John Adams Built the Navy that Jefferson Would Use…Right Mr. Meacham?
Nobody Remembers
I remember how excited I was the day I finished reading David McCollough’s biography of John Adams. I was even more excited when Tom Hanks brought his book to life in an HBO series. So you can imagine how surprised I was to hear a different version of history about John Adams and Thomas Jefferson last night on Mark Levine’s show. This historian, Jon Meacham, gave Jefferson all the glory and made John Adams out to be the stupid one when it came to Barbary pirates.
Funny, I thought—- that’s not how David McCullough reported it.
The author, Jon Meacham, was promoting his new book called Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.
From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–An honest look at Jefferson’s life, accomplishments, and inconsistencies. Bernstein does not gloss over his subject’s flaws and the controversies that surrounded him. The contradictions between Jefferson’s beliefs and his behavior, while exposing his human side, are not used to denigrate him or to diminish his accomplishments
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The Washington Post • Entertainment Weekly • The Seattle Times • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Bloomberg Businessweek
(Notice it’s the liberal media that loves it.)
Mr. Meacham made it sound like, it was Jefferson that stood up to the Barbary Pirates, against the wishes of John Adams. It wasn’t that he was wrong, it was the way he was presenting Jefferson as being so much wiser than John, and leaving out the particulars that was annoying.
To sum it up, in order for America to be able to use the shipping lanes in the Mediterranean, back in the early days of our country, they had to ‘pay’ the Sultan of Tripoli for safe passage. The Sultan, Abdrahaman, wanted more than Congress was willing to give, even though both France and Britain were already paying them. Jefferson had gone to Paris to help John negotiate with them.
(This bribery has NOT changed in all these years)
From John Adams (p. 352)
From Philadelphia, John Jay sent instructions to negotiate with the Barbary States. Funds were made available by Congress up to $80,000. But Adams and Jefferson had not money at hand. When Jefferson inquired whether Adams might borrow again from the Dutch, and reported that French officers in Paris were angry over not having been paid what they were due for services in the Revolution, Adams was helpless to do anything.
Remember, John Adams got a loan from the Dutch, (and he did this all by himself without the help of any of his ‘friends’ in Congress) so that George Washington could then go on with his battles and win the Revolutionary war. Without that loan, the war might have been lost.
Jefferson and Adams wrote to each other, when Jefferson left London and went to Paris…
From John Adams (P. 366)
In an exchange of letters between London and Paris , meantime, he and Jefferson considered the question of whether to pay tribute to the Barbary pirates or wage war with them. Jefferson recommend war as more honorable and proposed that an American fleet be built. Adams agreed in principle and promised, “I will go all lengths with you in promoting a navy.” Like Jefferson, he detested any prospect of paying bribes. But given that there was no American navy at present and that it would be years most likely before Congress voted such a resolution, Adams though it sensible to pay the money. “We ought not fight them at all, unless we determine to fight them forever” he told Jefferson who willingly deferred to Adam’s judgment. Later in January 1787, they would sign a pact with Morocco, whereby the Unites States, like France and Britain agreed to pay for protection.
Then Meacham, went on to give Jefferson the credit for building the Navy, at least I thought that’s what he said. I couldn’t believe it. Did I just hear that? All throughout McCullough’s book, Jefferson is seen hiding out on Monticello throughout the revolution…it was Adams that built that Navy.
When he became President, Adams asked Congress for the funds, and a bill for a ‘provisional army’ was passed.
From John Adams (p. 501)
The rebirth of the navy the ‘wooden walls’ he wanted above all for defense of the country, and a new Department of the Navy, separate from the War Department were his pride and joy.
The new navy, in Vice President’s Jefferson’s view, was a colossal waste of money.
Add to that the fact that when Jefferson became President, he disbanded much of our military, (typical democrat) and so, when the British invaded again in the war of 1812, it was Jefferson’s own fault, the country was unprotected. Adams begged him not to.
John Meacham, was obviously, making a not so accurate picture of Jefferson…the father of the democratic party. Jon is now helping Daddy Bush polish up the history of his son with 41’s new biography.
It’s easy enough to explain: Jon Meacham has connections to all the right people…many of them ‘progressives’ and who know to twist words, and report the right propaganda to affect the nation and the voters.
David McCullough is his own man.
