We left Virginia on Monday last, which was Columbus Day (and didn't that set off the pagan progressives) and which was also, by the calendar, the 14th of October.
If you have deduced from the opening picture (a wee sma' portion of the Bayeux Tapestry, not a depiction of Your Humble Scribe trying to get through TSA at Reagan National Airport) and the fact that we flew out of Virginia on the 14th day of the 10th month that I was making a reference to the Battle of Hastings, you would be correct. Also the envy of all your friends, if they were of an historical bent.
What rather blew my mind, after a good night's sleep, was that given we flew on the 14th of October, the anniversary of William the Bastard, er, I mean Conqueror, defeating King Harold Godwinson, was that our flight number was rather interesting.
1066.
Odd that.
But kinda cool.
If'n you are of an historical bent.
The first time that I ever flew was on Flight 711 to Chicago which then headed to Las Vegas...........
ReplyDeleteAn omen, I'm sure.
DeleteI’m thinking this is not coincidence. A quick search shows at least three airlines (Spirit, Jetblue, American) currently have a Flight 711 to Vegas.
DeleteNow, are all the *return* flights 000, because that’s your bank balance?
Interesting. Is there a Flight 21?
DeleteAllegiant does it, and the El Al flight from Tel Aviv (!!) is also Flight 21.
DeleteBasically just playing with this tool:
https://www.mccarran.com/Flights/Arrivals
Kinda cool.
DeleteIt’s a little known fact that bears get colds, too. That time I sneezed with my head inside a dumpster — well, my hearing will never be the same.
ReplyDeleteWell, sleeping in a drafty old cave can't be healthy.
DeleteHey, I’ll have you know I bought this thing for a song, at the bottom of the market, so I’m sitting pretty when I decide to sell... You know, after I get done taking a nice, long nap.
DeleteHeh.
DeleteAs long as it's not a western desert cave, which would mean the mousies have Hanta and Black plague, and it's a dry cave, caves can be quite comfortable.
DeleteEspecially if you put a rock wall up front, have an escape tunnel or two, got your provisions available, cool in summer, not overly cool in winter.
SAC made lots of nice caves all over. Then they either filled them with water or blew them up, the bastiges...
Can bears build walls?
DeleteCareful with the in-flight cutlery sarge, it could take your eye out😱
ReplyDeleteThe King does not find that amusing.
DeleteHowever, I do.
Hark the Harold Angel Sings,
DeleteAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, My EYE!!!!!!!!!!!!
🤣
DeleteBest be watchful there Sarge, given those portents you've described Beans might be influenced to haul out his hauberk and start the march! Myself I was ready to raise the local fyrd until realizing the grass still needs cutting........oh well..... :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha!
DeleteIt’s so much easier nowadays, when you can just visit your local Fyrd dealership and peruse a fine selection of new and used Fyrds.
DeleteLookout! a bear is on a roll! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sEazfbKwf8
Delete/
L.J.
a bear - You can also get an escort there. (What? That's a car? Never mind.)
DeleteL.J. - Well played, well played.
DeleteHa. I do have a hauberk, somewhere around here...
DeleteAnd, well, my middle name is a frankified version of a Norse/Germanic 'Stern Bear.'
And, yes, I have rolled down a hill while in armor, though in stead of saying "As you Wish...." it was more like "Oh, Copulation, Oh, Copulation!!!!!!!" Bowling with Beans...
Interesting mental picture.
DeleteFeel better soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Skip.
DeleteSpeaketh thee kindly of William, our King, as it is written in the rolls of Ancestry that he is my great, great, great....grandfather.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm guessing you're not a fan of archery?
DeleteWilliam the King was quite fond of archery. William the King's son, not so much.
Delete(For those not in the know, William the Conqueror's son, William, wasn't liked much by other people and during a hunting expedition, someones mistook William the Son for a deer, or so that's the story. Seriously, a 'hunting accident' maybe if it had been just one arrow, it was more like having dirt on Hillary and going into the woods to commit 'suicide'...
Kinda like falling down the stairs for barracks thieves. 27 times.
DeleteHope you get warmer soon, or at least leave the cold behind you.
ReplyDeleteAnd a bear, is it true what they say about you ursines and the woods? I read somewhere there are some differing opinions about that old saw's accuracy.
Thanks Tom. As to bears and woods, I can confirm that.
DeleteYes, I can confirm. Best plan is to waylay a hipster hiker first, so you have a comfy flannel shirt to wipe with.
DeleteHahaha!
DeleteSo a bear is walking along in the woods one day and comes upon a rabbit.
Delete"Hullo, Mr. Rabbit," says the bear.
"Uh, hello, Mr. Bear...," tentatively says the rabbit.
