Area 51

Today I turn fifty-one. Hence the name of the post. Today also is the anniversary of the "discovery" of America by one Christopher Columbus. There is no doubt that a member of Columbus' crew spotted land on this date in 1492. There is no doubt that the landing and exploring of the islands of the Caribbean began a period of European dominance in the Western Hemisphere that has lasted for over five-hundred years.
Columbus was not the first European on American soil. There is a plethera of evidence that the Norse "Vikings" visited Greenland and parts of Canada some five hundred years before Columbus bumped into America. So, do we ignore or downplay Columbus' part of history? No, we cannot ignore the facts. Should we deify the man NO, there has only been one man that came to Earth already deified.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY:
October 12, 1492 Columbus lands in the Caribbean for Spain thinking he had landed near China in the Indies he named the natives he found Indians
October 12, 1964 My birthday...

October 13, 54 Nero succeeds Claudius as Roman emperor

October 14, 1066 William of Normandy defeats King Harold in the Battle of Hastings
October 14, 1912 Theodore Roosevelt is shot during an assassination attempt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

October 15, 1917 Mata Hari (double agent spy) was executed by the French government

October 16, 1859 Abolitionist John Brown leads a raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry

October 17, 1777Americans win huge battle at Saratoga
October 17, 1931 Al Capone begins prison sentence

October 18 1767 English surveyors draw Mason Dixon Line
October 18, 1867 US obtains Alaska (Seward's Folly)

Have a wonderful week!