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| TOMMY EDWARDS PLAYLIST |
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| Born Thomas Edwards in Richmond, Virginia, Edwards was an R&B singer most remembered for his 1958, Billboard No. 1, "It's All in the Game."
He sang his hit song on The Ed Sullivan Show, on 14 September, 1958. The song was composed by the then-future U.S. Vice-President, Charles G. Dawes in 1912, as "Melody in A Major," with lyrics written in 1951 by Carl Sigman. Edwards originally recorded and charted the song in 1951, but it only climbed to # 18 on the chart. The better-known 1958 version was on the same record label (MGM) and backed by the same orchestra leader (Leroy Holmes), but with a different arrangement more suited to the rock and roll-influenced style of the time. |  |
| As well as topping the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the song also got to number one on the R&B chart, and in the UK Singles Chart.
The single sold over 3.5 million copies globally, earning gold disc status. The gold disc was presented in November 1958. Tommy had a more modest hit with the follow-up, "Love is All We Need," which climbed to #15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. He died after suffering a brain aneurysm in Henrico County, Virginia, at the age of 47. |
 ONE HUNDRED FAMOUS VIEWS OF EDO (TOKYO) NUMBER TWENTY-EIGHT |
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| Gotenyama, Shinagawa |
| Gotenyama (Palace Hill) was the southernmost projection of the Shinagawa heights. It overlooked the Meguro River to the south and the Tokaido to the east as it passed through the narrow settlement of Shinagawa, gateway to the city of Edo.
Gotenyama combined a spacious lawn for relaxation with a beautiful view, and Hiroshige was fond of depicting the panorama through the flowering cherries out over Edo Bay to the east. Out of a total of more than 1,000 views of the scenic sites of Edo that Hiroshige depicted in single-sheet prints, Gotenyama ranked eighth in frequency; it was rendered a total of 35 times. This print is unique, for it records not the beauty of the place--rather its destruction, seen not from above looking east but from below looking west. Huge quantities of earth had been dug away from the hill in order to build the Odaiba, the eight small island-fortresses constructed in Edo Bay of Shinagawa in 1853-1854 following the arrival of Admiral Perry's warships. Gotenyama thus appears here as the sacrifice of an Edo "famous place" to modernization, the first in a series that would continue unabated thereafter. |
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| DOLPHIN Coryphaena hippurus |
| Description: bright greenish-blue above, yellow on sides, with capability of flashing purple, chartreuse, and a wide range of other colors; body tapers sharply from head to tail; irregular blue or golden blotches scattered over sides; anterior profile of head on adult males is nearly vertical; head of females more sloping; the single dark dorsal fin extends from just behind the head to the tail; anal fin margin concave and extending from anus to tail.
Similar Fish: pompano dolphin, C. equisetis. The pompano dolphin has squarish tooth patch on tongue (oval tooth patch on dolphin) and fewer dorsal rays (48 to 55 versus 55 to 65 on dolphin). Where found: OFFSHORE in warm waters. Size: common to 30 pounds. Florida Record: 77 lbs, 12 ozs. One of the fastest-growing fish, thought to live no more than 5 years; swimming speed is estimated at 50 knots; spawns in warm ocean currents throughout much of the year; young found in sargassum weed; feeds on flying fish and squid. |
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| BORDER TERRIER |
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| THE UNITED STATES SCREW STEAM GUN-BOAT "WINONA," LAUNCHED AT NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 14, 1861 |
| USS Winona (1861)was a gunboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Winona was heavily armed, with large guns for duels at sea, and 24-pounder howitzers for shore bombardment. Winona saw significant action in the Gulf of Mexico and in the waterways of the Mississippi River and was fortunate to return home safely after the war for decommissioning. |
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| VIEW ON THE JAMES RIVER CANAL, NEAR BALCONY FALLS.-REBEL TROOPS GOING FROM LYNCHBURG TO BUCHANAN, ON THEIR WAY TO WESTERN VIRGINIA. |
| The James River and Kanawha Canal was a project first proposed by George Washington when he was a young man surveying the mountains of western Virginia, which at the time consisted of what is today West Virginia, Kentucky, and to the north bank of the Ohio river. He was searching for a way to open a water route to the West. He believed that was the key to helping Virginia to become an economic powerhouse in what would become the United States quite a few years later.
