Author: Steve Atkinson

One of the terms that many seem to be seeing in personal ads and even sometimes a a text code is 420. Today it is generally used to signify illegal drug use or more specifically the use of marijuana. But where did the term come from.

According to snopes.com it started to be used by a group of students at San Rafael High School in California. The time, 4:20 in the afternoon, was the time that they would get together to smoke weed. This was way back in the early 1970s.

Also on snopes it is said not to have any relationship to police codes for marijuana use in progress.

The California Bill that legalized the use of medical marijuana is Senate Bill 420, but it was signed in 2004, long after the term was in use. Although I suppose some may have started using the bill number without realizing that the term was already being used by others.

4-20 is also April 20th, with April being the fourth month. And with this some groups have begun using this date as a counterculture holiday. One where people gather to celebrate and consume marijuana

April 20th is also the birthday of what many considered to be the most despised man in History. Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889.

A Friday that occurs on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in many cultures around the globe. Any month that begins on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th. Every year has at least one and some may have as many as three Fridays the 13th. There will be 48 occurrences in 28 years cycle of years. This is an average of 1.7 times per year. In 2018 there will be two. April and July. The last time that a year had three was in 2015. 2014 and 2016 had only one.

There has not been a historical date identified as the origin of the superstition. Before the 20th century, there is evidence that the number 13 was considered unlucky, and Friday was considered unlucky there was no link between them.

Friday the 13th doesn’t even merit a mention in E. Cobham Brewer’s voluminous 1898 edition of the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. There is and entry for “Friday, an Unlucky Day” and “Thirteen Unlucky.”

Paraskevidekatriaphobics is the name for people afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that more than 17 million people are affected by a fear of this day.

On May 9, 1980 an independent slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller with the title Friday the 13th was released. The film ‘s budget was less than $ 600,000. While not a critical hit is was a box-office success and spurred 11 more films.

Science says that on Friday April 13, 2029, Asteroid 2004 MN4 will come scarily close to Earth. It will fly past Earth only 18,600 miles above the earth. For reference geosynchronous satellites orbit at 22,300 miles. “At closest approach, the asteroid will shine like a 3rd magnitude star, visible to the unaided eye from Africa, Europe and Asia–even through city lights,” says Jon Giorgini of JPL.

Each year, the second week of April is dedicated to the men and women who serve as Telecommunications Officers. In October 1991 Congress made a Formal Proclamation to recognize this week as National Telecommunicator’s Week.

Those who perform telecommunications duties serve as an indispensable link between the officers and the public, as well as a vital support services in the Public Safety community. The communications operators who provide radio, telephone and computer services are to be commended for their dedication and professionalism. Too often the importance of telecommunications personnel goes unrecognized and their services are taken for granted.

At times they are treated as glorified office clerks. This is a big mistake and a far cry from the job that they perform. It takes a lot of training to be a Telecommunicator and not something that comes easy. They work hours when others are asleep and during holidays. Many are on a schedule that are far from the usual, including those of their own families.

They are the first point of contact with the public’s plea for assistance. While one call may be just a request with a simple answer, the next call may be the most extreme emergency anyone could face. On every call they have to be prepared for the unexpected and at times the unimaginable.

It takes a special type of person to remain calm when speaking to a screaming mother whose child is hurt, or when a Police Officer or Fire Fighter is calling for assistance or when someone that they know is on the other end of the emergency call.

If you happen to see a Communications Officer let them know that they are appreciated for the job they do for your community. Having worked among them for over 20 years, I understand their unique capabilities. Not everyone can do the job that they do each day.

I offer my thanks and gratitude that they are there to answer the call.\r\n\r\nThey truly are The First Responder.

William Henry Harrison died on the fourth of April in 1841 from pneumonia. With his death he became the first president to die in office. He also served as President for the shortest period of time at only 30 days, 12 hours and 30 minutes.