"Good day, isn't it?" asks the bear.
"So far, I guess..." says the rabbit.
"I just have to ask you, does poop stick to your fur much?" asks the bear.
"Um, no.." says the thoroughly confused rabbit.
"Good," says the bear, and he grabs the rabbit and wipes...
I have heard that one before.
DeleteSo why do bears do Charmin commercials?
Ok, so Beans owes me a new computer screen!!!
DeleteBears most likely do Charmin commercials for the money...after all TP is not cheap...
Hahaha!
DeleteOne of the very great joys of existence is being blindsided by coincidence and having the knowledge and experience to recognize patterns in the strangest places. In the not too distant past I had a black cat cross my path and refused to deviate from my course. A little while later I checked out at the local Reasonably Intact Foods and the register rang up with 666. And iirc it was Friday the 13th. Although I may be incorrect on that last bit. I am, after all, still alive.
ReplyDeleteThe comments have prompted a question in my mind regarding bears and woods. In many of his Westerns, Louis L'Amour often had cowboys describing the humble doughnut as "bear-sign." Which always made me wonder if pope-poop forms an annulus when deposited there in the dark, deep and lovely woods. Being a denizen of the treeless plains, I've never found out.
Feel better soon Sarge. Those bloody colds suck. And blow.
It’s supposedly because cowboy-made frontier doughnuts looked more like a doughy plop than the traditional ring shape.
DeleteCan also confirm that grizzly poop has spurs and bullets in it.
The cats departed the kitchen at 800 kias when I exploded in laughter reading that last sentence. Made my day, thanks!
DeletePA - Nuts and berries contained in a Tootsie Roll is what Vermont bear poop looked like to me.
DeleteBlack cats in some cultures are lucky.
a bear - Good one.
DeletePA #2 - Now that made me guffaw.
DeleteSo the last time I was going adventuring, the guide book recommended I put bells on my ankles, just in case I came across any bears. Apparently Black Bears will be scared away by the bells. And the naturalists can identify the grizzly poop by all the bells in it.
DeleteHeh.
DeleteA .22 will protect you from bear attacks. Use it to shoot someone in your party in the knee if attacked by bears.
A Bear? How the heck did we get off to Louisiana politics?
ReplyDeleteKind of unbearable, isn't it?
DeleteThough it does look like good things are actually happening in most of Louisiana for once...
Now if they'd just vote a Repub mayor and city council in New Orleans.... Well, the chance of that ever happening... I crack myself up sometimes...
Any Mouse - Took me a second, but I got it. (Hebert.)
DeleteAnd Beans actually talks about Louisiana politics.
DeleteHastings was a weird battle. The English actually had more horses than the Normans and their allies. They just rode them to the battle, while the Normans rode theirs in the battle.
ReplyDeleteReally looked like the battle actually was going to the English Saxons for a while. Then stupidity occurred, and the Fyrd broke down (as all Fyrds, and Chyvies do...) and that gave the battle to the Normans. Didn't help that Harold looked up. Dumbass, never look up.
Good times. Good times.
Couple friends of mine went to Hastings 2016 and participated in the recreation battle there. To participate your kit and kaboodle has to be 'correct.' And the authenticity Nazis (a recreation/reenactment term for those who will niggle the finest points on one's stuff, down to "Nope, can't go out on the field today because this button here was not used until 1864, and this is an 1863 button." Which is usually followed by "Oops, button fell off..." The first guy is the Authenticity Nazi.)
The two guys said it was kinda fun, as they went for Stamford Bridge and Hastings, and there was a big Norwegian contingent at Stamford and the Norse did not want to lose again, but had to, because, well, they did. Apparently politics plays a lot on what side one tends to participate in. So the Saxons tend to be more Liberal and the Normans more conservative. (Same with English Civ War reenactors, especially the Scots. Liberals are Parliamentarians, while Conservatives are Royalists. Weird, but true for the most part...) The two got some really weird looks from Customs both ways, even thought they shipped most of their stuff via air-freight. Just some of their clothing was with them. And jewelry. Weird looks for a custom sword belt with silver plaques on it....
One of these days I'll do a whole rundown on Oct. 14th as long as it's not a juvat day.
As to the origin of this blog, yeah, weird things do happen, don't they?
Most interesting.
DeleteI am familiar with those who "police" the reenactment rules. We always went by the 50-foot rule.
Wait. I was told there would be no math. Numbers=math.
ReplyDeleteKnock it off! Don't do it again! :)
Who told you there would be no math?
DeleteHahaha!
Judging by all the puns, you have a lot of intellectual readers (Not me!). Also, twisted and demented readers.
ReplyDeleteTrue on both counts!
DeleteHuh??????
ReplyDelete?
Delete