It's very nearly properly dark now when I leave work at 5, but that's living in Scotland for you, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. It's more than made up for by the long, sunlit evenings in the summer!
Crikey - I know California probably goes much further north than I think it does, but I didn't realise you were in aurora territory!
We're not! It's astonishing that the aurora could be seen anywhere this far south! If it weren't such an awful drive, I'd consider going out to a place with dark skies. And if these things were more predictable, I'd reserve a motel room in advance - it would be amazing to see the northern lights at this latitude.
The last US penny was minted today. I understand it will take up to 25 to 30 years for pennies to be completely phased out. Time to learn how to round up--or down to the nearest nickel. On the other hand, the more we become a cashless society, the more likely the penny will not be completely eliminated.
When we last had good aurora action here in the English East Midlands my husband drove to the nearest dark spot he knew and took some rather rubbish pictures. Our neighbour stepped out of her front door and got some cracking ones. Our road isn't exactly dark as it used to be a main road so the street lighting is rather powerful.
I paid for my Brunch yesterday using 3 pennies. I am sure the price will be rounded up soon. I did note that I was the only one of my friends using cash; the rest used a credit card.
They phased out pennies (well, to be accurate, cents), in Canada while we lived there; apparently school kids used to throw them away when they got them as change for their Timmy's/McDonald's/whatever at lunch time!
I received a phone call from a childhood friend that I have not seen in over 50 years. We have kept in touch by phone every couple of years. He told me he was going through his phone list and seeing who was still alive and who he should delete. At 87 I told him to please keep my listed. I am still laughing as I knew he was being serious.
Is anyone here watching Ken Burns' The American Revolution on PBS? It's very different from the little American history I was taught in school. It can be hard (for me) to follow, and I confess to information overload. Despite being a foreigner, seeing so many familiar places in the north east states makes it real. One more day to go!
Is anyone here watching Ken Burns' The American Revolution on PBS? It's very different from the little American history I was taught in school. It can be hard (for me) to follow, and I confess to information overload. Despite being a foreigner, seeing so many familiar places in the north east states makes it real. One more day to go!
Thanks for the reminder! I was meaning to watch but haven't started yet.
What have you found hard to follow? Maybe we can clear things up.
Is anyone here watching Ken Burns' The American Revolution on PBS? It's very different from the little American history I was taught in school. It can be hard (for me) to follow, and I confess to information overload. Despite being a foreigner, seeing so many familiar places in the north east states makes it real. One more day to go!
We’ve been watching it. We finished episode 4 last night and won’t be able to get back to it until Sunday or Monday.
We’re enjoying it. I can’t say it strikes me as too different from what I was taught or already knew, but it’s obviously more detailed. I do wish he’d spend a little more time in the South, as I can identify things that happened there that have been left out. I understand, though, why he’s focused where he has, and I know/assume there will be more in the South in the episodes I haven’t watched yet.
I can’t say it strikes me as too different from what I was taught or already knew, but it’s obviously more detailed.
We watched the first episode last night, and I don't think I learned anything new -- not that I could have recited all the details presented, but there was never a moment when I sat up and thought, Wow, I didn't know that, or Gee, that's interesting. I imagine when they get to events further south, I'll learn something new. I've never been south of Virginia, and I find that doing touristy historical stuff really fleshes out things I've read about. Having relatives in Boston means I've poked around loads of the touristy historical stuff there.
Is anyone here watching Ken Burns' The American Revolution on PBS? It's very different from the little American history I was taught in school. It can be hard (for me) to follow, and I confess to information overload. Despite being a foreigner, seeing so many familiar places in the north east states makes it real. One more day to go!
Thanks for the reminder! I was meaning to watch but haven't started yet.
What have you found hard to follow? Maybe we can clear things up.
It's the strategy of it all - I find it hard to follow, but perhaps that's because the narration keeps changing locations without much transition. The idea of fighting an unwinnable war 3,000 miles from the government that wanted it, with communications taking many weeks, is hard to comprehend now. The most astonishing fact that I heard was that the British lost 2,000 ships to the Americans - did I hear that right? It's hard to imagine that number of ships. How do you build - and lose - that many ships, pre-industrial revolution? Checking just now, the Royal Navy currently has 64 ships - not a good comparison, but an interesting picture of change.
Something else that struck me was that the last veteran of the Revolutionary War died in 1868 after the end of the Civil War. I can remember hearing about the death of the last Civil War veteran in the 1950s. Closer to home, my wife's grandmother in Montana told us about her uncle being urged by 'that crazy man Custer' to go back with him to fight Indians after he came home from the war (he refused). No wonder American history is fresh in so many minds.