Jon Meacham is executive editor and executive vice president at Random House. He is a former editor-in-chief of Newsweek, a contributing editor to Time Magazine, editor-at-large of WNET, and a commentator on politics, history, and religious faith in America. He won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his work American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. en.wikipedia.org
It’s an election year…the democrats LOVE to bring out Thomas Jefferson, FDR, and the Kennedy’s and polish their stars.
It wasn’t too long after this that I hear ANOTHER biography on the great genius of FDR just came out. Propaganda to get the masses into voting for the RIGHT progressive, whether it be a Bush, or a Clinton.
And as my mother always said, when in life, most times it’s always wise to ‘consider the source.” When it comes to historians, it’s best to check who they are ‘associated” with.
That’s where you will usually find the truth.
Did we NEED another biography of Thomas Jefferson? No. But, it’s an election year…EVERYBODY is writing books.
Nobody’s Perfect: Teddy Bear Jihadist VS Hispanic Trump Haters
Nobody’s Perfect
As we all know, kids don’t just jump in front of camera’s and decide to post themselves on TV and Youtube, and since Hillary does not have the support that Trump has with the Latino’s, she has stooped to new lows. I’d like to compare the Trump bashing video below, with the video above. Both teach hate. (Poor Teddy, Trump can take care of himself.)
Do you think that ANY of these kids are going to grow up to be upstanding citizens of any kind? The young Mexican boy especially…I can just see him beating up some guy for wearing a tee-shirt with an American flag on the front. Young Teddy Bear Killer…has a future in movies if Dad doesn’t get him killed first.
Hate. These racist Hispanics are no different from the Muslims. Hate is all they will feel. Hate is what they are being taught. Ignorance is their future.
So who wins the Nobody’s Perfect Award for the week?
Is it the little Mexican kids, who have been told the lie that Donald Trump wants to take away their grandma?
Or is it the little boy who seems to really enjoy beheading his Teddy Bear?
Sad.
Good for You Ohio! You Got This One Right.
Nobody Knows
The rich elites have found a new cash cow, and the loss in Ohio yesterday was a clear and present shout from the people of Ohio, who obviously have not lost their brains to those criminal Mexican cartels in their mists, and voted down the measure to make Marijuana legal–despite that heart wrenching videos made to make people run out and vote…for the cause of the children.
The ‘progressives’ see it another way:
What’s so bad about filling your lung with smoke so that future Obamacare patients will need even MORE of that wonderful stuff to dull their pain when they are dying of lung cancer and their chemo is being rejected? You could save just ONE child’s life. And what’s so bad about the millions of dollars that the state will make off the tax revenue, thereby giving the politicians lots more cash to funnel back into the democratic vouchers? You could save just one child’s life. And what’s so bad about not filling up our jail with drug addicts? Let them sit around and get stoned at home, where they will buy more pizza! Food stamps! Doughnuts! McDonalds could sure use the money right now, right? Think of what a boost it will give the fast food services business!
Put the icing on the cake, they might be too stoned to go vote on election day 2016.
But, they weren’t stoned yesterday, because by two to one, it was outvoted, and NOT because Iowans don’t want to get stoned…oh no…according to some poll, they like the idea, just not the fact that rich people will jump in and make a lot of money with monopolies, not the local farmer. Rich people like retired NBA Oscar Robertson:
Ohio voted Tuesday against legalizing recreational and medical marijuana via an amendment to the state’s constitution, shooting down a proposal to grant a small number of wealthy investors sole permission to operate commercial marijuana farms.
The designated farms were backed by a number of notable Ohioans, including one-time boy band star Nick Lachey, fashion designer Nanette Lepore and retired NBA player Oscar Robertson.
Frankly, I was proud of them for not falling for that heart wrenching ad they put out about the people who had to move to Colorado to save their child, who was suffering over 100 seizures and day, and when he started being treated with marijuana, it was cut down to ten. Common sense says, so, pass a law that says children like this kid can have it sent to them from Colorado, with a doctor’s prescription. How hard could that be?
In America, 2017, it does NOT make money, therefore, it’s not gonna happen.
So, you got this one right Ohio, now…PLEASE…don’t mess up the next one.
Karl Rove–One Fry Short
Nobody Wins
Every time I see Karl Rove on TV I think: First— What an arrogant little pig of a man, and Second— WHY do they keep putting him on as if he has anything of value to say?