Beginning with Harrison each President elected in a year that ended with zero would die in office until Ronald Reagan. Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was assassinated during his second term in 1865. James Garfield, elected in 1880, was also assassinated. William McKinley was elected to his second term in 1900, but he too was assassinated. Warren Harding elected in 1920, fell ill and died three years after he took office. Franklin Roosevelt was elected for his third term in 1940 and died shortly after taking the oath of office for his fourth term in 1945. Then in 1963 John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 after being elected in 1960.

1841 would be the first of only two calendar years where the United States had three Presidents. Harrison had won the election in 1840 against the incumbent Martin Van Buren, replacing him in March. When Harrison died his Vice President John Tyler took office. 40 years later in 1881, The only other year with three presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes relinquished the office to James Garfield, who was assassinated, then Chester Arthur was elevated to President.

Harrison’s inaugural address lasting nearly two hours is the longest in American history. He delivered it outside on an extremely cold and wet day. It’s commonly thought that this was the reason for his pneumonia, but he didn’t develop a cold until over three weeks later on March 26.

Shortly after his inauguration Harrison became the first president to have his photograph taken by Justus Moore using the daguerreotype process. Unfortunately the daguerreotype is lost. John Quincy Adams is the earliest President to have had a photograph taken, but that was not until 1847, nearly 20 years after he had left office. Each President since Adams has been photographed and like Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren had theirs taken after they left office.

Harrison’s father Benjamin Harrison, V was a signer of the declaration of the United States and his Grandson Benjamin Harrison became President of the United States in 1889.

The story of the last seven days of Jesus was turned into a musical by the team Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

The soundtrack, sometimes called a Rock Opera, appeared on an album originally, in part because the producers were afraid to take a chance on producing in on stage due to the subject matter. The album had a rock influence with Ian Gillan, the lead singer of Deep Purple, singing the role of Jesus with Murray Head as Judus.

The album reach the Number 1 spot of the Billboard Album Charts for a total of three weeks. One week in late February with its return more than two months later for two weeks in May.

Later in 1971 on October 12th Jesus Christ Superstar premiered at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York with Ben Vereen (Judas), Jeff Fenholt (Jesus), Yvonne Elliman (Mary), Barry Dennen (Pilate), and Paul Ainsley (Herod).

Two years later Director Norman Norman Jewison brought it to the screen, The film had Yvonne Elliman revising her role as Mary along with Barry Dennen as Pilate. Ted Neely took on the role of Jesus with Carl Anderson as Judas. Both Neely and the Anderson had been in the Broadway cast. Neely as the understudy to play Jesus and Anderson took over the role when Vereen fell ill.

Tomorrow, April 1st, NBC will present “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” starring John Legend, Alice Cooper and Sara Bareilles.

Another baseball season is about to begin. One hundred and the years ago that the song Take Me Out to The Ball Game was written.

Jack Norworth was a vaudeville performer and a Tin Pan Alley songwriter when he saw the sign “Baseball Today — Polo Grounds” promoting a ball game at the home stadium of the New York Giants. This gave him the idea and he began writing the words to the song.

Harry Von Tilzer was a popular music composer of Tin Pan Alley working with a number of lyricist, including Norworth. Von Tilzer put a tune to Norworth’s two verses and chorus. By the end of 1908 the song was a hit and has been ever since.

It’s the chorus of the song that is commonly sung and that everyone seems to know. Few people have heard or even know that the song has two verses. In fact there are two versions of the lyrics one that was written in 1908 and a revised version that Norworth wrote in 1927.

The song is about Katie Casey, a young girl who had baseball fever and wants to go to all of the home ball games. She was so familiar with the team she knew all the players by their first name and would tell the umpire when they were wrong.

Neither Jack Norworth or Harry Von Tilzer were baseball fans. In fact it”s reported that Norworth didn”t actually attend his first baseball game until 32 years later on June 27, 1940 and Von Tilzer saw his first 20 years after composing the music.

Below are the lyrics of the 1908 version:

Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev’ry sou1
Katie blew.
On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she’d like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate said “No,
I’ll tell you what you can do:”

Chorus

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win, it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game.

Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names.
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along,
Good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:

Chorus

Accomack County, as it is today, was last formally established in 1671. In 1634 the Eastern Shore of Virginia was one of the original eight shires of Virginia and was name Accomac Shire after the Native American word Accawacke, which means “across the water”. The British decided to eliminate ‘heathen’ names in the New World and the Shire was renamed Northampton.

In 1663 the shire was split into two counties with the northern county assuming the original Accomac name. The county was abolished in 1670 only to be reestablished in 1671. It wasn’t until 1940 that the “k” was officially added to the spelling of the county’s name.

The very first Sheriff in what is now called the United States was William Stone, who was appointed to serve Accomack County in 1634.

Accomac is the county seat of Accomack County. In 1693 the Accomack County courthouse was moved from Onancock to a site at Matomkin. The town was established in 1786 with the name Drummond. In 1893 the town was renamed Accomac. Even today some locals will still refer to the town as Drummond.

Many of the incorporated towns of the Virginia Eastern Shore had their origins because of the railroad. Bloxom, Belle Haven, Hallwood, Keller, Melfa, Painter and Parksley are a few of those towns. Parksley is the home of the Eastern Shore Railroad Museum and in many ways the town still has the character of an 1880’s railroad town.

With as much shore line as Virginia’s Eastern Shore has, there is also a history of life on the water for Accomack County. Chincoteague is a family resort island town that is famous for the Chincoteague ponies. Each year the Volunteer Fire Company auction Wild Ponies from Assateague Island as part of their annual fundraising as well as holding an annual carnival.

The history of the Maryland Colony began with a failed attempt by George Calvert, the First Lord Baltimore, in Newfoundland. Calvert had been the Secretary of State under King James the I and he had requested a chance to build a colony in the New World. The “Province of Avalon” began settlement in 1623 and by 1627 when Calvert first visited the colony 100 men and women were living at Ferryland, a plantation being built for him.

He stayed for a while before returning to England. In 1628 he returned with his household with the intention of remaining there for the rest of his days. The winter of 1628-29 was much worst than he expected and returned again to England. He continued to desire a colony in the New World and began the process that would become the Maryland Charter.

The colony was named in honor of King Charles’s Queen, Henrietta Maria. Even though Calvert was a Catholic, he viewed the colony as a place where Catholics and Puritans could live together without oppression because of their faith. The boundaries were the Potomac River to the South, the Atlantic to the East and the 40th Parallel to the North.

George Calvert died on April 15, 1632 and the Charter for the Maryland Colony was granted to his son Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, two months later on June 20, 1632.

In November of 1633 two ships, the Ark and the Dove left England for the Chesapeake Bay and the Maryland Colony. They were led by Calvert’s brother Leonard.

After a stop at the Jamestown where they bought animals and other supplies they ventured further up the Chesapeake Bay. They landed on March 25th at a small island they called St Clement’s Island, called Blakistone Island in later years. Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources controls the island as a state park.

America was just entering the 1st World War when 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division was doing combat training at Yale University in 1917. A short tail dog of an unknown breed, possibly a mix Boston Terrier and Pit Bull or even a pure American Pit Bull terrier was found by Private John Robert Conroy. He named the dog Stubby.

Stubby soon became the unit’s mascot and learned the bugle calls and drills. He even learned to salute by placing his right paw on his right eyebrow. He shouldn’t have been allowed to stay at camp, but was because he increased morale.

When the division shipped out to France on the SS Minnesota he was smuggled on board. When discovered once in France he was allowed to stay with the unit after giving a salute to the Commanding Officer.

Due to an injury he suffered from gas exposure he became very sensitive to gas. One night as the company slept they were attacked by gas, but Stubby was able to alert the men saving many lives. He also was able to find wounded men who spoke English allowing rescuers to bring them back to the trenches.

He even once discovered a sleeping German soldier and bit the soldier attacking him until others arrived. For his Capture of a enemy soldier he was made a Sgt.

Even after the War ended he was a famous dog. While J. Robert Conroy was studying Law at Georgetown University Sgt Stubby became the mascot of the Hoyas. Sgt. Stubby died on March 16, 1926. His body can be seen on display at the Smithsonian, still wearing his special jacket which displays all of his medals.