In those times, waterways were the major highways of commerce. Early developments along the east coast of the colonies tended to end at the fall line (the head of navigation) of the rivers that emptied into the Atlantic directly (e.g., the Hudson River) or into its great Bays (e.g., the Delaware and the Chesapeake). Such early communities in Virginia included what we now know as Alexandria on the Potomac River, Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River, Richmond and Lynchburg on the James River and Petersburg on the Appomattox River. It was known by then that the Ohio River flowed into the Mississippi River, which flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. It was also known that the Allegheny Mountains formed the Eastern Continental Divide, and that there was apparently no inland waterway to sail between the two large watersheds. |
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| JACK NICHOLSON (Caricature) |
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WILLIAM CLARK - PART TWO |
| Lewis, with a "party of eleven hands" and his Newfoundland dog, Seaman, departed Pittsburgh in a specially designed keelboat, accompanied by a pirogue (small riverboat), August 30, 1803. Navigating down the Ohio River during a period of low water, Lewis experienced several instances of grounding in the shallow water that required hiring teams of horses to refloat the keelboat. To lighten the cargo, Lewis purchased a second pirogue at Wheeling (West Virginia). The two pirogues would, during the course of the expedition, be navigated up the Missouri, nearly 2,500 miles, to the Great Falls of the Missouri (Montana).
In mid-October, Clark joined Lewis at Clarksville, Indiana Territory, opposite Louisville. Here, after making interim preparations for the journey and enlisting several recruits, Clark, together with his black manservant, York (who had been willed to Clark by his father), boarded the keelboat. Considered an equal among members of the expedition, York was allowed to vote and participate in many of same activities as the others. Proceeding on, the embryonic Corps of Discovery reached St. Louis in mid-December, 1803. The Spanish commandant at St. Louis denied the explorers entry to Louisiana Territory due to their lack of a Spanish passport. Consequently, they established their camp on the east side of the Mississippi, at River Dubois, Illinois Territory, opposite the confluence of the Missouri River with the Mississippi. Clark, the more rugged frontiersman, would supervise the building of their 1803-1804 winter camp. Over the winter the men were disciplined in army regimen, and trained for the rugged conditions that they would encounter. Supplies and equipment for the journey that came in from the east were packed and sorted for the three vessels that would take them upriver. On May 7, 1804, Clark, to the agonizing disappointment of both leaders, received his commission. It was for the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Artillerists. Clark had been addressed as "Captain" by both Lewis and the men, continuously, since Clark had boarded the keelboat, October 26, 1803, and he would remain "Captain" throughout the journey. To legitimize the pseudo rank, an organizational unit designation to which Clark would be attached was necessary when he signed official documents, such as detachment orders, court martial proceedings, "Indian Certificates," and similar formal records. The captains, accordingly, conceived the title: "Corps of Volunteers on an Expedition of North Western Discovery." Clark's signature, and rank of captain, appears in the journals with that organizational designation, usually abbreviated to: "Wm Clark Capt on E. N. W. D." (See p. 170, Vol. 3, Moulton Edition) This arrangement, which confirms Lewis' promise to Clark in offering him a co-captaincy, "...your situation if joined with me in this mission will in all respects be precisely such as my own." Clark's pseudo-captaincy was never revealed to the men throughout the mission. |
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| Yesterday, All those backups seemed a waste of pay. Now my database has gone away. Oh I believe in yesterday. Suddenly, There's not half the files there used to be, And there's a milestone hanging over me The system crashed so suddenly. I pushed something wrong What it was I could not say. Now all my data's gone and I long for yesterday-ay-ay-ay. Yesterday, The need for back-ups seemed so far away. I knew my data was all here to stay, Now I believe in yesterday. |  |
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| The sea otter's dark fur is the finest and densest of any animal fur. On an adult animal, there are approximately 650,000 hairs per square inch. A sea otter relies on its fur to keep it warm -- it doesn't have blubber as other marine mammals do. Natural oils in a sea otter's fur repel water. |
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| Generally sticking to shallow coastal waters of no more than about 55 meters in depth, sea otters are found most often in areas with rocky coastlines and thick kelp forests; barrier reefs and intertidal areas are also inhabited. |
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| MOTHER AND PUP -- MORRO BAY, CALIFORNIA |
| Otters frequently eat while floating on the surface of the water. Otters like to relax and groom themselves this way after a hunt, and also use this method to fill up their fur with warm air bubbles for insulation. |
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| JOHN JAMES AUDUBON PAINTING |
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| The Holsteiner horse originated in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Northern Germany and is the product of a systematic breeding program that originated over 700 years ago. |
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| Early breeding of the Holsteiner horse was conducted by the monasteries of the region, with special emphasis on producing an elegant riding and carriage horse that could also work the fields in the harsh climate of the area. Following the Reformation, breeding initiatives fell to the state and to the individual farmers. Great pride was taken in selecting the best quality mares and stallions and in keeping accurate breeding records. Numbers, called stamms or stems, were assigned to each new mare line and were passed down through the generations from mother to daughter. This practice is still in existence today. |
| Holsteiner breeders have always been blessed with visionaries who recognized the outstanding traits of the breed, but who were not afraid to bring in new bloodlines to adapt their horses to the changing needs of the market. The elegant driving horses of the 1800's were produced through infusions of Yorkshire Coach Horse and Cleveland Bay from the importation of stallions of those breeds. In response to the shift toward the breeding of horses especially suited to the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and show jumping, the Holsteiner Verband brought in English Thoroughbred, Anglo Arab and Selle Francais stallions to modernize the Holsteiner type. |
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| The modern Holsteiner is of medium frame and stands 16 to 17 hands (a hand is 4 inches), with a powerful hind leg, strong back and loin. His arched neck rises from a well angled shoulder to a small head with a large intelligent eye. This conformation adapts easily to "self carriage"- that expressive, elegant quality so essential in modern equestrian sport. When the Holsteiner begins to move his reputation as one of the world's finest sport horses is understood. |
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| Photographer, conservationist; born in San Francisco. A commercial photographer for 30 years, he made visionary photos of western landscapes that were inspired by a boyhood trip to Yosemite. He won three Guggenheim grants to photograph the national parks (1944--58). Founding the f/64 group with Edward Weston in 1932, he developed zone exposure to get maximum tonal range from black-and-white film. He served on the Sierra Club Board (1934--71). |  |
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| Crater Lake, Oregon |
| TIMELINE: Ansel Easton Adams born on February 20, 1902, at 114 Maple Street, San Francisco, the only child of Olive and Charles.