Sure, he may have helped Daddy Bush get elected, and then his son, but somewhere in the secret back rooms where the powerful make their deals, Karl Rove has got the Godfather’s convinced that he is still their number one henchman….and he’s not.
Remember when he went after Missouri Congressmen,Todd Atkin, suggesting his murder would be beneficial?
Phyllis Schlafly has been on his case for years. After the last second coronation of Barack Obama, she came out in full attack at Karl Rove, and said that if the Republicans were EVER going to win again, they had to get rid of the top guys running the place…and the top on her list was Karl Rove.
Karl Rove likes to think he is the smartest man in the room, but after predicting that Mitt Romney was going to win the last election, people just got tired of him telling us what we are suppose to think
Machiavelli looks like Mickey Mouse next to the man, except that Machiavelli actually was a good advisor. Was his advice to President George W. Bush really that great?
And now, he is trying to keep Jeb Bush alive….and it’s like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree. He says….
Doom and gloom won’t win elections, Republican operative Karl Rove says, so he’ll be surprised to see Donald Trump take the GOP nomination. In an appearance Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” Rove was asked by host Bill O’Reilly whether he saw things like Trump, who says the country is in trouble, or like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is saying America is on the cusp of something great. “Look, you cannot win saying everything is going to hell in a hand basket,” Rove said. “Let’s see if he wins with that,” Rove responded.
Notice, Rove isn’t attacking Rubio, just Trump. And for good reason. And Trump HAS the most uplifting message of all the candidates. But…you have to ask yourself, what dopey adviser tells Jeb to keep saying he’s a “public service” man, and is a “servant leader” all that big pile of BS about how all the Bushes always are there to do is ‘SERVE” the people. Nobody falls for that almost laughable 17th century dictum anymore, do they? If the Bushes were such great ‘public’ servants, then whose public were they serving?
I’d rather have a man flaunt his riches, made by his own sweat, than a whole dynasty of Bushes who never EVER mention their wealth, but guard the family jewels with lofty and stupid platitudes of moronic “I am a servant with heart.”
Bull.
Maybe I could feel sorry for the man, since his stepfather left his mother after coming out with his homosexuality leaving his mother to commit suicide. That would be a hard lot to handle for any child.
But…no. I don’t. Especially after he says stupid stuff like this, which he said after one of our recent gun events:
Now maybe there’s some magic law that will keep us from having more of these. I mean basically the only way to guarantee that we will dramatically reduce acts of violence involving guns is to basically remove guns from society, and until somebody gets enough “oomph” to repeal the Second Amendment, that’s not going to happen.
What kind of republican wants to get rid of the Second Amendment?
By the way, Sandra Bullock just made a movie and moved in with Karl Rove to study him.
‘I went and lived with Karl Rove for a little bit,’ the actress revealed in an interview with the Today Show this morning. ‘He was amazing.’The movie, box office revenue was the lowest of the year, and one of the worse weekends in recent times, which show you how interested the American public is in political ‘advisors.’
No, Karl Rove is as useless to Jeb Bush as a one-way ticket to Bill Gates’s private jet. As a trap door on a canoe.
If stupid could fly, he’d be a jet.
Having said that: Let’s hope Jeb Bush keeps listening to him.
Bridge of Spies—Another Home Run for Spielberg–(Ignore the Media.)
Nobody Reports
The last really good movie I saw, one that I wanted to actually see again, was Jurassic World. Sure, The Martian was fun, but nobody does the sets, the acting, the action, the drama, as well as Steven Spielberg. The man was just born to do what he does.
Bridge of Spies is a movie of American history, and coming at a propitious time when daily we are bombarded with news that black is white, and our whole very notion of being “American” is being torn down. It’s A spy movie about when America traded ‘spies’ in the cold war, with the help of an insurance lawyer, who basically, against even our own government’s wishes, just does the right thing.
Yes, there still is a right, and a wrong. (even dogs know that.)
From HC Press.com:
Tom Hanks stars as James Donovan, an American attorney brought on to defend “suspected” Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) in 1957 in the early stages of the Cold War. Donovan is reluctant to take on the controversial client, but is encouraged to do so by his boss (Alan Alda) because America needs to prove that it gives everyone a fair trial. In other words, America is supposed to appear morally superior to its enemies, even though Abel’s guilt has already unofficially been determined.
