Ronald Reagan was the first president to wear hearing aids while in office. The second sitting President to be fitted for hearing aids, Bill Clinton. They are the only two presidents to wear hearing aids while in office.
When George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States, he did so using a Bible loaned from St. John’s Masonic Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons. That was only because no one thought to bring a Bible to the event. Jacob Morton, a Mason and the Master of nearby St. John’s Lodge, offered to run and grab the Bible from the altar at St. John’s. The Bible wasn’t closed but opened randomly due to haste. I would have thought the random section would have been in the middle portion of the Bible, but it was open to chapters 49-50 of Genesis (Jacob blesses his sons, Joseph dies). That Bible, as you would probably expect, was the King James Version. It also contained the Apocrypha, something most protestant Bibles omit. I like to refer to the Apocrypha as the Splenda or artificial sweetener of the Bible; they are “sacred” but not actually Sacred. The oath was administered by the Chancellor of New York, Robert R. Livingston, who was then the highest judicial officer in the state. John Jay did not become the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court until five months later. However, Chief Justice Jay did not administer the oath of office for Washington’s second inauguration, that was done by Supreme Court associate justice William Cushing for reasons in which I’m unclear. A nice tidbit of Cushing, he was the last judge in the United States to wear a full wig.
John Quincy Adams used a U.S. law book when administered the presidential oath of office. Theodore Roosevelt used nothing at all for his first inauguration.
The Yankees and Red Sox played a series in London. I strongly believe the only two teams to play in front of the British Royal Family should solely be the Angels and Mariners with our national anthem sung by Enrico Pallazzo.
To my handful of readers in Canada, Happy Canada Day!
Posted inPersonal|Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Monday, July 1, 2019
It’s been great rewatching the HBO John Adams series with the family, especially after watching the musical Hamilton and listening to the soundtrack all the time. I’m surprised how much Hamilton is referenced in the television series and didn’t pick up on it the first time, he was truly George Washington’s right-hand man and monumentally influential in our country’s founding. It’s one thing to know he was a Founding Father in the general sense, but it’s really neat to piece together history from various sources and see his immense impact.
I think it’s one part absurd and one part typical how I can discover a fascinating fact and totally forget about it until I rediscover it. For instance, the John Adams series is over ten years old and I watched it when it first aired. The most recent episode I watched with my family was about Adams’ time as the second President of the United States. As tensions with France were building, Adams requested George Washington come out of retirement to lead and shape a national army. Jefferson scoffed at the idea asserting Washington would only be in command in name only because of his age and he would delegate almost everything to Hamilton. How crazy is that? I feel like most Americans assumed or were led to believe Washington relinquished power and quietly slipped away to retirement leaving behind all leadership duties and responsibility and becoming an ordinary citizen. Wikipedia’s entry of Washington slightly differs with the man becoming bored in retirement and requesting some military responsibilities.
Washington grew restless in retirement, prompted by tensions with France, and he wrote to Secretary of War James McHenry offering to organize President Adams’ army. Adams offered Washington a lieutenant general commission on July 4, 1798 and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies. He accepted, replacing James Wilkinson, and he served as the commanding general from July 13, 1798 until his death 17 months later.
Washington delegated the active leadership of the army to Hamilton, a major general. No army invaded the United States during this period, and Washington did not assume a field command.
I guess before anyone got Wally Pipped, they got James Wilkinsoned.
If any of you live around Decatur and need any HVAC work done, I highly recommend Mann Refrigeration. They saved me about $3,000 by honoring some work they did about nine and a half years ago despite some registration numbers not coming up on the manufacturers end. The warranty for the part in question was covered for ten years, but as I said, they honored their work.
For more than 20 years, school districts here have emphasized abstinence above all else in sex education. But soon, members of the Texas Board of Education will consider whether to add new topics like “sexual risk reduction methods,” “healthy relationships,” and “anatomy” in grades as early as kindergarten. The recommendations are part of Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath’s Essential Knowledge and Skills review for health education, which included input from health experts. “It is about time that Texas come into the 21st century,” said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, which has long pushed for changes to the curriculum.
There hasn’t been a decent viral Internet video trend in a while. Gone are the days of the mannequin challenge, planking, and the Harlem Shake.
A funny Reddit shower thought – “Bread is a slang term for money. Cheese is also a slang term for money. Therefore grilled cheese sandwiches are the ultimate form of wealth.”
There was no way I was going to watch the Democrat presidential candidate debate last night. However, I laughed at the channel guide’s description – “Season 1 Episode 1”.
If you’re a Dallas Mavericks or Don Nelson fan, his interview with Bryant Gumble on HBO Sports is a must watch. I knew he’s transformed quite a bit physically, but of all things, I was mesmerized by the sharp V his hairline made.
My middle-aged neighbor who recently became a widower asked me over to help him set up his network printer. To my surprise, the neighbor who is a somewhat-recent widow was also visiting. It was a bit awkward being in the middle of the flirting, I felt like I was put back in my place in high school as the third wheel.
Yesterday, it was announced former Dallas Star Guy Carbonneau will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. I thought it was most interesting he was teammates with his son-in-law, Brenden Morrow. They are about 19 years apart in age. I guess the closest thing to that in professional sports would be Ken Griffy Jr. and Sr, who were about 21 years apart in age and played on the same team. However, I forgot they were next to one another in batting order.
#FCSO is continuing to investigate & follow leads regarding #BabyIndia We're happy to report she is thriving & is in the care of GADFACS. By releasing the body cam footage from the discovery of Baby India we hope to receive credible info & find closure. https://t.co/ICI42mjxSv
