Friday, September 16, 2011             

Mexican Independence Day

   
[1810 - Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla calls peasants to fight for Mexican independence]

[1823 - Francis Parkman, author, born in Boston]

[1854 - US Navy establishes Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo in San Francisco Bay]

   
[1875 - J.C. (James Cash) Penney, merchant, entrepreneur, born near Hamilton, Missouri]

          
[1887 - Louise Arner Boyd, Arctic explorer, born in San Rafael, Marin County, California]

[1890 - George W. Calhoun, sportswriter,
Packers cofounder, born in Green Bay, Wisconsin]

[1908 - General Motors Company is founded
in Flint, Michigan]

   
[1914 - Allen Funt, producer, TV & radio host, born in New York City]

      
[1927 - Peter Michael Falk, Emmy Award-winning actor, born in New York City]

[1927 - Jack Kelly, actor, born in Astoria,
Queens, New York]

   
[1960 - Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg announces his retirement from college football at age 98]

How The Smelt Felt

Consider the plight of the Delta Smelt.
He is not large, but he sure is svelte.
He breeds in sloughs downstream from Hood.
The bed is muddy, but the action is good.

Now human need for more potable water,
May leave the Smelt without a daughter.
Construction of a new peripheral canal,
Could stop him breeding and affect morale.

Comes the Government to the rescue.
The humble Smelt becomes an issue.
Preserve the fish at any cost.
Who cares if human lives are lost.

Of this fact you may be certain,
Before Smelt take a final curtain:
The more we mess with Mother Nature,
Fewer Smelt will live to see the future.

William's Whimsical Words:

Three Cheers for the Law of Unintended Consequences, boys!

to Summer 2011

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