Fun With Phrases

There are two long-used and well-worn phrases that we've probably all used at one time or another: 1) What in Sam Hill is ...?, or 2) Where in Sam Hill is ...? 

Do you know the origins of either of those phrases? Well, if you don't know and you care to read on, you're going to learn about the many possible origins.  You see, nobody has ever agreed on the actual one, but the possibilities are certainly strange and funny.

There are six different legends about "Sam Hill."   Here they are in no particular order or veracity.

1. Sam Hill was a mercantile store owner in Prescott, Arizona in the late 1800s, and he carried a diverse assortment of items for sale.  People started using the term, "What in Sam Hill is that?" in reference to something unusual that might have been in the store.
2. Writer H. L. Mencken suggested that the term derived from the name Samiel, which was the name given the devil in the Carl Maria von Weber opera,  Der Freischütz.  Sam Hill was a polite way of referring to the devil, as in, "What the devil...?"
3. A lesser known origin was with a early Connecticut legislator with that name who served in the state legislature between 1725 and 1752.  He was there so long that it resulted in a popular adjuration, "give 'em Sam Hill."  (Hmm, not exactly the same phrase, but close)
4. A good candidate for the origin lies with the story of a Michigan surveyor of the 1800s, Samuel W. Hill, who used such foul language in his everyday speech that his very name became a euphemism for swear words.  he was known to tell tall tales of his adventures in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and when someone retold the story, they substituted the sinless synonym , Sam Hill, for the words that weren't polite in mixed company.
5. You may recall that I visited a town along the Columbia River in Washington State on one of my trips out west.  The town, Maryhill, was the namesake of the daughter of its founder, Samuel Hill, a millionaire businessman known as "the Father of Roads" in the Pacific Northwest.  Some have attributed the phrases above to him but, since he lived in the 1900s, he was too late to have earned the honor.
6. The final recipient for the beginnings of the phrases is (was) the adjutant general of the State of Kentucky, Samuel Ewing Hill, who traveled to the eastern border of the state where it abutted West Virginia to investigate the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. That battle had been raging for over ten years and had claimed over a dozen lives. of family members.  The feud made national news, and the country waited for word of, "what in the Sam Hill was going on up there?"

Of all the possibilities, I like the second one best, because of the close similarity of the names, "Samiel" and "Sam Hill" and their association with the devil, once considered a swear word.  It also fits the time line more accurately for the origin of the phrases in the early 1800s.  So now you maybe learned a new way to cuss without drawing criticism from the holy-rollers, and you can use it in so many ways, as well.

By the way, all of this is available online with Wikipedia, but you probably never would have thought to look it up independently.

I think I'll go look up some other interesting phrases and cuss words that aren't,  phrases like "consarn it," "yer durn tootin," "dadgumit," "dagnabit," and "where in tarnation." Now that swearing and cussing is becoming common in everyday life, even promoted on TV and in movies, some of these might disappear, and that would really be a shame.

Man of Steel

I'm going to break the mold once again and write about our 'perfect' president, but this column won't be so much political as it will be cultural.  Multiculturalism is good, isn't it?

We, the American people, have put ourselves in a quandary that seems insoluble.  The problems we have with our government's actions, and more specifically our debate about those actions, are the cause of a lot of dissention, divisiveness and discord among the various factions of our society. 

You all know where my politics and philosophy lie, as I make no secret of it.  However, I'll wager that you don't know that I have no loyalty to any political party, or organization or group.  I quit the Republican Party years ago, and I absolutely refuse to join any other political party.  I also avoid like the plague the Tea Party or any other PAC group.

Like many others too numerous to count, I am opposed to the current administration, and have not yet, in over five years, seen anything come out of Washington that I like or even remotely agree with. 

Also, like those others, I hesitate to express my opinions in 'mixed' company for fear of offending someone.  Many of you good friends and relatives continue to state that any disrespect for President Obama shows disrespect for the office of the president and is not tolerated.  I disagree with that, but for now I'll let it ride.

If I, or anyone I know, says anything negative about our president's policies or actions, the first thing that seems to be thrown out is that we are being 'racist'.  It seems to be assumed that if we are against Obama, we must be 'racist' rather than opposed to ideas.