1915: Despises the regimentation of a regular education, and is taken out of school. For that year, his father buys him a season pass to the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which he visits nearly every day. Private tutors provide further instruction. 1916: Family Trip to Yosemite, Californina. 1925: Decides to become a pianist. Buys a grand piano. 1927: First acknowledged photograph. 1940: Teaches first Yosemite workshop, the U. S. Camera Photographic Forum, in Yosemite with Edward Weston. 1953: He collaborated with Dorothea Lange on a Life commission for a photo essay on the Mormons in Utah. 1962: Adams moved to Carmel, California, where in 1967 he was instrumental in the foundation of the Friends of Photography. 1984: Dies April 22 of heart failure aggravated by cancer. |
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| Rock and Grass, Moraine Lake, Sequoia National Park, 1932 |
| We admire them, we envy them, for great qualities which we ourselves lack. Hero worship consists in just that. . . . Mark Twain |
| In these days of phoniness and superficiality, I think we need to be reminded now and then just who and what a REAL HERO is... |
 Audie Murphy 1924 - 1971 | Audie Murphy was born on June 20, 1924 near Kingston, Texas. However, some accounts place his actual birthdate in 1925. The son of poor sharecroppers, Audie was one of 12 children, only 9 of whom survived to adulthood. Life in the Murphy household was poor and very hard. Growing up, Audie picked cotton and became very skilled with a rifle to hunt small game to help feed the family.
When he was 12, Audie's father left the family to find work and at age 16, Audie's mother died, leaving him effectively orphaned and needing to take care of his younger siblings. When the United States declared war in December of 1941, Audie rushed to enlist. He first attempted to join the Marines. He was turned away for being too small. Audie in 1941 was 5 ft. 5 in. tall and weighed only 110 lbs. Undeterred, he attempted to join the Army Paratroopers and was again turned away. Finally, Audie enlisted in the Regular Army as an infantryman. He signed the papers a few days after his 18th birthday. This is significant since it is highly possible that Audie was only 17 at the time and had somehow altered his birth certificate in order to serve. |
Audie received his baptism of fire as he landed in Sicily on July 10, 1943. Audie's captain did his best to keep the small soldier from fighting by making him a runner. Audie, however, had other plans and he slipped off to join any patrol he could. Audie soon distinguished himself under fire as a resourceful and effective soldier. Finally the Captain gave up and promoted Audie to Corporal. Audie's next action was in the invasion of Salerno on the Italian mainland. Here Audie again excelled as a soldier. While leading a night patrol, Audie and his men ran into a group of German soldiers. After fighting their way out of an ambush, they took cover in a rock quarry. The Germans sent a squad of soldiers in to get them out but were stopped by intense machine gun and rifle fire. Three of the Germans were killed and several more captured. For his actions at Salerno, Audie was promoted to Sergeant. Audie missed the next invasion at Anzio due to a serious attack of malaria. Audie soon recovered and rejoined his unit just in time for some of the fiercest fighting of the war. For three days the Americans fought to escape their beachhead but were unsuccessful. The situation deteriorated to a stalemate with neither side gaining. This went on for months and the soldiers dug in for the long haul. Audie volunteered for numerous patrols and his unit came under artillery fire almost every night. Audie was soon evacuated from the front with another severe attack of malaria. Within 10 days he was back at the front. Soon after the unit was pulled out for a short rest. Audie was offered a battlefield commission to 2nd Lieutenant. Audie, not wanting to leave his unit, refused the promotion. 
