My credo....I am glad to be this way. I could never be like others. Sharing with all the other crazy people out there.

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some see them as the crazy ones,
We see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
Are the ones who do

This was part of an commercial for Apple Computers.

I love this. I live this too. Much to the trouble of many people I deal with. But I have to walk to beat of my own drummer. I hope you do too.

The last of the 'spit ball" pitchers in baseball.. Burleigh Grimes ..... He tossed the slick ball till 1934

He was nasty on the diamond. He was scary in his actions. He did not shave on the day of a game. He would battle on a moments notice. He was quite the character.

But old Burleigh Grimes was the last pitcher who threw a spitball in professional baseball. It had been outlawed in 1920, however the remaining fellas who used the spitball were grandfathered in. All 17 of them.
At the time of his retirement in 1934, he was the last of the 17 spitballers left in the league.

He would often fake a spitball and then surprise the batter. He finally left the Field in 1934. With him went the notorious spitball and the last bit of the golden age of stunts of that game. Rules became paramount, and they standardized the game. Today's baseball is so very different from that of a century ago.

By the way I hope you all know what a spitball was? Well it was a ball whetted with saliva to make it slick, and to make it move in ways a dry ball would not.

In addition, there were many safety issues with the spitball, as at times pitchers would use tobacco spit from chewing tobacco as their spit. This was not only rather vulgar but nasty to the hitters.

In fact the spit ball is credited with the death of a batter. Many consider the death of Ray Chapman in 1920 partially as a result of the spitball, since Chapman could not see the ball coming before it struck him in the head, killing him.

After that incident the spit ball was banned save for the 17 users. I find that odd that it was not banned altogether. But that was the rule.

It is interesting that at the same time the entire country through prohibition went dry. However the baseball remained wet. In 1934 the entire country celebrated as the country became wet again as prohibition was repealed. Then baseball became dry. Rather ironic isn't it?

Ramon Reyes Lala...Born in Manila, educated in Europe, and later banished by the Spanish, Lala became the first naturalized Filipino-American citizen

His first book on the region from 1899.
Here you see a picture of him from the book
Here is the book that he would often have around during his talks on the Philippines.
He would sometimes sign one of these copies for a person interested in the message. These books are quite rare.




Born in Manila, educated in Europe, and later banished by the Spanish, Lala became the first naturalized Filipino-American citizen. His talks would cover the early history, the British occupation, the Spanish colonial government, the Church, religion, tribes, Muslims of Sulu, Manila and other cities, commerce, agriculture including sections on hemp, tobacco use and culture, coffee cultivation, Betel-nuts and grains, wood, minerals, natural history, plus the various insurrections, rebellions, the loss of the Spanish to Dewey, and the American occupation.
Much of the history of the Philippines and our war there, was much like our battles in Viet Nam

Dr Franklin, King George III did not like your lightening rod and made some changes to it.

Benj. Franklin invented the lightening rod and was very proud of the invention. As a gift to the public he never took out a patent on it. Now Franklin's work on the lightening rod started in the 1750's. His lightening rod had a sharp end to it.

By the 1770's when there was not to much love being shared between the American Colonies and their mother country England, a controversy started concerning lightening rods. In fact it was stated and ruled by King George himself that a lightening rod should have a ball on the end of it. In fact he had small cannon balled put on to the ends of all lightening rods. In fact he made it a law.

Franklin was not at all pleased by this action and wrote to the King to dispute that opinion. But the King did not change his course or opinion.

Who was right?

Funny to mention it, but King George the 3rd was.

In fact today lightening rods do not have a sharp point on their end, they have a bunt tip like a small ball.

So to Franklin we thank you for the invention of this wonderful device and to King George the 3rd, thanks for your improvement to the invention. Although we hardly ever hear about it.

Assassinations of our Presidents and where did they happen? Also why are only 2 of them well known? Are only 2 of these Presidents important?

Everyone on earth knows of John F. Kennedy's assassination. It was the first assassination in the age of mass media here in the United States.

Most people know of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. As it took place during a war and in Washington DC.