Yes, James Donovan (Tom Hanks) defends the Soviet spy in the same tradition that John Adams defended the British soldiers of the Boston Massacre, and the whole time I was watching this movie I couldn’t help but think of how off the course of America we have come.
Obama can now, if he believes ANYBODY to be a threat to the nation, without a trial, imprison them for whatever time he likes, and Congress let him take that power. It was never even discussed in public, and yet a fundamental American right has been taken away. With Obama’s love and protection of all who are Muslim, this scares mostly those who HE thinks are enemies…and in Obama’s world, it’s a lot of the American population.
In this movie we see a normal citizen fight for the rights and lives of BOTH ‘spies’, American and Russian, the point being driving home is they are just doing their jobs. The ‘governments’ of our world, make decisions that a normal citizen would never make.
Not to mention, (going back to Obama) —Obama didn’t even attempt to get the release of four Americans out of Iran, when he was signing his ‘historical’ nuclear deals with Iran. You can’t help but compare Obama of today, with the past man in this movie, James Donovan, a nobody from some law firm, who goes on to get thousands of people released from jail in communist countries—which you learn as a footnote at the end.
Too bad we don’t have a James Donovan today.
As I left the theater, I wanted to see this beautifully told and meticulously crafted movie a few more times…but I can’t help but wonder why Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks continue in real life to support Obama? Why?
It’s a dichotomy that remains inexplicable: How many liberal actors make their living by blowing up people on screens with guns, and yet, want all guns banned? And how can directors and actors who make uplifting themes of the goodness of America, endorse someone like Obama? The MOST Un-American President to ever hold the office. How?
Is it really just all about the money? Can somebody answer that to me please? (I have my suspicions, but would love to hear yours.)
Anyway, go see the movie, because the PR is telling everyone NOT to.
You’ll want to see it…one more time.
Do Climate Scientists Own Cats? This Would Explain a Lot.
Nobody Wonders..
—How Paul Ryan, now that he has the leadership of the House, can make the claim that he knows the Constitution. He made it perfectly clear that he plans to do nothing in the remaining days of Obama’s Presidency, because, Obama would just veto anything they put on his desk, so why bother?
It’s pointless Ryan says. Waste of time. Not pragmatic. Stupid. Which means, Obama can do anything he wants because Paul Ryan will not use the power of Congress to impeach the man for the many times he has broken the law and put the country in danger because…
Why again? Paul Ryan ACTS as if the House has no other options to oppose Obama but to just sit around and take a salary. Impeachment is off the table.
Must be nice.
So, because Obama CAN do anything, he is ignoring the law. He signed in amnesty by executive order, and Federal judge Andrew Hanen’s order STOPPED Obama’s DAPA and Expanded DACA programs because it was un-constitutional, but guess what? What are they going to do to him?
Paul Ryan is the speaker. Nothing.
The internal memo reveals four options of varying expansiveness, with option 1 providing EADs to “all individuals living in the United States”, including illegal aliens, visa-overstayers, and H-1B guest-workers, while option 4 provides EADs only to those on certain unexpired non-immigrant visas. Giving EADs to any of the covered individuals, however, is in direct violation of Congress’s Immigration & Nationality Act and works to dramatically subvert our carefully wrought visa system.
—How Paul Ryan can stand by, and let Obama sign into law, an upcoming global warming treaty, where the United States will be required to pay billions to other countries? If you thought your health care costs were bad, just wait until you see your new electric bills, that is if Iran doesn’t start WWIII first.
Nobody Wonders why I can’t stop blaming Obama and start blaming Paul Ryan for the damage that Obama will do in the next year.
And Nobody also wonders how Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) can accuse Republicans for of denying science in their opposition to the deal, when the North Polar Ice is growing
“They say they’re not scientists and I would agree with them,” she said. “They ought to be listening to the 97 percent of scientists who tell us human action and activities is causing too much carbon pollution.”
—Nobody wonders why no one saw the hypocrisy going on last week after the CNBC debate. Last week every conservative jumped on CNBC for attacking the republican candidates with obnoxious and demeaning questions….and NOBODY mentioned, noooooooooooooooo nobody mentioned that FOX’s Megyn Kelly and Brit Baier started the nastiness, with the very first question they asked Donald Trump, in the very first debate.
What makes them any better?
And…
—-if Russia will ever admit that their plane was shot down by ISIS, and if Putin will say it was a video.
—-If the rich people in D.C. know that Chinese plan to take over D.C., and put Dr. Chu in control.
