09:49 - Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009
the last sunday of the bushwacker and other silliness
happy last sunday of the bushwhacker!
here are 10 inauguration-related things you may not know!
1. George Washington had to borrow money to go to his inauguration.
2. Perhaps the greatest myth of U.S. inauguration history is that William Henry Harrison's long speech in chilly weather caused his death in 1841. True, Harrison didn't wear a hat or overcoat while speaking for 1 hour, 40 minutes. But Harrison, 68, conducted extensive presidential business for weeks after his address. It's unclear when Harrison caught the cold that led to his pneumonia, but he didn't summon a doctor until 23 days after the inauguration. He died about a week later. The "fatal speech" idea seems predicated on the common, but false, notion that cold weather causes a cold.
3. The departing president often receives little attention, but rarely has it been as obvious as in 1857 when James Buchanan succeeded Franklin Pierce. The swearing-in had to be delayed for 20 minutes because officials forgot to pick up Pierce at his hotel and had to go fetch him.
4. Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated for his second term on a day in 1873 when the noon temperature was 16 degrees. A temporary wooden structure was built for the inaugural ball, and the weather turned it into an icebox. The food froze while guests danced in their coats. The musicians' violin strings snapped because of the chill, and 100 canaries, brought in to provide pleasant sounds, froze to death in their cages.
5. Pierce and Herbert Hoover both "affirmed" rather than swore the oath of office because of religious convictions.
6. Because of gas rationing during World War II, there was no parade for Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth inauguration in 1945.
7. Dwight Eisenhower's 1953 parade was covered by a 24-year-old reporter who worked for the Washington Times-Herald as the "Inquiring Camera Girl." Her name was Jacqueline Bouvier, soon to become Jackie Kennedy.
8. One of the nation's greatest poets, Robert Frost, had a miserable time when called upon to recite verse for John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961. The 86-year-old poet was blinded by the bright sunlight and unable to read the new poem he had written. Instead, the flustered Frost switched to an old poem he had memorized, dedicating it to "the president-elect, Mr. John Finley." (Finley was a classics scholar at Harvard.)
9. Lyndon Johnson was the only president to take the oath of office from a woman, U.S. District Judge Sarah Hughes. He also was the only president to be sworn in on an airplane, taking office after Kennedy's assassination.
10. Before Richard Nixon's 1973 inaugural parade, officials applied a chemical bird repellent to tree branches along the route. The product, Roost No More, was supposed to keep pigeons off the trees by making their feet itch. Instead, the birds ate the repellent and keeled over, leaving Pennsylvania Avenue decorated with sick and dead pigeons!
As for me, on Inauguration Day, Tuesday, i will be attending the free party and viewing here at the Paramount Theatre here in seattle, the festivities begin at 6 AM! they will hava big screen to watch and coffee and snacks! so, i wont be updating until the afternoon!!
As soon as the 44th President is sworn in and says a few syllables, he will by the end of business day on the 20th:
*Restore the economy to 1998 standards
*Restore all lost jobs to all who got laid off, and every American who will be rehired under the Obama Stimulus Plan will recieve $10,000 to pay off debts and back rents
*Issue an Executive Order eliminating the Patriot Act, declaring it unconstitutional
*Eliminate the Department of Homeland Security, restoring the good semblance of order of the Pre-Bush Presidency
*Make a trip to the Potomac River and demonstrate once and for all how He can Walk on Water, and Restore instantly the faith and confidence of the Entire Planet!
*Issue another Executive Order Proclaiming that not only Pigs can and will fly, but speak the english language too!
wheeeeeeeeee!!! just a few outrageous thoughts from an idiot! hahaha!!
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King holiday, so, nothing will be open. i dunno if the online coffee co. will be open tomorrow or not, so i may not be able to update here tomorrow. we will see.
hava slap-happy last sunday of bushwacker, and hug the cats! happy days will return again!