I guess there has to be collectively over a 1000 books on the Kennedy and Lincoln assassinations. Many combine the two. Like there never were two others. But there were. How often do we hear about them....NEVER!

James A. Garfield our 20th President was shot and mortally wounded in Washington DC.

Garfield was shot at the BALTIMORE AND POTOMAC RR Station. The Baltimore and Potomac station was located at the southwest corner of 6th and B (now Constitution Ave) Streets NW, essentially where the National Gallery of Art, West Building now stands. Interestingly there is no marker or monument to that fact. I guess it is hard to put in an art museum.

William McKinley our 25th President was mortally wounded at the Columbian Exhibition in Buffalo New York. If you go where that fair once was there is a rock with a small plaque that states that McKinley was shot where there once had been a building, the Temple of Music.

The House that Garfield died in is gone, although his home exists. The home McKinley died in is gone too, although the house Theodore Roosevelt stayed at while waiting for the McKinley funeral to take place and where he took the oath of office exists?

One wonders if we would rather have it the other way around. The sad fact is too that McKinley's home no longer exists either.

I would be willing to guess that 8 out of 10 people today have no idea who James A. Garfield is. I would guess that 5 out of 10 people will know of McKinley. At least I hope so. He was President during a war, however many do not know about the war either.

So we have the dilemma of the 4 Presidents who have fallen due the actions of an assassin. Each one was a horrific event. But when you honor the memory of our fallen leaders, don't forget the others who fell in the path of an assassins bullet. There were more than just two.

The cares of life, and the cares of all that goes with it. A little friendly advice from one who has seen it all.

Life is a wondrous thing, and at many times a ponderous thing. We live our lives trying to fit the mold of our peers and more often than not make ourselves unhappy trying to make others happy.
There is a major problem here. I am of the belief that we should make ourselves happy first, that is most important. You can never make another happy if you are not.

In relationships it is difficult at best to make them work, we all have our wants and needs and I can see that each and every one of us sees that in a totally different way.
Very much like how everyone's eye sees color, there is not one of us that sees it in exactly the same way. Much with relationships.

In art we often see things different. Is that good? I am not sure?

What is most important I believe is to look at each other with hope and warmth. We must understand we are all different, and try to find a way to live a happy existance with each other. Try to walk in step with who you care for. Try to see their fears and joys. I can assure you they will often be so very different from your own. That is one of the problems with relationships, we often think we know what the other wants with out asking, and that bothers the other.


I am sure that worlds apart look at just about everything differently, I often feel for the poor women of some countries who have to be treated almost like slaves. In this country I write in it is different,but still there are problems. In the United States we seem to have tunnel vision in our views of other nations. We can not see past our own noses at times. Try to see past them.

We have problems with race, creed, sex, and intellect. I have often found that much of the problems that occur within many of these factors deals with jealousy. Of course intellect plays a major factor as well. Some times intellect can be the greatest problem with things.

Intellect and education are two very different things. Sometimes we are not smart enough to know that.

There are many who think that an education provides intellect. I must say that intellect is something you are born with. Education hones it, it does not provide it. There are many well educated idiots.

For myself I find I am not the best of people at times, and at other times I try to be.

We are all that way.

I can be jealous, foolish, and stupid as easily as the rest of the human race. I am sure we all find ourselves looking stupid at times. It is part of being human.

In many of us perhaps this is a time to try to gain our independence from what we once were and try to make ourselves better.

It is not easy, but try it.

Try to understand the person you care for or love. Try to see them with new and open eyes.
Understand that they are different from you. Understand their thoughts and concerns. Try not to be bullheaded. I see this as one of our greatest problems.

I find I sometimes do not look or listen, or even try to understand because of the passions that ride within me. I am sure you have been the same. The biggest thing is to admit it. Try to look beyond your passions.

How many times have you tried to do what you think is good and find it hurting another?
How many times have you tried to do something and never thought of the problems it would cause.

I will admit myself that I have been in all of these fields, I am willing to admit it...I hope that perhaps you may wish to as well.