The most astonishing fact that I heard was that the British lost 2,000 ships to the Americans - did I hear that right? It's hard to imagine that number of ships. How do you build - and lose - that many ships, pre-industrial revolution? Checking just now, the Royal Navy currently has 64 ships - not a good comparison, but an interesting picture of change.
I don’t recall hearing a number mentioned, but then I haven’t watched the whole thing yet. But that doesn’t sound totally off from numbers I’ve seen elsewhere.
The thing to remember is that on the British side merchant ships as well as warships are being counted, and on the American side, privateer ships as well as Navy ships are being counted.
Is anyone here watching Ken Burns' The American Revolution on PBS? It's very different from the little American history I was taught in school. It can be hard (for me) to follow, and I confess to information overload. Despite being a foreigner, seeing so many familiar places in the north east states makes it real. One more day to go!
We’ve been watching it. We finished episode 4 last night and won’t be able to get back to it until Sunday or Monday.
We’re enjoying it. I can’t say it strikes me as too different from what I was taught or already knew, but it’s obviously more detailed. I do wish he’d spend a little more time in the South, as I can identify things that happened there that have been left out. I understand, though, why he’s focused where he has, and I know/assume there will be more in the South in the episodes I haven’t watched yet.
Episode V deals with the British Southern campaign some. Probably will continue in Episode VI since it deals with final events leading up to Yorktown.
Is anyone here watching Ken Burns' The American Revolution on PBS? It's very different from the little American history I was taught in school. It can be hard (for me) to follow, and I confess to information overload. Despite being a foreigner, seeing so many familiar places in the north east states makes it real. One more day to go!
We’ve been watching it. We finished episode 4 last night and won’t be able to get back to it until Sunday or Monday.
We’re enjoying it. I can’t say it strikes me as too different from what I was taught or already knew, but it’s obviously more detailed. I do wish he’d spend a little more time in the South, as I can identify things that happened there that have been left out. I understand, though, why he’s focused where he has, and I know/assume there will be more in the South in the episodes I haven’t watched yet.
Episode V deals with the British Southern campaign some. Probably will continue in Episode VI since it deals with final events leading up to Yorktown.
Thanks. Given the timeline, I figured the Southern campaign would appear soon. And yes, Yorktown is pretty much required.
64 years ago today, JFK was shot and killed in Dallis Texas. Where were you when you found out? Myself, my school was at a career day at a neighboring high school. Four of my friends and I went to a downtown restaurant to eat lunch. While there, the owner turned on the overhead TV. They had CBS News on, and Walter Cronkite announced the president had died. There were four military recruiters nearby also eating lunch. When they heard the news, they immediately got up and left. We went back to the career day location and got on busses to head back to our school. When we got back to school, the administrators called for an assembly. A local minister was there. He said a prayer, and we all were excused for the rest of that week. I believe it was Thanksgiving break anyway.
64 years ago today, JFK was shot and killed in Dallis Texas. Where were you when you found out?
It was 62 years ago today (1963), not 64.
I wasn’t yet 2 years old, so I have no memory of it.
Well, so it was. No matter. What was the first significant national or international event you do remember? I think for for me it was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. The BBC had taped it and flew the tapes to New York. The broadcast networks then broadcast them nationwide. I was four at the time. Did not realize the significance of the ritual, though.
What was the first significant national or international event you do remember?
Probably Robert F. Kennedy’s televised funeral and his funeral train. That, and more generally the death reports from the Vietnam War on the nightly news.
What was the first significant national or international event you do remember?
Probably Robert F. Kennedy’s televised funeral and his funeral train. That, and more generally the death reports from the Vietnam War on the nightly news.
The death reports, yes - ugh - the numbers superimposed over the outline of Vietnam with the line across the middle.
I remember my dad watching the party conventions on TV in 1968. The voting reminded me of basketball games - votes and scores shown on the screen - so I asked my parents who they were voting for. They said Nixon, so my little brother and I ran around the living room chanting "Nixon! Nixon!" Till mom hushed us and said, "Don't tell anybody!"
I remember some parts of the Watergate hearings but didn't really understand them. But I remember Nixon's resignation vividly. My parents threw a family party, my aunt and uncle and cousins and watched it. It was great!
I didn't see the coronation of the late Queen (we didn't have television) but I remember Coronation Day, specifically a blanket spread on grass in a field where some loyal junket was going forward. That and having my photograph taken outside the local school. I was three.
Suez, because 'Nasser' became a playground insult.
The Hungarian Uprising (1956) because a Sunday paper reproduced a child's drawing of tanks on the streets - this was art at my level.
By JFK's assassination I was 13. Doubly marked though as we had, the previous day, moved to a different town.
