Hi, it’s Christina –
Happy Cinco de Mayo! To many
today is a day to drink Corona’s and chow down on Mexican food, but do you know
why Cinco de Mayo is celebrated? Is it a Mexican version of our Independence
Day? NOPE, they celebrate their Independence Day in September. On May 5, 1892
there was a battle in Puebla where the Mexican army had an unlikely win over
the French.
Perhaps we should copy our
Mexican friends and consider making October 19th a holiday here in
the States. Why October 19th you ask, well I’ll tell you. Back in
1781, we were still fighting our Revolution. Our troops were half starved,
sick, under clothed, under trained, out gunned, outmanned and moral was in the
hopper. Basically, after fighting for our independence for over five years, we
were in sad shape. Then, in the most perfect case of the heavens aligning if
there ever was one, the American and French troops were able to defeat the
British at Yorktown, changing the entire tide of the war. Actually, the battle
of Yorktown was the end to the Revolutionary War. The series of events which
lead to the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown are nothing short of amazing. The
man was on a roll, burning and destroying his way through the South. He was
unstoppable. Then, as if someone snapped their fingers and relinquished his
luck, it all went to hell in a hand basket. A series of unexplainable stupid
decisions, a witty young advisory and finally Mother Nature all conspired to
bring along Cornwallis’ downfall. It is really a fascinating story. You should
read about it sometime. Now are you thinking we should probably be celebrating
October 19th here in the US?
Can you tell where we visited
yesterday? Yup, Yorktown. It was cold and drizzling and basically was the same
thing we had seen in Jamestown, so I was getting a little cranky. My husband
suggested we grab some lunch and then head over to the Yorktown Battlefield,
the last of the four places our tickets covered. At that point, the last thing
I wanted to see was a lumpy field with a bunch of flags sprinkled about it, but
I agreed. After a really good bowl of chowder, my good humor was restored and
we headed to the battlefield. When we arrived the ranger said, “The last tour
will be leaving in about fifteen minutes. It’s more talk than walk.” In my mind
I’m thinking, great we won’t have to hike across the entire battle field; we’ll
be in and out in less than an hour; I can deal. We wander around the museum for
ten minutes and then go meet the group at the grandfather clock at 2:15. Then
out comes Ranger Mac. I swear to you, the man is Bill Engvall’s long lost
brother. He had the entire group engaged in under a minute. We laughed our
butts off and learned a whole lot of history in what was supposed to be a forty-five
minute tour, but turned into an hour and forty-five minute tour. The man made
the $61 we paid for the four attraction pass all worth it.
Afterwards we even went to
explore the redoubts 9 & 10 as Ranger Mac had suggested. For some reason, I
decide to climb up on one. From the ground it looks like the cannons are firing
into the side of a hill, but upon closer inspection you can tell there are a
series of dips in the mounds of dirt where the cannons fire trough. So here I
am, standing on one of those dips which are maybe 2’ wide, 8’ drop in front of
me, probably closer to 15’ drop behind me and something catches my eye. I bend
down and carefully work the dirt away with my fingers. I doubt I would have
ever done this if had not visited historic Jamestown the day before and most of
Jamestown is an archaeological dig. So anyway, I work all the dirt, sand and
gravel away from the object and free it from its resting place, and low and
behold, I am holding an old piece of pottery in my hands. It’s just a tiny
piece, but you can tell it is pottery. I tell my hubby and he immediately
thinks I have lost my mind. I tell him I have to bring it to the rangers, and
he tells me do what I want but he’s staying in the car. Fine! I leave him there
(I can hear him laughing as I walk away) and bring my new found treasure to the
front desk. Yup, it’s pottery. Yup, it’s probably close to 300 years old. Nope,
they don’t want it. If they took it, it would go in a drawer somewhere never to
see the light of day again. More people would get to see it if I displayed it
at my home and told the story. Thank you for being honest. Enjoy your own
little piece of history. Have a nice day. So, I now have a tiny piece of
ancient American history, which I will display proudly on a bookshelf in my
home.
Wow, that was a long one today. I
better get this ball rolling, because I have to get packed up and start to head
home. Vacation is officially over. :(
Yesterday’s challenge:
You see a REALLY old couple walking hand in hand through the park. In
your mind you make up their story…
Jonathan and Zachary became buddies in Army boot camp. They trained
together, were sent overseas together, fought side by side through some of the
most horrific battles of World War I. During one of the battles Jonathan was
killed attempting to pull a wounded Zachary to safety. While recuperating in
the hospital, Zachary vowed, when he returned from the war, he would find Jonathan’s
family so he could tell them of their son’s heroics.
When the war was over, Zachary was able to make good on his vow and
traveled to Jonathan’s home town. He found Jon’s family, but he also found
Kate, Jonathan’s sweetheart. Zachary felt he knew Kate well, through what
Jonathan had told him and through the letters Kate had sent.
I didn’t get very far, sorry. Guess I’m a bit tired from vacationing. On
to the next one…
Your Day 19 Challenge is:
You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write.
Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what
someone else has written. Go.
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