The Fifth Day of May

Today is Cinco de Mayo [the fifth of May], the day on which the citizens of Mexico defeated the French Army at the Battle of Peubla. Apparently, this was an extreme upset, where the Mexican army was badly outnumbered. The holiday is celebrated as something like Mexican Independence Day. The problem with this is that apparently the French army was victorious later and it would take years before the Mexican people gained their independence from France. So, it is kind of like a fictitious Independence Day for Mexico. Of course, later the French got kicked out of Mexico and headed back to Europe. Come to think of it, France has been kicked out of just about everyplace they colonized. Think of it: North America, Canada, Louisiana, Haiti, Mexico, Algeria, Morocco, French Guiana, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos. There may be more. Its hard to keep up with every place out of which the French government has been kicked.

I think the Battle of San Jacinto is a better holiday than Cinco de Mayo, since that is the day upon which the Texicans defeated General Santana, in a major upset and route, and won their independence from Mexico. That independence actually stuck, although they lost their independence to the federal government in 1865. Perhaps we Norte Americanos should celebrate that day [April 21]. Kind of an alternative holiday. We could also celebrate Erastus "Deaf" Smith's birthday. He was Sam Houston's scout. He was also hearing impaired, which would give us a chance to celebrate the contribution of hearing impaired people in American history. His birthday is April 19. So we could split the difference and celebrate April 20th.

By the way. Sam Houston was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, just north of Lexington, emigrated to Knox County, Tennessee, where he taught school, lived with the Cherokee for awhile, then after serving in government for Tennessee, moved to Texas. That's quite a span of living for one man to live. He was also President and Governor of Texas and didn't want to secede from the Union, after having joined it before the War Between the States.

Today is also the birthday of Karl Marx. Karl was not one of the Marx Brothers, although he may have had a brother or too. Personally, I like Harpo and Chico the best. Karl was one of those guys who apparently didn't work very hard in college or in his adult life, and tended to blame his troubles on the people around him. He was kicked out of Germany for his radical views on the actions of class struggles on society, then France, then Great Britain. He blamed his poverty on the actions of the middle class. Apparently, the doctors and lawyers and what not wanted to get paid for their services and he didn't have the wherewithal to do so. So rather than try to find a way to pay his bills, he tried to blame the bills on the creditors. So then we had the revolutions in Russia, China, Viet Nam, Cambodia, North Korea, and else where. And then we had the revolutions in Europe and America and Asia and the Carribean and Africa and South and Central America.

Thanks Karl. Oddly, the French were involved in a lot of places where communism and socialism sprung up and caused a revolution and a whole heard of death and destruction.

Once again, Thanks Karl. Oh, and thanks France.