–Why there isn’t a Thomas Edison Holiday…since just about everything we do today, was built on Tom’s many inventions.
—-Why Michelle went to India, instead of her usual vacation place, Hawaii. (or did she drop in on her way back?)
— If Obama can let enough prisoners out of jail to make it time to vote in the next election, and if he will be handing out free bus rides filled with free medicinal marijuana and a job at the IRS to them all for their vote.
—If Jimmy Fallon has been partying with Rahm Emanuel because he’s running out of fingers to destroy, or if he just doesn’t want to play the guitar anymore and needed an excuse.
—-If our children will ever be able to salute our flag in their classrooms ever again, or be made to study Sharia law.
—If the only one to see Tarantino’s new movie, will be Obama.
____What the heck my Muslim neighbor was screaming about outside his house at 11 o’clock on a Sunday and why he had to wake up the whole neighborhood. What was he saying? .
I don’t think it was “Peace on Earth good Christens!”
And Nobody Wonders…
–IF the same scientists that have discovered that all domestic cats really want to kill their owners, are the same scientists that say that global warming is real.
We can only hope that those scientists all own cats, because we DO know for a fact, that in their case, it’s absolutely true.
Nobody’s Email: Donald Trump Fights City Hall to Display American Flag
Nobody Flashes
Long before he ran for the Presidency, Donald Trump did things we have not heard many billionaire Americans do, and THIS shows how much he loves his country. 
Here’s an email I got over the weekend, that I didn’t even know about….and I thought it was pretty cool. Trump’s creative solution to the ‘problem’ shows just WHY he would make a fantastic President.
Enjoy!
(Thanks to Kris)
When Trump purchased and rebuilt Mar-A-Lago the Grand mansion and estate In Palm beach, Florida he got into a dispute with the city, who are well-known for being strict on zoning regulations.
Trump put up a 50 foot flag pole even though 30 foot is the maximum allowed. The city imposed a 1,000 dollar fine per day. While Trump and the city argued back and forth, the fine had reached 120,000 dollars so, Trump proposed a solution.
He would donate that amount to veterans organizations, would move the flag and pole to a different location in front of the mansion and would only use a 30 foot flag pole.
The city agreed. So Trump brought in the company who does Golf course construction had them build a 20′ foot high grassy hill and put a 30 foot flag pole on top of that…..Thank you Mr. TRUMP FOR flying our flag high and donating to our veterans you’re a TRUE AMERICAN…
Patriotic Black Men? Surprise!….They DO exist, Obama.
Nobody’s Opinion
Here’s the good news: Despite what you hear daily, from Obama to the Black Lives Matter idiots–guess what? I’m here to report to you, from the bowels of that horrible area of what our ‘President’ considered ground zero for being the worse place next to hell, in the middle of the United States, where the horrible treatment of cops and whites towards Obama, and the dead Michael Brown reside—the blacks are starting to “get it.”
Something AMAZING happened, just tonight, as I walked around Sam’s. One of the employees, a BIG black man, who looked as if he could be on TV, yelled out to me…
“Hey, I LOVE your coat.”
Boy, I wasn’t expecting that. Why was I surprised, you ask? Because I was wearing a leather jacket with a huge America flag on the back, and USA in big red letters down the sleeve: not exactly the style of Dr. Dre. Being an American is not cool, now, you know.
We are bombarded day by day by hour by hour that black people are not only angry at cops, they are angry at America AND white people…all of that in no particular order.
The last thing a white person would ever suspect is for a black man to be patriotic. But this guy was totally sincere. You can always tell when a person is being insincere…if you can’t..you have not been paying attention.
“Hey, Thanks! ” I said, with a big smile.
I could tell that he knew I was…surprised, so he smiled big and said, “It looks warm, I think it’s going to be a cold winter and I HATE winter.”
“I do too.” I said, grinning back at him.
Everything would be so much easier if we just all became Americans, wouldn’t it? On the same team.
This afternoon, I was listening to the radio, and the Police Chief of North Country (which includes Ferguson) was talking to a black radio host, who said he had relatives who were cops, and he understood the cops are doing the best they can. The black man was truly trying to look at things from the cops point of view.
Another refreshing surprise.
