The Unconquerable Birth of Jesus, Christmas

The phrase Christmas as we know it comes from 'Christ's Mass', the original name of the holiday was 'Feast of the Nativity'. The birth of Jesus the Christ is no more Biblically certain than his death, however, the dates and celebrations have brought on an insurmountable controversy's in the past two millenniums. The Nativity story is as solid as any other story or parable about the Christ than any other in the canonized New Testament Bible.


The following Bible verse references are indicative of the Nativity Story that is known as Christmas: Mary was found to be pregnant as a virgin and Joseph her husband decided to divorce her in honor to protect her reputation, however, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him not to divorce her for the child she is pregnant with was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Matthew 1: 18-25. The Angel, Gabriel approached Mary in Nazareth and told her that she found favor in the eyes of God and has been chosen to bear a son that she will name Jesus, the son of the Most high, Luke 1: 26-38, other references are Matthew 2: 1-12 and Luke 2: 1-12 and a reference from the Old Testament Isaiah 7: 14 . As unpleasing as it is, within the Nicene Creed and Ecumenical Council which are professional entities of Christian Denominations and religions that accede the existence of the Holy Trinity deity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there are Christian denominations that don't acknowledge Christmas in today's modern era. To name a few, the Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, the Church Of Christ and the Church of God Seventh day. This aside from other corresponding religions or sects that do not observe Christmas are the Orthodox Jews and Islam.

Understanding how Christmas transcended through centuries of political and cultural evolutions is important. Understanding the origins of these celebrations are important as well. Although the Bible does not in any way claim that the birth of Jesus was in a winter December 25th, it does describe and acknowledge the story as a biblical truth. The bible was not big on dates and times although it largely referenced days in increments of 3, 7, 40. For example; Jesus resurrected on the third day, Jonas was in the whales belly for 3 days and 3 nights, Lazarus laid dead for 3 days when Jesus gave him life again, God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th day, Joshua and the Israelites marched around Jericho 7 times when they took it over. In the Noah story it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus went to the wilderness and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, these are just a few instances.


The earliest recorded time when the Feast of the Nativity was mentioned in celebration was around 354 CE (Common Era) in the Great Roman Empire in a manuscript produced for a wealthy Roman Christian by the name of Valentius.

Roman Festivals and Celebrations

It's has been recorded that many tribes and ancient cultures had celebrations during the Winter Solstice due to the shortness of daylight and bitter cold weather. It was the yearning of the Sun and the hope of the return of Spring for the Northern Hemisphere, and many of these civilizations began to worship the Sun. One of the most popular celebrations that may have been mixed with what is now Christmas is the Roman Festival named Saturnalia (Named after Saturn, the Greek mythological god of agriculture) in which was celebrated between December 17 then grew into a week long celebration by popular demand. On this day Romans closed all schools and businesses to celebrate an odd event in which the slaves became masters and masters slaves, a role reversal, a time where law and order were not in effect. Another celebration was the Juvenalia which was a celebration of the children of Rome in or around the same time. Mithra was also a celebration that consisted of a fictitious god of the "Unconquerable Sun" the upper class Romans celebrated this day as Mithra's birthday December 25th. Sol Invictus was also a celebration which was convoluted with a Sun god from Syria introduced by Aurelian in 274 CE. Many anti-Christmas Christians of today emphasize that these celebrations were full of sexual orgies and public drunkenness with scandalous disorder. I am sure that like everywhere else even today there are Mardi Gras type celebrations with over indulgence and senseless bizarre activities.

European/Germanic Cultural Celebrations of Christmas

In and around the Medieval times there were many celebrations of Christmas especially the Vikings, Nordic culture and Scandinavians who celebrated the winter festival of Yule. A Yule log was taken to the towns by families and burned in honor of the hope of the return of Spring, this log would burn for 12 days with the belief that it would ward off evil spirits and used as a symbol of sacrifice. Geographically these areas were met with bitter cold winters and the shortness of daylight. Therefore, the people of the area often would admire the Evergreens, fir trees (Pine) which seemed unaffected by the winter and were a symbol of the promise of the return of spring and eternal life.

The people would chop down the Fir trees and bring them indoors and decorate them. This may be the precedent or the origin of the Christmas Tree. This region was one of the last to be reached by Christianity, therefore celebrations were mixed with local traditions. Some anti-Christmas Christians will emphasize that these Nordics celebrated by calling evil spirits and celebrated with drunkenness and disorder. As this Christmas tradition grew in Europe the trees were decorated with apples and holly, apples that symbolized the Adam and Eve story in the Garden of Eden and holly would signify the thorns placed on Jesus' head during his Crucifixion sacrifice. The Fir tree also would be considered to symbolize eternal life promised by the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

Calendars

It's important to have somewhat a grasp on how calendars have played a part in history. This part is important since I use it to make a point in my conclusion. The Julian Calendar was a Roman Calendar introduced by Julius Cesar in 45 BC (Before the Common Era) it is similar to the calendar we currently use with some slight variations and reform changes. The (Hebrew) Jewish Calendar was composed of lunar months meaning that the beginning of their month coincided with the first new moon. It consisted of 12 lunar months and they also had 7 seven days to the week that measured from sunset to sunset. This calendar was used by the early Hebrew of the Old Testament until the Roman times. The Orthodox Jews of today continue to use the calendar to observe Jewish Festivals and Celebrations.

