Reflections of An Uncommon Common Man

  I caught a small part of Glen Beck talking about someone, I assume who is a celebrity, saying that Trump and his followers were worse than anything that has ever existed. This person, he said, was born in 1968 and Beck was talking about all the atrocities that this person has lived through. Such as those caused by Pol Pot, Iran, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, the Rwandan genocide, the Soviet Union, North Korea, China and so on but he can still say something that is so ridiculous. I wish that I knew who Beck was talking about but it really doesn't matter, I have heard this tripe so many times, or talk very similar from celebrities to ordinary people. Beck was making the point that if Trump and his followers are really that bad then the logical solution is that we must be eliminated. People as evil as we are have no place in a civilized society. This is what Hitler thought about the Jews, blacks, Slavs, Communists, Gypsies, homosexuals, and anyone who just didn't agree with h...

We arrived in Deadwood SD in the early afternoon of July 12th. Deadwood reminded me somewhat of Gatlinburg Tennessee. I was very disappointed when I found out that the original Deadwood of Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp and Calamity Jane fame no longer existed. Deadwood has had several fires since 1879 that have virtually destroyed the original town. There are signs showing the places where Wild Bill Hickock was killed and his killer Jack McCall was captured but the saloon where Hickok actually died no longer exists. We visited Mt. Moriah cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok was buried alongside Calamity Jane. It is hard to separate the myths from the facts surrounding the lives of these two historical figures. We know that Hickok fought for the Union as a scout and a spy during the Civil War. He was a stagecoach driver, lawman, a marksman, actor, gunslinger and a gambler. Because of failing eyesight he pretty much gave up everything except for gambling and he died while playing cards in Dea...

 We arrived in Keystone South Dakota on the night of July 11th. Rob had flown in from Florida that day and was waiting for us at our motel. The next day we got up early and drove to the Badlands. Somebody asked me why it was called the Badlands and after seeing it I could understand why it was called by that name. It had a rugged beauty but it would definitely be hard to survive there for any length of time. The Lakota Sioux named this area Mako Sica which translates to "Badlands". Early French explorers called it les mauvaises terres a traveser which means (‘bad lands to travel across’). This was literally true. When it rains the wet clay becomes slick and sticky making travel difficult. The terrain is very rough with jagged canyons and buttes. It is very cold in the winter and very hot and dry in the summer. The few water sources are muddy and unsafe to drink. The Indians used it primarily for hunting but it was not used for permanent habitation. An interesting fact is that...

 Before our trip to South Dakota I had never heard of the Corn Palace. It was, however; one of the most fascinating buildings I have ever seen. The history of the Corn Palace kind of reminded me of the history of the Parthenon in Nashville. Like the Parthenon it was meant to be temporary but it became so popular with the locals that they wanted to make it permanent. The Parthenon that exists today was the 2nd and permanent structure. The first was built for the Bicentennial Exposition in 1897 which celebrated Tennessee's bicentennial one year too late. Tennessee became a state in 1796. The Corn Palace we saw in Mitchell was the 3rd Corn Palace. The first Corn Palace was built in 1892 to celebrate a fall festival commemorating the end of the growing season and harvest. It also became a venue for stage entertainment. At that time Mitchell was a town with a population of 3,000. In 1905 the first Corn Palace was torn down and a second one was built. After a while it became too small an...