Here is the crux of our dilemma... We cannot oppose this man for anything he does, or else we must be given the epithet, RACIST.  End of discussion, end of debate, end of conversation.

You may correct me if I am wrong -- and I mean that literally, but I don't think anyone will be able to do so -- but to my recollection and my knowledge of history, the United States of America is alone in the world as the only nation to ever fight a civil war of the Caucasian Race over the freeing of the Negroid Race.  In the American Civil War we caused the death or maiming of about one third of our population. 

Think about that for a moment... Virtually every nation on earth, every civilization in the history of mankind, has had slavery of some kind and to some degree.  Some nations in Africa and Asia still practice some forms of slavery today, to wit, the young girls recently kidnapped in Nigeria. Yet, among all those diverse cultures, we are the only one to have fought, bled and died among the non-slave populace to free those who we were holding in chains.

What did we get for our trials and tribulation? We have the gall to label each other 'racist'.  And we further have the gall to label anyone who disagrees with a president who just happens to be of a minority race, with that epithet in order to silence them.

Come on, Folks, get real!  Do you really believe that mantra that any American wants to starve children, the poor and the downtrodden? Can you honestly believe that we are happy to see people live in filth and squalor here in America, or anywhere in the world?

Is it really possible that you think I want to take away anyone's Social Security benefits,

or their temporary lifelines such as welfare and  unemployment and food stamps? And

finally, do we, either side of the issues, really swallow the Kool-Aid that the other side is close-minded and uninformed? 

We are all Americans, and that means we are 'exceptional' in so many ways that the rest of the world cannot comprehend.  We should be a united people with similar goals and aspirations.  However, since the 1980s, or maybe the 1990s, we have become more and more polarized and hostile toward one another to a point where even families are divided over everything.

When the late Rodney King uttered those words, "Can't we all just get along?" it was prophetic, because it ushered in a new era where we definitely do not get along, and we now go out of our way to stifle debate and compromise. All sides have the position that, 'it's my way, or the highway."

One of our famous presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, once said, “Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”

Political?  I think not!  It is just good common sense.

A Confluence of Events

 Several events have coalesced over the past few weeks that make this column an apt addition to those I've published in the past on the subject of my philosophy and lifestyle. I'll get to those events in a moment.

Any of you who know me personally will know that I've had heart problems for many years.  What you don't know is that I have been living on borrowed time since I had my heart attack back in July of 2011.  On that trip into the hospital ER, I learned that my coronary arteries had pretty much turned to concrete.  The blockage that caused the MI was at 90+-percent, and no catheterization or balloon angioplasty was possible to relieve it and open those arteries. Essentially, my death sentence was pronounced that day with a indefinite timeframe.   My next heart attack will likely be my last one.

Now, as to when that event will occur, the jury is obviously still out.  I'm still on the green side of the grass.  My little Nitro stat pills do an adequate job of dilating the artery when I get angina attacks, and I've learned to take them as often as necessary when I get that bad feeling.  So far, so good.  I don't plan on going anytime soon, but I also know that I don't get to make that decision by myself.

Am I moribund?  Depressed?  Suicidal?  Heck no, I look forward to each new day, and I'm still planning road trips and how to achieve items on my bucket list. 

The referenced events include word that reached me recently that a former high school classmate had a bad fall down his cellar stairs back in January, breaking 2 vertebrae in his neck. During the examination at the hospital, X-rays and CT scan disclosed other problems; arterial fibrillation and a blocked coronary artery. A balloon angioplasty was performed and a stent – a mesh tube – was placed in the artery to keep it open.  He is now recovering at home, and has avoided a major stroke or MI, mainly due to his mishap on the stairs. He has a positive attitude about it, and a good sense of humor about the bad news/good news balance.

Next, I learned that my cousin has been diagnosed with very aggressive prostate cancer.  He will begin treatment next month, which I'm sure he doesn't anticipate with any glee.  He has taken steps to prepare, but the prognosis is usually fraught with lots of buts and ifs, doubts that no doctor can put to rest.  Again, the attitude is positive.

