DEW Consulting

Today’s offering from This Day in History takes us back to 1780 and the American Revolution. But first, a more pleasant diversion to Gastro Obscura for an exhaustive examination of the the origins of the eponymous egg dish, along with some great Gilded Age photos of Delmonico’s in New York, including one of their menu:  “Beluga caviar, only $1.75” – wow!  You can read all about it here.

And for those whose appetite has now been whetted for finding out the fate of America’s foremost traitor, you can read it here.

   Benedict Arnold

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Last but not least, the following, from Wikipedia.

Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to Arnold’s treason, while some debate their relative importance. According to W. D. Wetherell, he was:

among the hardest human beings to understand in American history. Did he become a traitor because of all the injustice he suffered, real and imagined, at the hands of the Continental Congress and his jealous fellow generals? Because of the constant agony of two battlefield wounds in an already gout-ridden leg? From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his alcoholic father squandered the family’s fortunes? Or was it a kind of extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs to reactionary ones, a change accelerated by his (second) marriage to the very young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen?

Wetherell says that the shortest explanation for his treason is that he “married the wrong person.”

   Peggy Shippen

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Or, as the FBI agent who interviewed me for my security clearance before I started working for the U.S. Department of Interior told me: “This process will take about half a day – unless of course you’ve got big debts or a second marriage. In those cases, the background check will take considerably longer.”

I guess it’s just that time of year for crazy stuff to happen in the desert?

Two stories from This Day in History for September 19th:

On this day in 1957  –  Nevada Test Site

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On this day in 1973  –  Cap Rock at Joshua Tree

People of a certain age will recognize the woman in this security photo right away. For those who were living in a cave in 1975, or those who’ve forgotten Patty Hearst’s nom-de-guerre, there’s always This Day in History.

Bonus link on the Father of Yellow Journalism at Wikipedia.

Worth a visit if you’re ever in the neighborhood:

Hearst Castle, San Simeon

On this day in History, 1981.

Fernando Valenzuela

Fernandomania struck early:  In 1981 he became the first and only man to win Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same year. But Valenzuela pitched 17 big league seasons (1980-97). That included the year we moved to LA and saw him pitch at Chavez Ravine (1985). It also included the year the Dodgers beat the hated Yankees to win the World Series (1988). He threw a no-hitter in 1990 as he was entering the twilight of a brilliant career. Besides his longevity, upbeat personality, and confounding screwball, the thing that set him apart was his plate prowess. Wikipedia tells us:

“Valenzuela was considered an atypically good hitter for a pitcher. His best year at the plate was 1990, his last year with the Dodgers, when he hit .304 with five doubles, one home run, and 11 RBI in 69 at-bats. That gave him a 101 OPS+, meaning Valenzuela ranked just above average among all National League hitters that year, including non-pitchers. In 936 career at-bats — roughly two full seasons worth of at-bats for a full-time position player — his career batting average was .200, with 10 home runs, 26 doubles, and 84 RBI. Valenzuela was even used on occasion as a pinch-hitter, batting .368 (7-for-19). Twice while with the Dodgers, Valenzuela was called upon to play outfield and first base in  games in which he did not pitch. He won the Silver Slugger award for pitchers in 1981 and 1983.”

But tonight when the Dodgers play, we will be rooting against them. They’ll be playing our new home town team, the Colorado Rockies. It’s the first of an important series that may well determine who wins the NL West this season.

Go Rockies!

<But, Fernando, we still love you.>

This Day in History – 1932

This Day in History… Sept. 15th

1940: The Good

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tide-turns-in-the-battle-of-britain

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

1958: The Bad

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/train-plunges-off-bridge

“Oops.”

2008: The Ugly

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lehman-brothers-collapses

“This is the most momentous bankruptcy hearing I’ve ever sat through.”

From History.com

On this day in 1901, the 42-year-old Theodore Roosevelt is suddenly elevated to the White House when President McKinley dies from an assassin’s bullet. But while McKinley’s untimely death brought Roosevelt the presidency, 17 years earlier two other deaths had sent the young Roosevelt fleeing to the far West where his political ambitions were almost forgotten.

In February 1884, Roosevelt’s young wife died after giving birth to their daughter. A mere 12 hours later his much-beloved mother also died. Devastated by this cruel double blow, Roosevelt sought solace in the wide open spaces of the West. He established himself on two ranches in the Badlands of Dakota Territory and wrote to friends that he had given up politics and planned to make ranching “my regular business.” Despite this, three years later he returned to New York City. There he resumed the political career that would eventually take him to the White House. Even after he had returned to the civilized East, Roosevelt always credited his western interlude with restoring his mental and physical vitality.

From an early age, Roosevelt had been convinced of the benefits of living the “strenuous life.” He argued that too many American males had succumbed to the ease and safety of modern industrialized society and had become soft and effeminate. Roosevelt thought more men should follow his example and embrace the hard, virile, pioneer life of the West, a place where “the qualities of hardihood, self-reliance, and resolution” were essential for survival.

Roosevelt’s own western experience was hardly as harsh and challenging as he liked to claim. Yet the eastern tenderfoot did adapt quickly to the rougher ways of ranch life. He earned the respect of Dakotans by tracking down a gang of bandits who had stolen a riverboat and once knocked out a barroom bully who had taunted him. Though he spent the vast majority of his life in the East, Roosevelt thereafter always thought of himself as a westerner at heart. He did more than any president before him to conserve the wild western lands he loved.