Good Morning Everyone !!!
It is another blessed, glorious and beautiful day here in Albuquerque New Mexico as we continue our work for the Lord here at
For God’s Glory Alone Ministries !!!
It will be a busy day out and about today on this Thanksgiving Eve and I urge all to be careful in your travels today. Many will be rushing around to get those last minute items for their Thanksgiving dinner table and folks rushing off to hit the road for ‘Grandma’s House’ or to be with other family and friends for the holiday in which we give GOD our thanks for all HE has given us. As the great storm moves east, I ask everyone to give an extra prayer today for anyone in its path.
So, What Happened Today In 1911?
Elizabeth Jaffray, a White House housekeeper, writes in her diary about a conversation she’d had with President William Howard Taft and his wife about the commander in chief’s ever-expanding waistline.
According to the White House Historical Association, Jaffray was also quoted regarding Taft’s growing girth in a 1926 book called Secrets of the White House. In it, she detailed a typical breakfast consumed by the 332-pound president: “two oranges, a twelve-ounce beefsteak, several pieces of toast and butter and a vast quantity of coffee with cream and sugar.” When she and Taft’s wife, Nellie, commented on his eating habits, he jovially responded that he was planning to go on a diet, but lamented the fact that “things are in a sad state of affairs when a man can’t even call his gizzard his own.”
Taft’s 5′ 11″ frame carried anywhere between 270 pounds and 340 pounds over the course of his adult life. According to his biographers, he had to have his shoes tied by his valet and often got stuck in the White House bathtub and had to be lifted out by two or more men. Once, while visiting the czar of Russia, Taft split his pants seam while descending from a carriage.
Taft’s weight did not stop him from serving a full term as president, nor did it prevent him from accepting a subsequent appointment as chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1921 – he was the first and only president to hold both offices.
In fact, he successfully dropped down to 270 pounds after leaving the White House. Still, by today’s body-mass indices, Taft remained clinically obese. Although he rarely drank more than the occasional beer and did not smoke, his obesity and a lifelong struggle with severe sleep apnea eventually took its toll. In March 1930, he retired as chief justice citing poor health. He died the following month from heart failure.
Other Memorable Or Interesting Events On This Day In History:
399 – St. Anastasius I begins reign as Catholic Pope;
1095 – Pope Urban II made influential speech giving rise to the Crusades;
1582 – William Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway;
1703 – Great storm of southern England & Wales dissipates after two weeks; hundreds of Royal Navy ships were lost & somewhere between 10,000 & 30,000 perished;
1786 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet, decides not to emigrate to Jamaica & moves to Edinburgh Scotland; his words still resound every New Year’s Eve when his poem “For Auld Lang Syne” is sung;
1807 – The Portuguese royal family leave Lisbon to escape Napoleonic troops;
1817 – U.S. soldiers attack Florida Indian village beginning The Seminole War;
1826 – John Walker invents the ‘Friction Match’ in England;
1868 – Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer massacres 103 peaceful Cheyenne Indians in Oklahoma;
1901 – U.S. Army War College is established in Washington D.C.;
1914 – WWI German commander Paul von Hindenburg celebrates his army’s successful campaign against Russian forces in the Polish city of Warsaw;
1926 – Williamsburg Virginia restoration project begins;
1942 – WWII French Admiral Jean de Laborde sinks the French fleet anchored in Toulon harbor to keep his ships out of German hands;
1951 – Korean cease fire & demarcation zone accord is signed in Panmunjon Korea;
1951 – 1st airplane missle intercept conducted at White Sands New Mexico;
1960 – CBS radio cancels “Have gun, will travel”;
1962 – 1st test flight of the Boeing 727;
1965 – 15,000 demonstrate against Vietnam War in Washington D.C.;
1965 – Pentagon requests President Johnson to increase General Westmoreland’s troop levels in Vietnam from 120,000 to 400,00;
1966 – Highest scoring NFL game occurred where the Washington Redskins beat the New York Giants 72-41;
1970 – Pope Paul VI wounded in chest in Philippines by a dagger wielding Bolivian disguised as a priest;
2003 – President Bush secretly flies to Iraq to spend Thanksgiving Day with deployed U.S. troops.
Today’s Funny Thought:
Be careful reading ‘health books’, there could be a misprint!
Today’s Funny Joke:
Only in America do they use the word ‘Politics’ so well – “Poli” in Latin meaning “many” & “tics” meaning “bloodsucking creatures”
Today’s Word:
Sagacious, adj., SHREWD; showing keen mental discernment and good judgement. “A sagacious remark”
Today’s Silly Sign:
(found in a Laundromat) Automatic washing machines: Please remove all your clothes when the light goes out. (turn the heater up, might get a little chilly!)
Today’s Thought:
We turn to GOD for help when our foundations are shaken, only to learn that it is GOD shaking them !
Until Tomorrow – GOD Bless To All !!!