Penultimately, I started reading a novel about a man who learned that he had a heart condition called cardiomyopathy, a congenital disease that would soon be fatal.  He had a lot of the same type symptoms that I have, though I don't have that disease.  It did get me thinking about my mortality, however. 

And finally, I received a phone call out of the blue from a friend I hadn't spoken with for years.  His reason for calling was, in his exact words, "...just to see how you're doing these days."  Well, I informed him that I am doing just fine for a septuagenarian with coronary artery disease, among other ills and issues.

We are all approaching that last breath, but some of us have a better idea of when it will occur, and I always consider that on the plus side.  It helps to have some warning of impending ending, because you can make arrangements for yourself and those left behind.  If you are religious, you can make a choice for an ascending ending or a descending ending.  In that vein, I recently decided to put aside my grudges and feuds and practice forgiveness.  I've even finally forgiven my father.  And, on a lighter note, I've decided to let bygones be bygones and will no longer hold my ten-year grudge against Disneyland for the rotten day I had there in 2004.

Bad news always seems to come with something good, or, as the old saw goes, "behind every cloud there's a silver lining."  If I keep it up, maybe I'll make peace with my Maker, with whom (or is it Whom?) I've held a long-standing dispute. Other than that act of contrition, I like to think that I'm pretty well prepared for whatever befalls me. (pun intended)

 

First Flight

(This column is out of sequence, as it was intended for publication on Saturday, April 19, 2014)

I’ve spent the past week in Corolla, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  One of the highlights of that area is the Wright Brothers National Memorial.  If you ever get the opportunity to visit there, don’t miss the memorial, and try to make it in time to listen to one of the rangers give the talk on the first flight. 

I guarantee that you will learn facts that you never knew before, such as the reason why Kitty Hawk was chosen from a list of 126 sites the Wright brothers investigated for their experiment.  It was, after all, a remote location with a travel time of over a week from their Dayton, Ohio home and workshop. 

There were a number of seemingly insurmountable problems that delayed the planned flight, not the least of which was the failure of several mechanical and engine parts that required several trips back to Dayton for repairs. And what started out as an autumn test soon became a race to beat winter weather and to keep a promise to their families to be home by Christmas. 

The improbability of making that first powered flight was astronomical.  Even though the scientific aeronautical theories of the Wright brothers were spot on, use of a 12 horsepower engine against a 27 mph headwind on a takeoff platform of less than 100 feet gave very long odds on the 650 pound structure with a 188 pound man riding it ever making it off the ground.  Ask yourself what airplane of today could achieve that.

It took four attempts that day to make a flight long enough to be considered successful.  The brothers took turns with one at the controls while the other ran alongside the craft holding on to one wing to maintain balance – there were no wheels, as they would have added both weight and drag, and the “plane” rode a single rail as its only contact with the ground. Orville just happened to be the pilot on the successful, 852-foot, 29-second fourth attempt that put them in the record books.

Yes, the history of aviation might have been completely different if that flight hadn’t been a success.  The Wrights were nearly out of time, money and patience, and there were several others vying for the right to be the first.

Another interesting fact about the Wright Brothers’ first aircraft is that it didn’t even survive the day.  Shortly after the successful flight, the wind took hold of it and it cart wheeled across the field to its total destruction.  Any replica you see today in just that – a replica of the original.  There are two of them at the memorial, one inside the museum and another about a mile away just south of the Memorial Hill.

As a footnote, if you do visit the Wright Brothers Memorial, be advised that is actually isn’t located in Kitty Hawk, but is now in what has been incorporated at Kill Devil Hills, NC.  That land was all known as Kitty Hawk back in 1903.  It became Kill Devil Hills back in 1953, fifty years after the famous “First Flight.”

The North Rim

No, I'm not going to tell you about my trip to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, though that is a trip I've made and it is a most impressive sight and well worth the two-hour detour from US 89 at Bitter Springs, Arizona.  I want to describe another north rim that few people have visited.  It is harder to get to than the GCNR, and equally spectacular.