I would have been a year and a bit when JFK was killed, so no memory of it for me; I suppose the first major world event I remember was the moon landings in 1969, when I was seven.
Like Nicole, I remember hearing about Watergate, but didn't really understand what it was about (actually I'm not sure I do even now; my knowledge of American history is rather lacking)!
I remember some parts of the Watergate hearings but didn't really understand them. But I remember Nixon's resignation vividly.
I was sick in bed with strep throat. We had a smaller second tv by then, and I remember my mother brought it upstairs to my room so I could watch Nixon resign. She said something along the lines of “this is history, and you need to be able to remember watching it when it happened.”
I love that your family had a party!
I remember lots gathering at the church when the Vietnam War ended. We all took turns ringing the church bell.
I was at my friend's house on the day the JFK was shot We watched the announcement on the BBC news as it broke, and again later, by which time the newsreader had put on a black tie - still a vivid memory. Much later, the Watergate hearings were irresistible, and Nixon's resignation was a truly historic moment. I wonder what we'll remember of the chaos of the trump era? Liz Cheney's speeches were surely memorable.
The death of President Roosevelt. I was not yet old enough to be in school, so I was at home with my Mother when the news came on the radio. I did not understand what it was all about, but I saw my mother crying. I am sure it was the first time I had ever seen my mother cry.
I’ve got a tape recording from when I was a very small child talking about Watergate, saying that the president shouldn’t lie to the people. I don’t remember what year this was or exactly what my age was – I’ll have to find the cassette – but I was born in 1967.
I remember the Watergate hearings being on the tv at my house and my friends’ houses during early summer of 1973. We didn’t pay them much mind, but our mothers were watching, or at least listening while they did other things. Part of that may have been civic interest, and part of it may have been the North Carolina senator Sam Ervin was chairing the hearings, and some (like my parents and my friends’ parents) were not just interested in the substance but in how he handled things.
The death of President Roosevelt. I was not yet old enough to be in school, so I was at home with my Mother when the news came on the radio. I did not understand what it was all about, but I saw my mother crying. I am sure it was the first time I had ever seen my mother cry.
I have a similar memory, @Graven Image When Kennedy was assassinated, I was in elementary school and when I got home, I saw my mom sitting on the couch and crying. I don't think I had ever seen my mother cry, either.
Another American historical TV series I would like to recommend is Death By Lightning on Netflix. It is a four part series on the rise of James Garfield, the 20th United States President, including his anti-corruption and pro-civil rights stances, as well as how his path crossed with Charles J. Guiteau, a deluded admirer, who ended up shooting him, leading to Garfield's death.
All four episodes have dropped. Mrs Gramps and I watched the first episode. What I learned so far, was Garfield had been asked to nominate Sherman for presidency, but the nominating convention got hung up. James ended up the compromise candidate.
The death of President Roosevelt. I was not yet old enough to be in school, so I was at home with my Mother when the news came on the radio. I did not understand what it was all about, but I saw my mother crying. I am sure it was the first time I had ever seen my mother cry.
I have a similar memory, @Graven Image When Kennedy was assassinated, I was in elementary school and when I got home, I saw my mom sitting on the couch and crying. I don't think I had ever seen my mother cry, either.
JFK was assassinated when I was a child living in Kenya and I remember my American mother crying. The following year we left Kenya and spent three months of the summer in Baltimore with my grandmother, returning to the UK for the start of the new school year.
I remember my grandmother being really, really upset talking about it with my mother.
According to my baby book, my parents watched JFK's funeral on TV on my first birthday. We were in Okinawa, so they would have been up well past midnight.
This is also the real world: While I was shopping and waiting for the van to go home last week, I was not feeling so great and decided to sit down on some store steps. Two different strangers came over to ask if I was alright. One young man offered to go get me some water.
A few days later, I had to go to the hospital. I will be fine, but I was there for four days, including Thanksgiving, on a liquid diet. Blah. One neighbor stayed with me until the ambulance came and another would have driven me to the hospital but decided 911 was better. While I was in the hospital, a neighbor helped my son give my dog a morning walk; he came in the evening for another. A neighbor also cleaned my kitchen, where I had left breakfast dishes.
All of the time in the hospital, I had no outside news; I did have kind, professional, compassionate care from all the staff. All of this was a. reminder to me that our country is filled with many good people who care about each other. A thing easy to forget when all you see is bad news. Let us all be kind and loving now more than ever.
Comments
That's poignant. "We in dreams behold the Hebrides..."
We're not! It's astonishing that the aurora could be seen anywhere this far south! If it weren't such an awful drive, I'd consider going out to a place with dark skies. And if these things were more predictable, I'd reserve a motel room in advance - it would be amazing to see the northern lights at this latitude.