And that’s the good news: Black men like Ben Carson, Sheriff David Clarke, Allen West, and many others that the liberals daily attack, are waking up other blacks across America as to just what Obama has done to their lives. Ever since Obama started blaming cops for being racists, cops all over the country have been walking around with a target on their backs, and well…don’t like the cops?
They don’t HAVE to do their jobs now, do they? So, they have just stepped back. And crime has skyrocketed—
From CNN:
-
Baltimore, gun violence is up more than 60% compared with this time last year, with 32 shootings over Memorial Day weekend. May has been the most violent month the city has seen in 15 years.
-
In Milwaukee, homicides were up 180% by May 17 over the same period the previous year. Through April, shootings in St. Louis were up 39%, robberies 43%, and homicides 25%. “Crime is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said St. Louis Alderman Joe Vacarro at a May 7 City Hall hearing.
-
In Atlanta, murders were up 32% as of mid-May.
-
In Chicago, shootings had increased 24% and homicides 17%.
-
In Los Angeles, shootings and other violent felonies had spiked by 25%.
-
In New York, murder was up nearly 13%, and gun violence 7%.
-
In St. Louis, MO, after the shooting of Michael Brown in August, homicides surged 47% by early November and robberies in the county were up 82%.
Those citywide statistics mask even more startling (black) neighborhood-level increases. As examples:
- Shooting incidents are up 500% in New York’s East Harlem precinct compared with last year.
- Shooting victims are up 100% in a police division in South Central, Los Angeles.
Murders of officers jumped 89% in 2014, to 51 from 27.
Of course Obama WANTS crime to skyrocket. Obama’s aim is to cause the big problems of crime to go up, so that he can come in with the solution: the Nationalization of all police departments, AND more gun control. He doesn’t care about the blacks or the cops getting murdered…it a means to his end. He has a mission.
Obama’s standing police army is not going to happen overnight, so in the meantime, the smart blacks are starting to see, that it’s not the white people, or the cops…it’s the democrats who have made their neighborhoods cesspools of crime. And the truth is, Obama has been the biggest racist of all.
It’s not good news that the blacks are suffering so much under Obama.
BUT…the good news is: Someday that “black revolution” that Obama is trying to light a fire under, might just fizzle out and die…..thanks to good men like Sheriff David Clarke.
The Mystery of Death, OR Calling Mr. Feynman
Nobody Flashes…
Every year on Halloween, starting at midnight, Coast to Coast 97.1 on the radio, holds its annual Ghost to Ghost show, where people can call in and tell their ‘spooky’ stories. It’s really fun. If I must reveal a secret, every night I fall asleep with my little transistor and earplug tuned into the Coast to Coast program or else I can’t fall asleep. And last night, George Noory, the host, asked for people to call in who had ‘seen the face of death’ or stories something to that matter….and I DO have one. To me, it’s as good as any I’ve heard….so, I laid there and thought…..”Go on. Do it.” Calling into a radio station is not so easy for me. Being basically a shy person, even though I was drummer/piano/musician/singer/entertainer for so many years, the fact remains, I was afraid of freezing up on the radio.
I’d rather go to the dentist.
I called the number …and it was busy. So I went back to bed.
Anyway, I thought as I lay there in the darkness…”I know! I’ll just write my little story in a post, and get it out of my system”
So, even though it’s the day AFTER Halloween, here’s the story of what happened to my touch with ‘death.”
“Dark Matter Doth Rule” OR…”Calling Mr. Feynman”
Once upon a time, back when I knew my parents couldn’t afford to send me to college, and prostitution seemed a rather repulsive way to make a living, I taught myself the drums, bought a huge PA system, auditioned some musicians, and we went on the road. I named my little five piece band “Coconuts” after the Marx Brothers movie, even though the guys in the band didn’t really like it, what were they going to do about it? I owned the van, the equipment, and booked the jobs.
There was a very serious guitar player named Rich, a very serious bass player named Rick, a very serious keyboard player named Kelly, and a not so- serious black guy named Charlie, who was our lead singer. More about them later.
Back then in the 1970’s…you could actually make a living as a band on the road. People went out a lot to hear bands. Hard to believe it now, but they did. We were booked to play nightly, at I think it this story took place in a Holiday Inn, in Marion, IL..which was about a 2 hour drive from St. Louis. It was right off a main highway…and I remember bits and pieces of the time. I do remember being on a M&M diet. Really. It works when your about 22. Every diet works at 22. 