The destination I'm writing about is the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Western Colorado.  People who visit the Black Canyon National Park usually go to the south rim, which has paved roads, many overlooks and a nice visitor center.  It is a great place to see, and the views are very photogenic.  You are looking down 2,400 feet to the Gunnison River, and the striped black rock walls are unique.  However, those walls you're looking at form the north rim about a half mile away and they are vertically straight as opposed to the eroded and sloped walls of the south rim.

If you want to really see the Black Canyon, you should go to the primitive north rim.  It requires a long and arduous drive over narrow twisting road, and the last seven miles is unpaved -- at least it was the last time we went there.  You might also get caught up in a western cattle drive along the way , as we were.  A rancher was moving his herd to a new pasture and we wound up in amongst about 200 head of beef-on-the-hoof as they sallied along the road.

As I stated, the last few miles were dirt road, and then we came to the first of the five overlooks on that rim.  Each one requires a short hike out to it, and you're not likely to see anyone else there.  We did meet another couple, and the weird fact about them was that the man had acrophobia.  We watched him crawl the last ten yards out to the rim, quickly snatch a peek, and then crawl back away.  He said he just had to see it, but it scared the heck out of him (or words to that effect).

The reason he was so frightened is that, from the north rim you are standing on the edge of a precipice looking almost straight down to the river below.  There is a heavy metal railing, of course, but it is still a sight to behold.  The reason the north rim doesn't erode like its neighbor to the south is that it has the benefit of the warm sunlight to quickly melt any frost and ice.  It has remained pretty much as it was formed millions of years ago.

The Gunnison River has lots of bends in it, so most of the rock walls you can see from the south rim are viewable from the north rim overlooks as well.  You might also see some rafters traversing the river below, or rock climbers across the canyon.

This is a typical view from the overlooks on the north rim.  The river is 2,400 feet below.

It is pretty easy to differentiate between the north and south rims.

We watched a ranger operation on the south rim from our vantage point, one that is not widely reported, though it happens often.  It was a recovery mission for some tourists who had ventured out too far on the south rim and apparently lost their footing.  They fell several hundred feet to their demise, and the park rangers had to rappel down to recover the bodies.

I've included a video of a location very similar to the Black Canyon, except this one is in the Himalayas in Asia.  The scenery is very similar, but there are no guard rails, and this road is not on the rim, but along the cliff face.  It gives you some idea of what the live view is looking straight down to the river.

If you want to visit the south rim, you can do it on the same day, but it is about 80 miles by road to get there, and the road, Route 92, is a scary drive, as well, with huge dropoffs and no guardrails. It does have one rest area overlooking the Morrow Point Reservoir and, if you're there at the right time of year, a great view of the snow-covered Rockies. Be sure to stop there and take some pictures. 

I've included a link to the Road Trip America article I wrote about getting to Black Canyon's North Rim.  It has more information about routes and sights.  If you ever get the chance to see this natural wonder, don' t pass it up.  And, if you are adventurous enough to go to the north rim, you will be rewarded with views and scenery twice as good as that of the tourist entrance across the canyon.  Don't forget to stop and say "hello" to the park ranger who resides in the station near the western-most north rim overlook; he doesn't get a lot of company.

The Masters

This was a wonderful week for me, starting with a Sunday visit to The Augusta National Golf Club to watch the Drive Chip & Putt Finals.  88 youngsters between the ages of 7 and 15 competed for eight trophies and titles.  What was so great for them was that it was held at the pinnacle of the golf world and the home of The Masters.

This was my first time ever at the golf course. It is a walled fortress that is impenetrable from view or entry by non-members without a high-priced and highly valued ticket that is only available by inheritance, lottery, or, in the worst case scenario, scalping.

Tickets to the four-day main event are priced at $1000+ per day, and four-day badges are passed from generation to generation in wills -- I'll bet those family squabbles are legend.  That I was able to get on the grounds, albeit in a limited venue of the practice tees and greens, the ninth and eighteenth greens and the first tee, for the miraculous price of $25, was a Godsend to me. 

Some of the pros were on hand for their opening practice rounds, though for me that was not exceptional, since I've met and checked in many of them during my active years at American Airlines.  Some were new to me, including those with names like Darren, Mark, Fuzzy, and Vijay, among others.  I was close enough to shake hands, or get an autograph -- but that was prohibited.

