A Brief History On April 19, 1861, an angry mob with pro-secessionist intentions attacked US Army troops on the streets of Baltimore, an event known as The Baltimore Riot of 1861, or alternately as The Pratt Street Riot or even the more dramatic Pratt Street Massacre. Maryland, being a slave state at the onset of the American Civil War, was not surprisingly divided on whether or not to remain in the Union or join the Confederate States. Digging Deeper The dispute in Baltimore transcended state borders, and the protesters/rioters were not exclusively from Maryland, consisting of local “Copperhead” Democrats that…

A Brief History On April 17, 2018, the United States mourns the loss of former First Lady of the United States and mother of the 43rd President, Barbara (née Pierce) Bush, who died surrounded by family in Houston, Texas at the age of 92. Only one other woman has had the honor of serving as First Lady and also being the mother of a President, and that other fortunate woman was Abigail Adams, wife of second President John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams, our 6th President. Former President George H. W. Bush, the grieving widower, is now almost…

A Brief History On April 17, 2018, the Nation and the media were abuzz with the story of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380, a Boeing 737 (the most popular jetliner in the world) that suffered a catastrophic engine failure resulting in a piece of the Port side engine breaking a window and causing a hapless female passenger to get sucked halfway out of the plane. Although other passengers pulled the lady back into the cabin, she later died of her injuries. It has happened before! Digging Deeper The passenger sucked out of her seat on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 (the aircraft…

A Brief History On April 18, 1942, Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle led one of the most famous bombing raids in aviation history when he led 16 B-25 medium bombers over Tokyo, Kobe, Nagoya, and Yokohama, Japan. After the devastating sneak attack against Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the US military in the Pacific was reeling, as was the shocked and furious American public. With one Japanese success after another, the US finally mounted an offensive action by flying 16 stripped down B-25B Mitchell twin engine medium bombers off the deck of the USS Hornet, something that had never been…

A Brief History On April 17, 2018, we celebrate National Haiku Day, the day that the traditional Japanese form of poetry is celebrated. In recognition of this great “holiday,” we offer a few of our own creations. We invite our readers to compose their own Haiku poetry and share those with our other readers! Digging Deeper Remember, the Haiku form is normally consisting of 3 lines, the first line containing 5 syllables, the second line containing 7 syllables, and the third line containing 5 syllables. Rhyming is not necessary. Haiku appeared in Japan in the 1600’s, and in the US…