Currently, the Calendar used today is derived from the Gregorian Calendar. This calendar was named after Pope Gregory the XII and signed in decree in 1582 CE. The calendar went through various reforms and politically driven changes. One of those that heavily influenced the Gregorian Calendar were the early Christians in 325 CE. The influence was to center dates around Easter as well as the Feast of the Nativity known to us now as Christmas. Many changes came about through the centuries and was finalized in the middle of the 16th century and many countries afterward fell into place recognizing the calendar as it is today.

Consequently, the calendar of today is a mixture of ancient Greek and Nordic Germanic names. The last 5 months are the Romulus months, the original names of the last four months of the original Roman calendar under Romulus the first King of Rome. Universally, the months are the same in most countries:

January - Janus Greek god of gates, doorway, beginnings and endings.

February - Februalia, a god associated with Death and Purification, celebrated as a festival.

March - Mars Greek god of War, also known as the original first month for Rome.

April - Latin for "Open"buds signifying the Spring season. Others claim it's simply March II

May - Greek goddess of growth of plants, others say honor and reverence

June - Roman goddess Juno wife of Jupiter god of all gods equivalent to Zeus in Greek myth.

July - Named after Julius Caesar in 44 BC, formerly known as Quintillis

August - Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar in 8 BC.

September - Latin for Seven, the seventh month for Romulus (Founders of Rome)

October - Latin for Eight, 8th month of Romulus

November - Latin for Nine, 9th month of Romulus

December - Latin for Ten, the 10th month of Romulus

Days of the Week:

The Germanic cultures adopted the Latin Roman calendar names, however, some of the names where changed to reflect their Nordic Germanic mythological gods. Our calendar of today, in America, reflect those Nordic gods. The Latin based cultures such as Spain, France, Italy etc. remained with the names of the Roman mythological gods for the exception of Sunday which was changed to the phrase meaning "The Lords Day".

Sunday - English - Day of the Sun, Spanish/French, Domingo/Dimanche, "Lords Day"

Monday - English - Day of the Moon, Spanish/French, Luna/Lundi, "Day of the Moon"

Tuesday - English - Tyr/Tiw Nordic god of Battle, Spanish/French, Martes/Mardi - Mars god of War

Wednesday - English - Woden/Wodan a similar god to Mercury for the Nords, Spanish/French - Miercoles/Mercredi Roman god of profit and commerce, known also for being the messenger of the gods.

Thursday - English - Thor, god of Thunder, Spanish/French - Jueves/Jeudi, meaning Jupiter Roman god of all gods

Friday - English - Frigg Nordic goddess of music and love, Spanish/French - Viernes/Vendredi meaning Venus Roman goddess of beauty, love and sex.

Saturday - English - Saturn Roman god of Agriculture and Harvest, Spanish/French, Sabado/Samedi, Sabbath known as the 7th day of rest in the Hebrew Mosaic law.

The Attempts to Abolish Christmas

After the biblical death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the disciples went throughout the land to spread the gospels including a Jewish convert name Saul later known as Paul a very stringent Jew who was introduced to Christ in a blinding light while on a journey to Damascus Acts 9: 3-4. Here Saul was reproached by Christ, in a voice, asking "why is it that you persecute me". Some say this is the beginning of the Christian era which holds a powerful influence of miraculous proportions. This message spread throughout the world and even reaching the highly regarded Roman Empire. It was such an influence that the Christian movement managed to transfigure Emperor Constantine the Great (Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus) of the Great Roman Empire in 313 CE. Constantine succeeded Emperor Diocletanius who initiated " The Greatest Persecution of Christians in the history of the Roman Empire. Eventually Diocletanius fell ill, and through political changes, coups and political battles Constantine became the new chosen Emperor, that in itself is suspect of divine intervention. Thus, this was the beginning that opened a pathway of political decisions for Christians made in Rome, one of those? The celebration of Christmas.

The Christmas celebration has suffered stints of opposition in the form of religious prejudice, hatred and political disapproval throughout its existence. The major opposition came from it's own creators, Christians. The reason is due to the celebrations getting out of hand with bizarre practices imposed by people that were brought up in different cultures and traditions, however, the birth of the man who was God never could be washed away or overshadowed by the interjection of other cults and traditions.