Once back at the front, Audie quickly surveyed his area and discovered that there was only one route the enemy armor could pass through. Audie heavily mined the area. When the Germans attacked, the lead tank hit a mine and blocked the road completely. The Germans withdrew but Audie wanted to ensure that they could not move the damaged tank. Taking a small patrol forward, Audie ordered them to cover him while he approached the tank. He first threw two Molotov cocktails at the tank. Neither ignited. A grenade he tossed inside was ineffective. The Germans guarding the tank began firing at him. Audie next used rifle grenades and finally managed to knock the tank treads off one side. For this action, Audie was awarded the Bronze Star. |
As the 3rd Division continued their advance, Audie was wounded in the heel by a shell fragment. He received the Purple Heart and spent two weeks in an Evac hospital. After returning to his unit, they were ambushed while on patrol. Audie, who crawled out of the ambush zone, charged the enemy position and using two hand grenades, silenced it. For this action, which saved the lives of this patrol, Audie was awarded the Silver Star. Several days later, his platoon was ambushed again and several more soldiers were killed. Audie grabbed a radio and crawled forward to where he could see the enemy position. While under intense fire, Audie called in mortar and artillery fire on the Germans. Official Army records indicate the indirect fire killed 15 and wounded 35 enemy soldiers. For this, Audie received his second Silver Star, three days after earning his first.
Several days later, Audie was ordered to the 15th Regiment's headquarters. Once there he was discharged from the Army as a Sergeant and then commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. With his new rank, Audie returned to his platoon, this time to command it. On October 26, 1944 Audie was wounded again, this time in the hip by a sniper's bullet. He was evacuated to a hospital and spent the next 3 months recuperating. Rejoining his unit in January 1945, Audie led his men against the German stronghold at Holtzwihr. For three days they attacked the fortress with no success. Soon, Audie was the only officer left alive. He took command of the company and organized the next assault. As they waited in the snow for the order to attack, 6 German tanks and 250 Infantrymen approached from Holtzwihr. Being greatly outnumbered, Audie ordered his men to pull back. Audie called in artillery on the approaching enemy but did not stop them. Audie decided to take action. Near his position was a burning tank destroyer. Audie climbed on top, and turned the machine gun on the approaching Germans. As Audie fired from the burning tank, the artillery began to land in earnest and the German advance faltered. For almost an hour, Audie continued to lay down fire on the Germans. When he ran out of ammunition, he dropped into the snow and discovered he had been wounded, his third, in the leg. Enemy soldiers lay dead just 10 yards from the tank destroyer. For this daring feat, Audie was recommended for and received the Medal of Honor. |
| Audie was removed to a rear area and made a liaison officer. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on February 22, 1945. On June 2, 1945, Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch, Commander of the US Seventh Army, presented the Medal of Honor and Legion of Merit to Audie. The Legion of Merit was awarded for his outstanding services with the 3rd Infantry Division from January 22, 1944 to February 18, 1945. On June 10, Audie left Paris by plane and arrived in San Antonio, Texas, 4 days later. On September 21, 1945, Audie was discharged from the Army. |
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His list of medals include:
Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star with First Oak Leaf Cluster Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device and First Oak Leaf Cluster Purple Heart with Second Oak Leaf Cluster U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal Good Conduct Medal Distinguished Unit Emblem with First Oak Leaf Cluster American Campaign Medal European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp Armed Forces Reserve Medal Combat Infantry Badge Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star French Croix de Guerre with Palm Medal of Liberated France Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm |
1st Lieutenant Audie Murphy with all medals |
 | After the war, Audie became an actor and starred in 44 films over 25 years. Audie turned his wartime experiences into a bestselling book, To Hell and Back, that became, in turn, a blockbuster film and his most successful starring vehicle. Murphy's intensely moving memoir is written in a stark, understated style. Unadorned, intense, and eloquent--this straightforward firsthand experience remains as intimate and immediately readable today as when it was first published in 1949. |
| On May 28, 1971 Audie Murphy was killed when the private plane he was flying in crashed in heavy fog near Roanoke, Virginia. |
| "As an actor, I'm a pretty good stuntman." . . . Audie Murphy | 
Audie and Sons Terry Michael, b. 1952 James Shannon, b. 1954 |
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| BANDED BUTTERFLYFISH |
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EVENING GROSBEAK MALE FEEDING JUVENILE FEMALE |
| DISCLAIMER: Material used in Bitts and Bytes is gathered from various sources--mainly the World Wide Web.
Authorship cannot always be credited nor the source defined. Authenticity of material is assumed to be correct, but is not guaranteed. |  |
