Did the Continental Army seize airports during the Revolutionary War?

Yes.  Yes they did.

One of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution was fought on the Field of Logan (as it used to be called) in July 1775 between Massachusetts militia and two British army regiments: The Royal Regiment of Foot, Light  or ROFL Regiment; and the Western Tottenham Regiment of Foot, or WTF Regiment.  They were supported by a battery of artillery known as the Twickenham and Sussex Artillery, or the TSA.

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A Visit to Winthrop by Saint Nicholas

T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, especially not a mouse.
The children were snoring all snug in our bed,
And I killed time as sermon number two was said.

Geoff read his history book in the loft,
After the last high notes of the night, I coughed.
We stumbled on home as the clock struck three,
And were greeted by Dash who needed to pee.

After feeding each dog and both of the cats,
We took off our coats, shoes, and hats.
With dawn fast approaching we took to our bed,
With visions of sleeping late stuck in our heads.

When in the back yard there arose such a clatter,
Dash sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
A dachshund stampede that was gone in a flash,
I groaned, shook my head, and then muttered “DASH!”

The moon couldn’t shine off of non-existent snow
(No White Christmas for us this year as you know),
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a flying sleigh, and nine panting reindeer.

My first thought was that I must be sick,
“There’s no way that I could be seeing St. Nick!”
More rapid than eagles his nine reindeer came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

“Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN!
And RUDOLPH!  Keep that nose of yours shining with light!
There’ll be no mid-air sleigh collisions tonight!”

As a ball when it meets Teddy Ballgame would fly,
The reindeer and sleigh fiercely arced through the sky,
And up to the house-top the reindeer they flew,
And suddenly I wondered what Santa would do.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The pounding and scratching of each reindeer hoof.
I wondered whether Santa had already found,
That we have no chimney! And two small loud hounds!

I blinked to be sure of what I was seeing
When I realized that, yep, Rudolph was peeing.
Santa hopped out of the sleigh and dusted his clothes,
He strode across the yard like someone who knows.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all dirty with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had crammed in a sack,
He looked like Mall Santa, coffee break over, heading back.

His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
He laughed as he kicked off melting ice and slush,
“Good God,” I said, “Santa Claus is a lush.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
So naturally we started to hear a loud screech.
“The smoke alarm! Where’s the stepladder to reach?”

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
Not anything like that creepy one on the shelf;
Then I saw he had another bag, packed full of coal,
And I wondered where he’d found it at the North Pole.

He saw the look on my face, and he smiled as he said
“Don’t worry, there’s no reason for you to feel dread.
That coal’s for the White House, they’ve all been quite bad,
Ivanka, Jr., Eric, and ESPECIALLY their dad!”

“But Santa,” I said, “do you have anything more?
Robert Mueller works very hard on this terrible chore.”
He chuckled and said in his cheery slurred speech,
“Fear not, they’ve got all that they need to impeach!”

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
They flew low and away, to avoid any missiles.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL*, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!”

*Except certain people in DC.

Happy #PresidentsDay

Today is the day that we traditionally celebrate the men who have held the office of the President of the United States.  Over the years that celebration has gone from actually thinking about the Founding Fathers to indulging in a long weekend, sales on automobiles, and deep discounts at your local mall or favorite online store.

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Oh #Portugal, I love you SO MUCH

As anyone who knows me well already knows, I am half Portuguese on my father’s side.  His family came from the Azores, and as it turns out we also have converted Portuguese Sephardic Jews on his mother’s side of the family.  Anyway, I have always loved Portuguese cuisine, and as I have gotten older I have come to appreciate Portuguese culture and history a lot more.  Kelly and I originally planned to visit Portugal and France (my mother’s family is French-Canadian) on our honeymoon, but circumstances and finances prevented it.  Perhaps one day we will get to go.  I hope so.

Anyway, recently the Netherlands released a tourism promotional video that poked a lot of fun at our new President.  It’s easier if you see it rather than me try to explain what they did.  But it is hilarious. See the original below.

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More kitteh and puppeh updates

We had our first real snow of the year this weekend.  The only animal that made it outside to run around in it was Dash, and he came right back in after running out to use the bathroom.

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Some thoughts on this historic election day, part one

Yes, historic.  No, I am not being overly dramatic.

I have plenty to say, but as an introduction I want all of you to hear what Samantha Bee has to say because she puts it in its proper perspective and frankly, it’s something I think we all need to hear.

She’s right.  As Kelly pointed out on our Twitter feed earlier today, a lot of people (particularly women) see this election in its proper context as (quite probably*) the first election of a woman to the office of President of the United States.  And that is absolutely HUGE.

More to follow soon, I promise.

-Geoff

*Unless this turns into another too-close-to-call nail biter like 2000, we’ll probably know soon enough, won’t we?

Happy John Daker Day

This post might be a little stream of consciousness.  It’s Holy Week, I’m tired, and last night I was exposed to one of the best/worst internet videos of all time.

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What we’re reading now – March 2016 edition

I got home from work last night, bundled myself into my Dash-don’t-you-dare-lick-me outfit, and spent some time playing Shaws Monopoly and reading stuff and things on the intertubes.  Some of them were awesome, some were thought provoking, others were troll/bless your heart you stupid little millennial magnets, and some actually made me want to comment.  Here they are for your reading pleasure.

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