The stars of the day were the kids who competed for the prizes, and their families were as excited, if not more so, than they were.  Some very diminutive boys and girls hit some monster drives and made some picture-perfect chips and putts.  Even those who didn't win were a treat to watch, and I'm certain they will carry the memory of Augusta for the rest of their lives.  Some are bound to return as pros someday, as well.

Look at the picture below and just imagine what it would be like for this 8-year-old to be teeing off on this fantastic golf course in front of thousands of spectators.  What a thrill for him and for his dad, who was also there and right behind him. Some of those kids hit the ball well over 200 yards and kept it inbounds, a feat that I rarely achieved in my golfing days. 

Jeff, my son-in-law, was drawn into a conversation with one of the gallery guards, who gave him some excellent advice and pointers on how to apply for that honor.  Jeff is all fired up now and ready to do it, though it takes several tries and up to eight years to gain acceptance.  Of course, one of the benefits is that you get to play the course after the tournament is over and before they close it for maintenance.

So, another item has been crossed off my bucket list, although I still want to return for the actual tournament if time and fortune permit.  The Masters this year promises to be one of the best ever, and the weather forecast is for plenty of sun and warm temperatures all four days.  I hope you're watching, if not for the golf, at least for the beautiful course. We were hit with the worst ice storm in Augusta history on the 13th of February, so the shape of the golf course is a minor miracle in itself.  Wait till you see it!

Hole in the Door Theft

I get a lot of the ideas for my columns from the emails I receive from you, my readers and co-respondents,  This is one of those instances.

I got an email alert about a 'new' method of theft called, 'Hole in the Door'.  It is highly debatable how new it is -- the email message has been circulating since 2010 -- but the message itself is mixed with truth and garbage.  My biggest problem with it was that it didn't give any avoidance tips to prevent the theft happening to you.

If you care to read the message, I've provided the Snopes.com link, but even it doesn't do justice to the urban legend, and there are some nonsense statements in the telling, so I am going to augment the advice given.  I'll just summarize the 'Hole in the Door' alert here.

Essentially, the would-be thief either drills or punches a small hole just below the keyhole and then works a wire into the opening to manipulate the lock and open the door. After gaining access to the passenger compartment, he has free rein to take whatever you have left in there.  One juicy item is your GPS unit, because the thief can learn your home address and do a double theft while you're out shopping.

Here are my tips to avoid this type of crime:

1. Never put your actual home address into your GPS unit.  You know your way home, so the only reason you ever set the unit to take you there is to calculate the diving time and arrival estimate.  Why give a thief that valuable information by putting it in your GPS?

Instead, put in the address of a business on a street a couple of blocks short of, but on the way to, your home. 

The reason for the address on another street is that most of us also have a garage door opener remote on the visor.  The would-be thief can use it to open your garage door if you use an address close to yours. Make the address one that is far enough away from yours that this won't happen.  A business address is good, if there is one close to your home, but I prefer to use a non-existent number on the street that provides entry to my neighborhood.

2. Do not leave any valuables on seats or in visible locations inside the vehicle. Put any of these items in the trunk or glove box.  That includes your mobile GPS unit. In other words, don't put the prize in plain sight.  Anyone should know and practice this rule, but some of us do get lazy about stowing the obvious items away. Leaving a purse, or even a bag with a recent purchase, on or behind the seat is an invitation to the thief.  If no booty is visible to the thief, chances are he will skip your vehicle and try another.

3. Park in a well lighted and high traffic area.  people who park in areas where no other cars are around to avoid door dings, or for any other purpose, are more susceptible to theft.  Trying to be 'out of the way' provides more security for the thief to work on your vehicle without detection.  The more people who observe a person attempting to break into a vehicle, the more chance they will report it, or at least scare him off.

If you follow these three tips, I believe you'll have a much better chance that the 'Hole in the Door' trick, and any other vehicle theft attempts will never occur.  I know the last one goes against what many of us have practiced all our adult lives, but it really makes more sense.  I'll take a door ding any day in preference to the theft of my property.