want one just like it.  I made this one using images that were a long way from pristine condition.  They were from sources like yellowed newspapers from the 1970's, scans from old yearbooks, etc.  I also noticed at the last reunion that most of the former players were wearing nicer shoes and driving newer cars than me.  So come on guys, contact me to request one just like it, and I'll figure out a way to charge you too much money for one.  Start looking in the closet and digging up those old glory photos of yesteryear.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Captain Sally Tompkins

I posted a few facts about Captain Sally LouisaTompkins, CSA, earlier today on Facebook.  I stated that she was the only woman commissioned as an officer of the Confederacy.  Since publishing that post this morning, I found another source to claim that she was one of only two, the other, going by the name of Lucy Otey.  At any rate, Sally Tompkins was 28 years old and living in Richmond, Virginia when the Civil War started.  Once it began, a  gentleman named Judge John Robertson moved his family to the seemingly safer counrtyside and offered his Richmond home as a hospital for Sally to run as she saw fit.  As a member of St. James Episcopal, Sally worked lock-step with other ladies from the church, who volunteered their services and money to the newly christened, Robertson Hospital.

For the duration of the war, Robertson Hospital under the command of Captain Sally Louisa Tompkins, maintained the lowest mortality rate of any hospital, North or South.  Early on, Confederate President Jefferson Davis mandated that Confederate hospitals operate under the authority of the Confederate States government, and so he commissioned Sally Tompkins as an officer to enable the Confederacy to retain her ability to save more lives than anybody else.  It should be noted that while Captain Tompkins accepted the commission, she refused any pay for her nursing labors.  Scholars believe that her success rate was so great because of almost fanatical sanitation practices and liberal applications of turpentine to open wounds.  This is very interesting in light of the fact that bacteria had not yet been discovered.  Famous diarist, Mary Chestnut called Captain Sally "Our Florence Nightingale".  Captain Sally Tompkins remained in Virginia until the end of her life in 1916 and was buried at Christ Church in Matthews County.

Return of the Moops: Nazi Fun Facts

Return of the Moops: Nazi Fun Facts: You know that obtrusive, yellow, six-pointed, Star of David that every Jew in Nazi Germany had to wear?  Of course you do...everybody does. ...

Nazi Fun Facts

You know that obtrusive, yellow, six-pointed, Star of David that every Jew in Nazi Germany had to wear?  Of course you do...everybody does.  Turns out that the practice did not start in Germany during the 1930's at all.  Nope, King Edward I of England, nicknamed the Longshanks, (yep, that king portrayed in the movie "Braveheart") started that practice after coming to power in 1272.  Ironic since there were only about 3,000 Jews in England at the time.  Longshanks rounded up all the heads of each Jewish household to boot and had them executed.  According to one source that number was "about 300" and to another source, "269".  Longhanks for good measure didn't mind torturing Jews or more importantly, extorting money from them to finance his military exploits against the Scots.  He eventually kicked them out of the country, foreshadowing practices of Hitler's Germany. This time frame is right in the middle of The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise, that period of history in Spain that Obama keeps lying to us about, refering to the benevelent rule of Isam on the Iberian peninsula, or Islam's Golden Age, but that's another story for tomorrow.

The Right to Bear Arms

The Right to Bear Arms

A friend of mine, Jim Rogers, posted somthing on Facebook about "the Right to Bear Arms" and then talks about shoelaces.  Now, I don't know what shoelaces have to do with the price of tea in China, but, I'm 61 years old, and been runnin' around every pig path North of the James River for all that time, and ain't nobody from the government offered me no free bear arms in all that time.  I been faithfully payin' my taxes and everything, but ain't nobody said "boo".  My wife and son's ain't seen squat from the government either and they are all here legally too.  It's supposed to be a right we have from the second amendment, sure as God made the night dark.  Now, I've never eaten bear arms, but I'm willing to try if someone from the government will show me how to skin 'em just once.  Donald keeps promising us that he is going to protect the second amendment, while Hillary keeps promising to abolish it, along with the coal industry.  I don't know about you, but free bear arms and cheap coal are better than no free bear arms and no coal.  I can't stand either one of those politicians but from where I'm standin', cheap coal and free bear arms are better than none.  Maybe it's like the French benefits I keep hearing about all my life.  At every new job I start, somebody from the HR department tells me about how good the French benefits are, but in all my years, I ain't never seen no check from the French government either.  Maybe they send that money to somebody else.  I'm sure I would've known the check was from France, because I think they would write the check out in French numbers and letters.  I guess we borrow French money or something, or don't qualify unless we hit some kind of quota at each company.  Anyway, I ain't never seen neither one.  If anyone from Facebook has gotten their free bear arms, please let me know how to do it.  Even if I don't like the taste, I can make necklaces with the claws like the old guy in "Jeremiah Johnson".