Now, being as I was the “leader” so to speak, I felt pretty much like a den mother to four bear cubs. I had my own room of course, being the girl, and the guys each shared a room together. But one night, Charlie started BEGGING me to let Rick (the bass player) stay in MY room because, you see his girlfriend, who I was told was really “HOT” was driving down from St. Louis and Charlie was DESPERATE to be with her…alone. In the hotel room. Being as I wasn’t dating anyone in the band, it seemed ridiculous to me, (not being a guy) I wasn’t too excited about this arrangement, but being as it was the 1970’s, and who was going to talk anyway?
Rick was tall, and lanky guy. He had that Rick Springfield sort of look— dark hair, and a habit of smoking every time he could get a chance, so his left lip had a permanent snarl. He was very quiet, and so, with not much to say, he went and laid down on the couch in my room…and then said, “I’m feeling really sick.”
Great. I felt his head, and he WAS burning up. So, to hurry up the story, I spent until about 2 o’clock in the morning (It was our night off) running to the bathroom, and wetting down wash cloths to keep him cool. I finally went to sleep, and when I woke up, Rick was still sweating and looked pretty bad.
“Well, let me order you some breakfast, maybe after you eat you’ll feel better.”
So, I ordered him some room service: Bacon and eggs, toast and pancakes.
It seemed to take forever, and I remember looking out the window to the parking lot. “Where the heck was it?” I thought. It was at least 95 degrees out, mid-July….one of the hottest days I can ever remember.
And then, the knock came…the food was here. But so was…something else. Something I’ve never seen, or felt, or experience ever again in my entire life.
A young, good-looking blond boy walked in. He had a little red waiters coat on, pretty cute. I was struck by his handsomeness. I wanted to talk to him…to get him to at least notice me. In fact, I felt a strong urge to talk to him…to get HIM to talk. He came in and walked over to a table that was near the window…and I asked him, “How are you today,”
He said nothing. And then, that’s when the whole room, which was being bathed by hot July Sunlight, turned to complete darkness.
Yes. Dark. Like pitch black. Like HEY! Somebody turn on the lights! Dark. Scary Dark. Lost in the forest without a clue dark. Blacker than black dark.
It’s up in the corner and if that darkness comes down on you it will swallow you alive and YOU’RE DEAD! Dark.
As I tried to see the corner of the room, I couldn’t, but I felt a presence that was older than mankind, older than the universe, and it put absolute fear into my soul. And it was up near the ceiling and staring down at me and so I kept trying to talk to this young boy, trying to ‘see’ this evil darkness coming out of everywhere…and trying to talk to him…it was a nightmare.
That young man would not talk. He looked..I don’t know how he looked, I’ve never seen a person look like he did. I tried to give him a tip, but he wouldn’t take it. I tried several times…but he just walked very slowly into the room, stopped and stared at the floor for a few moments, and then slowly turned and walked out.
Rick, was sleeping…but I HAD to sit down. I wondered if I was having a stroke, or a brain hemorrhage, I had no idea what had cause that scary, fearful, and POWERFUL ‘thing” that walked into that room with that young boy, but what I did know, is I wanted it to go away. It was…evil itself.
Remember that, I was not into any supernatural stuff at that time. My main concern during the days and night were just living.
Being the practical person that I am, I woke Rick up and made him eat.
After the boy left, the room went back to normal…but slowly, But…even though the room was normal, my mind it seemed had the heaviest weight on it…as if that black dark matter had infiltrated it’s every crease. I couldn’t get it out. I was depressed, as if the whole world had been swallowed up before my very eyes.
Rick got worse.
“Come on, let’s get you to the hospital.” It took me awhile because he didn’t have the money, so I paid for it…(I wasn’t rich either) I told him he could pay me back someday.
Marion at the time was a small farming town, and the hospital was tiny. We were the only ones in the emergency room, so I couldn’t figure out what was taking so long. Rick was miserable, it was hot, and I was pretty worried about him. Back then, if one member of the band gets sick, everyone loses their pay checks. I have been in many a band where member play sick so that the other members can get paid.
I once played with pneumonia, and 103 fever. In another band that I had, the saxophone player one night got beat up and robbed on his way to the job, and yet he played all night, with a broken jaw.
But…I’m getting off my story.
So, anyway, there we were, losing patient when I heard the most horrifying scream I’ve ever heard.