If we all look at each other with understanding maybe we can all work better together. In what ever field it may be...At work, play, love, relationships, hobbies, international relations and most important of all...with yourself.

Once you can be at peace with yourself and love who you are, you can do wondrous things.


But most of all you have to be honest with yourself...It can be really hard at times....I know. I have learned many painful lessons. A little advice from one who has been there. One who had to say, stop, I need to look at what I am doing and maybe do things a little diferent. I am still learning and growing.

The death of James A Garfield...Shot by a madman, sadly killed by his doctors. The great and terrible assassination in 1881

James A. Garfield 1831-1881.... 20th President of the United States
Even Alexander G. Bell got into the act trying to locate the bullet with a crude metal detector. However the bed springs interfered with his signals and he mentioned were he thought the bullet may be, but was not sure. Of course the doctors operated on the poor man again with out finding the bullet.
The assassin
Pass to view the remains in the Capitol rotunda
The President as drawn after his death in New Jersey.
The widow mourns over her fallen husband.
The President and his wife lie in state in their monument in Ohio.
Garfield's casket lying in state under the Capitols rotunda.
A closer view of the two coffins in the tomb. There are several points to be made here. The first thing that comes to mind is the difference in the styles of the coffins. Mrs. Garfield died in 1918, so her casket is quite a bit more modern in style. Secondly, Garfield's casket that we see here is an out covering of the casket, not the casket like we see in the photo above. The casket he was placed in was put into a larger outer shell. That is what you see here. It was a common practise in the 19th century to have several layers to a coffin or casket as we call them today.
One of the many memorial books put onto the market as soon as Garfield died. This book came out in fall of 1881. I am sure every memorial book was already written and sadly the writers were waiting like vultures for the moment of death to pounce and produce their book.

A you can see here this book fills us into all the details of life, death, autopsy, burial, etc etc...




Dr. Willard Bliss and his team of doctors is in many respects one of the reasons James A Garfield died. Many may find this statement harsh, as Bliss was Garfield's head doctor in the case after he was shot.
Yes, Charles Guiteau became incensed when his application to be the U. S. ambassador to France was denied. And yes he shot the President in the back on July 2, 1881. In the Washington D.C. train station terminal.

But what that madman could not do, the Presidents doctors did! Bliss would insert his fingers, unsterilized probes, unsterilized knifes into President's wound.
Many other doctors would make probes into the poor man's wound. Doctors from the Army and Navy were brought in to consult on the wound. One of them actually pierced the Presidents liver with their finger!

There had been talk before of cleaning instruments and sterilizing them. But these doctors did not believe in that. Therefore the wound that started as a small entrance wound ended up being a 20 inch canal of oozing puss. It was a loosing battle.

The President grew steadily weaker. No one thought that perhaps they might just leave the bullet where it was. They just kept probing and digging and cutting...All the time the President got weaker still. Till he was so weak that it became only a matter of time before he would die. Garfield was in fine physical health before he was shot, yet by the time of his death he looked like a man in his 70's. He was but 49 years of age.

There was matter of arrogance here, but of course they were the experts. Garfield's wound was not that serious. In fact he should have been encouraged to move around. But they pushed, probed and cut him till he was a lost cause. I find the assassination of James A. Garfield a terrible loss. It needed not to be.

For of the four Presidents who have been assassinated, he is the one who should not have died from his wounds.

In fact if the doctors had done absolutely nothing, he would have probably lived!!!!


But hindsight is 20/20, and Garfield died. He was the second of three Presidents to die at the hands of an assassin in a 36 year period from 1865 till 1901.


This of course led to the many memorial books that came out in droves that had hardly an accurate statement in them. But they bought by a grief stricken nation as they mourned their dead leader.

Garfield was pictured all over and his casket laid in state under the dome of the Capitol.
Garfield was given a grand funeral and today lies in state in his mausoleum. His and his wife's caskets are on display, and in a sense they remain lying in state there, so long after the fact.
It is a unique thing in the world of the Presidents. No other President's casket is on view. All of them are buried, in mausoleums, or uncased in stone vaults.