They phased out pennies (well, to be accurate, cents), in Canada while we lived there; apparently school kids used to throw them away when they got them as change for their Timmy's/McDonald's/whatever at lunch time!
Thanks for the reminder! I was meaning to watch but haven't started yet.
What have you found hard to follow? Maybe we can clear things up.
We’re enjoying it. I can’t say it strikes me as too different from what I was taught or already knew, but it’s obviously more detailed. I do wish he’d spend a little more time in the South, as I can identify things that happened there that have been left out. I understand, though, why he’s focused where he has, and I know/assume there will be more in the South in the episodes I haven’t watched yet.
We watched the first episode last night, and I don't think I learned anything new -- not that I could have recited all the details presented, but there was never a moment when I sat up and thought, Wow, I didn't know that, or Gee, that's interesting. I imagine when they get to events further south, I'll learn something new. I've never been south of Virginia, and I find that doing touristy historical stuff really fleshes out things I've read about. Having relatives in Boston means I've poked around loads of the touristy historical stuff there.
It's the strategy of it all - I find it hard to follow, but perhaps that's because the narration keeps changing locations without much transition. The idea of fighting an unwinnable war 3,000 miles from the government that wanted it, with communications taking many weeks, is hard to comprehend now. The most astonishing fact that I heard was that the British lost 2,000 ships to the Americans - did I hear that right? It's hard to imagine that number of ships. How do you build - and lose - that many ships, pre-industrial revolution? Checking just now, the Royal Navy currently has 64 ships - not a good comparison, but an interesting picture of change.
Something else that struck me was that the last veteran of the Revolutionary War died in 1868 after the end of the Civil War. I can remember hearing about the death of the last Civil War veteran in the 1950s. Closer to home, my wife's grandmother in Montana told us about her uncle being urged by 'that crazy man Custer' to go back with him to fight Indians after he came home from the war (he refused). No wonder American history is fresh in so many minds.
The thing to remember is that on the British side merchant ships as well as warships are being counted, and on the American side, privateer ships as well as Navy ships are being counted.
Episode V deals with the British Southern campaign some. Probably will continue in Episode VI since it deals with final events leading up to Yorktown.
I wasn’t yet 2 years old, so I have no memory of it.
Well, so it was. No matter. What was the first significant national or international event you do remember? I think for for me it was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. The BBC had taped it and flew the tapes to New York. The broadcast networks then broadcast them nationwide. I was four at the time. Did not realize the significance of the ritual, though.
The death reports, yes - ugh - the numbers superimposed over the outline of Vietnam with the line across the middle.
I remember my dad watching the party conventions on TV in 1968. The voting reminded me of basketball games - votes and scores shown on the screen - so I asked my parents who they were voting for. They said Nixon, so my little brother and I ran around the living room chanting "Nixon! Nixon!" Till mom hushed us and said, "Don't tell anybody!"
Suez, because 'Nasser' became a playground insult.
The Hungarian Uprising (1956) because a Sunday paper reproduced a child's drawing of tanks on the streets - this was art at my level.
By JFK's assassination I was 13. Doubly marked though as we had, the previous day, moved to a different town.
Like Nicole, I remember hearing about Watergate, but didn't really understand what it was about (actually I'm not sure I do even now; my knowledge of American history is rather lacking)!
I love that your family had a party!
I remember lots gathering at the church when the Vietnam War ended. We all took turns ringing the church bell.
I have a similar memory, @Graven Image When Kennedy was assassinated, I was in elementary school and when I got home, I saw my mom sitting on the couch and crying. I don't think I had ever seen my mother cry, either.
All four episodes have dropped. Mrs Gramps and I watched the first episode. What I learned so far, was Garfield had been asked to nominate Sherman for presidency, but the nominating convention got hung up. James ended up the compromise candidate.
JFK was assassinated when I was a child living in Kenya and I remember my American mother crying. The following year we left Kenya and spent three months of the summer in Baltimore with my grandmother, returning to the UK for the start of the new school year.
I remember my grandmother being really, really upset talking about it with my mother.
It has been a good day here! Eating leftovers right now. Of course!
A few days later, I had to go to the hospital. I will be fine, but I was there for four days, including Thanksgiving, on a liquid diet. Blah. One neighbor stayed with me until the ambulance came and another would have driven me to the hospital but decided 911 was better. While I was in the hospital, a neighbor helped my son give my dog a morning walk; he came in the evening for another. A neighbor also cleaned my kitchen, where I had left breakfast dishes.
All of the time in the hospital, I had no outside news; I did have kind, professional, compassionate care from all the staff. All of this was a. reminder to me that our country is filled with many good people who care about each other. A thing easy to forget when all you see is bad news. Let us all be kind and loving now more than ever.