It was coming from upstairs.. …it was a woman’s voice …
“OH NOOOOOOOOONOOOOONOOOOOONOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
The woman was beyond hysterics…you could hear her screaming all over the hospitals and I’ve never EVER hear that sound since.
The only other sound that has ever scared me to the bone so much was a hungry lion’s roar. You know, one that is about two feet away from you?
Two men came running around the corner and up the stairs and for just a moment I saw an older woman who was fighting them both..and wailing and crying…and a nurse came down the steps and I asked her.
“What happened?”
“They just bought her son in..he died instantly on the highway, his car was hit by a big hauler truck. That’s his mother, we can’t control her. We need to get some more men up there.”
I don’t think I’ve ever felt such sorrow for another human being as I did at that moment.
What a day this is turning out to be I thought to myself.
Rick finally got into so see someone who gave him some pills, and he still wasn’t talking much. But the morning of strangeness still wasn’t over. As we pulled back into the hotel, it looked like a scene right out of the twilight zone.
The staff…the waiters, the bus boys, the cooks, the maids, they were running all over the parking lot randomly as if trying to find an exist. Talking excitedly, “Did you hear?” “Jimmy!” “Did you hear!”
I rolled down my window “Hey…what’ going on?” I asked a cocktail waitress that I knew.
“Jimmy was just killed in an accident on the highway…they can’t even find his body it was so bad…OMG, everybody loved Jimmy!”
“Who’s Jimmy?” I asked.
Jimmy worked in the kitchen.
“Was he working this morning…tall blond kid, about 19?” I asked.
“Yes” She said, “Somebody ordered room service this morning and he left right after that to go home. They said it was a big Semi, he was going really fast.”
It was then that I put it all together. That horrible evil entity in my room, the darkness that followed Jimmy into that room, was death, or destiny, or evil, or dark matter, whatever it was, I just happened to get a very small glimpse into its power.
Did Jimmy KNOW he was going to die? If so, this means that the future might very well be set..and what does that say about physics?
He walked into that room, like he was walking the green mile.
Anyway, that was the story I was going to tell on Coast to Coast. Odds are, I will never tell it. How do you make something scary like a “darkness?” In a movie you could do it, but not just talking.
It would sound like a K-mart shopper special coming from my voice. “We have a special scare today! Dark evil matter…served with a side of bacon!”
And that’s what’s great about Coast to Coast on Halloween…people call in with stories that are almost impossible to understand, but there is no doubt that they happened.
Synchronicity, people being talked to by dead loved ones, receiving signs–this stuff happens all time, and yet, there must be an explanation, right?
What happened to that band? Rick never did get better…he went home soon after that with a bad case of MONO, so that ended that band. Rich went to law school and became a successful lawyer, but still plays a solo act guitar around town on weekends. Charlie is STILL singing, and I heard Paul McCartney gave him a big tip one night. Kelly? Who knows? He was a hell of a piano player. The only white guy I knew who could wear an Afro and look normal in it. I’m sure he still plays. But when I think back on that band, it’s that one night that I remember. ..that night I saw death follow a young man, and snatch him and then smash him like a bug…
If ONLY he would have talked to me. If only.
Next Halloween, I’ll post about my wedding night at Lemp’s Mansion. Who holds their wedding night in a haunted mansion?
Yeah. I wouldn’t advise it.
About
I am a nobody. If the different classes of America were color-coded, I would be in the yucky brown, one rung up from the bottom. I grew up in Naples, Florida and live near the Mississippi River now with my husband and two dogs. I am part of the slowly disappearing middle-class. I was a musician most of my life: drummer/singer/keyboards—but I retired before the plastic surgery flu hit. I have no degrees, which could be a good thing…depending on how you view our educational system. I do have three patents…but that really doesn’t make me a somebody. The one thing that is constant in my life is my OPINIONS, which i have more than perhaps even Carl Sagan could have imagined…mostly political. (yes…my ancestors were crabby buggers)
Hopefully other nobody’s will put their opinions on my site. But, if you happen to be a somebody, you’re more than welcomed to help out.
It’s my Nobody Opinion that Nobody’s Perfect, and Nobody Cares, that Nobody Knows why Nobody Wins, and when that happens, Nobody Wonders, why Nobody Flashes, why Nobody’s Fooled, but then Nobody remembers that Nobody ALWAYS Reports the truth.
You can email me at joyanna_adams@yahoo.com
Joyanna Adams
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