Late Christmas Story

This past Christmas fell on a Friday.  The Tuesday before Christmas, I was out hustling fares for Uber in the late afternoon.  I had been out since 4:00 AM, so I was looking for a good time to head home and avoid the rush hour traffic, as I headed to I-95 South to Colonial Heights.  Richmond's downtown traffic was starting to pick up and I was thinking maybe I "needed one more fare to make my night", just like the Harry Chapin song.  I was on Canal St. when I got a ping to pick up a customer off Tredegar.  GPS told me to turn left and head back the opposite way down Byrd.

 I arrived a few minutes later on the red brick road in front of a high rise right next to the river. There was a lone person standing out front where WAZE had told me to make my pick-up.  It was a young fella', I'm guessing around 20-something.  He was casually dressed, very polite and considerate.  Unlike a lot of my Uber customers, he jumped right in to the front seat of my truck.  I introduced myself and we headed to his destination.

He was headed to the near West End to pick up his BMW which was in the shop for repairs on West Broad.  As usual, GPS wanted to route me on the Downtown Expressway.  As we were heading out, the young gentleman asked me about the tolls.  I told him not to worry about tolls because Uber would reimburse me.  He seemed concerned that I would have to put out my own 70 cents to get him to his destination.  He was very sincere about this and I assured him a second time that the toll was not a big deal.  Since he worked in a high rise in finance and was in his twenties and on his way to pick up his BMW from the shop, I deduced that he was a young go-getter and probably going places.  He was impressive and I was thinking that some girl was going to be very lucky to catch him.

He was especially congenial and easy to talk to and we immediately struck up a comfortable rapport.  We both enjoyed talking about Richmond History, food and our favorite restaurants. It was a short 15 minute commute, but the time passed much faster than that because of the good conversation.  As we were about to turn off of Broad St., I noticed that the auto repair shop was right next to Aunt Sarah's Pancakes.  I told the young man that this restaurant was one of  the best kept secrets in Richmond. "A few weeks ago, they were running a special of 3 large buttermilk pancakes for a buck, ninety-nine, and not only that, for a buck, fifty more you could add two pieces of Uncle John's famous honey dipped chicken with a side order of potatoes or fried apples--very refreshing for a city that charges $10 for a sandwhich just about everywhere you go."

I added that, "As a matter of fact, Aunt Sarah's was named for Sarah Dankos and the restaurant used to be owned by the Dankos family and I grew up with the Dankos boys."  My passenger looked surprised and said, "My mom grew up with the Dankos boys."  Now I was the one who looked surprised.

I asked, "Did your mom go to Henrico High School, by chance?" to which he replied, "yes".  I told him that I went to Henrico High School, so then I asked, "What year did your mom graduate?"  He thought a second and said, "1973".  I said, "Wait a minute, I graduated in 1973, what in the world is your mama's name?" and the young man replied, she used to be Marcia Riddell.

I started laughing and told the nice young man, whose name is Brandt, that not only did I go to High School with his mama, but we were actually in the same first grade class in 1961 at J.E.B. Stuart Elementary on Fendall Avenue, and that I also knew his Aunt Lynette and graduated a year behind his Uncle Clyde at Henrico.  It was a real "small world" after all story.

Brandt, is was very nice meeting you.  Your mom and dad, Aunt Lynette, Uncle Clyde and Uncle Doug have every reason to be very proud of how you turned out.  For me, meeting you was just an nice, extra Christmas present.  Thank you and I hope to see you around town in the future.