*Strolls in and lies down*
Hi Mr. Blog,
My sore throat is finally gone
and I feel much better.
Happy Columbus Day!
I'm glad he found this beautiful country we live in
and I appreciate so much about it.
Fifty united and wonderful states.
The same language and money uniting us.
Freedom to go to all the states without border patrols.
This day is fraught with controversy though.
It is a scientific fact that Asian people
crossed the land-bridge up
where Alaska nearly meets Russia ten thousand years ago
and there is some evidence that the Polynesians
crossed from Polynesia to South America
AND there is also evidence of Vikings
cruised the North American coast to.
There were about one million Indians living in
North America when Italian explorer Columbus,
working for Spain, brought his ships,
the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.
The Europeans did not know the land was here
and wanted Columbus to find a short-cut to the
spices of Asia.
Didn't know there was a giant continent
in the way in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
When I was a little kid
Columbus Day was always celebrated on October 12Th.
It was a big deal in school too.
I went to Van Asselt elementary on Beacon Hill
and we'd have poems and make those newspaper sailor hats
and have assemblies.
Then when I was thirteen, in 1971, it got switched
to the second Monday in October and
made into a Federal Holiday.
Most county and state offices are open on Columbus Day.
I can remember when they made it a federal holiday
there were huge Native American protests across the country.
It was big news.
They were like, "Um, we were already here jerks."
Well, that's how people are Mr. Blog.
Discovery, colonization, Manifest Destiny.
Whoever holds the purse-strings gets to do
whatever they want historically.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
I love living in America
and I love all people in the world
and want them to all have safe, happy lives
but today I'm saying,
"Thanks Columbus!
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