During the 16th and 17th centuries the English broke away from the rule of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church called the Reformation of England. The Puritans were formed when they felt the English Protestant Reformation did not do enough and were tolerant of old Catholic practices. The Puritans of the time became separatists to the Catholic Church. Their interpretation of their self induced righteousness caused them to include Christmas as an idolatrous celebration inclusive of the Catholic Church's worship of the images of Saints, martyrs, the Mother Mary and Jesus, along with other atonement rituals. Christian Puritans of England were able to cancel Christmas for a period in 1645 and by 1652 they managed to make it illegal forcing businesses to stay open and churches to remain closed on December 25th. The working class began to celebrate Christmas underground. However, Charles the II came back into the Monarchy and Christmas was restored by the demand of the public. It would seem that the people could due without a King but not without Christmas.

Even the early settlers of Puritans that landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts which were even more orthodox than their English brethren, came with high hopes of separating from the old English customs, and ridding themselves from the Christmas scourge. They, like their English brethren laid down laws that would prohibit anyone from celebrating Christmas by fining people that showed the Christmas spirit. However, like all the anti-Christmas efforts, it could not be contained, it continued to be celebrated underground and sometimes in the open. But not all of the new pilgrims and colonists had the idea to abolish Christmas. Settlers in Jamestown, Va (John Smith) celebrated Christmas with plentiful food consisting of oysters, fruit, wild fowl and good bread. The Jamestown settlers where known to be the first to create the "Egg nog" spiked with rum.

In the 17 hundreds when America went through battles and revolutions to become independent of England, it brought with it the notion to eliminate anything that would be part of the English, including Christmas. After the Declaration of Independence the United States Congress remained in session on December 25th for over 65 years. In the early 1800's many short story writers and poem writers expressed in literature the nostalgic feeling of Christmas and what it represented. Many feel the Puritan based religions have suppressed Christmas throughout the new country and many did not acknowledge Christmas. However, with the spread of literature concerning Christmas it brought about a wave of nostalgic desire to celebrate the occasion as a holiday. The Presbyterians were one of the first to open the doors and celebrate the "Saviors Birth" in 1861. The Congregational Church of Rockford in Illinois which was genuine puritan based, prepared for a Grand Christmas Jubilee as reported by local newspapers in 1864. By 1860 fourteen states, including New England states declared Christmas as a legal holiday. And by 1870 Christmas was declared an official holiday within the Federal Government signed by President Ulysses S. Grant.

However, Christmas in America evolved into more of a family oriented holiday, with gift-giving to children which caused the need to shop. Therefore, merchants around the nation took advantage of this and it grew into a powerful economic stimulus that may have made America a powerful economic country in the 1950's. Consequently, this became contagious in other countries throughout the world and it became an economic stimulus around the globe. Again, suspect of divine intervention.

Today's Side Garnish of Christmas

Today's hand me down fairy tales, traditions, legends and myths still linger from past generations as well as in the new.

Santa Claus - Santa Claus derives from a Catholic Bishop named Nicholas of Myra (Turkey) whom lived between 270 CE and 347 CE. He was made a "Saint" years after his death and was known as a "wonder worker" for putting money in shoes when left out and also for gift giving randomly. He often gave to the poor and after his death many followed his traditional ways, so much, as to exhume his remains and transfer them to Bari, Italy where people continued his good works as a tradition celebrated in the month of May. This legend spread through many countries in Europe which evolved into other extended traditions. The fable arrived to the United States as Santa Claus which name comes from St. Nicolas and Sinterklaas which was Dutch. His persona had many variations, from a jolly drunkard pulled by a turkey to a small elf. His image of his red suit, black boots and white fury cuffs were drawn by cartoonist Thomas Nash (American) which appeared in "Harpers Weekly Journal of Civilization" in January 1863 and that image stayed with us till today. The flying Reindeer fame came from a poem written in 1863 called "A Visit from old St. Nick", Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer was made up by a Montgomery Ward employee, Robert L. May in 1939 and the additional Reindeer was added to the original line up of 'Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. Comet and Cupid, Donder/Donner and Blixem/Biltzen. The North Pole residence and giant factories all fabrications of American Folklore and literature.

Frosty The Snowman - Was created in 1950 in America from a song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, performed by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys. It later became a book and a movie for children that was spun off of the invention of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer 11 years later.

The Christmas Tree - Was a Germanic tradition for a symbol of life. Fir trees, evergreens and all the greens that are impervious to winter were cherished by many Germanic Cultures and came along with the celebration of Christmas. All the decorations are derived from edibles, like apples (Symbol of the Garden of Eden), garlands were made of other dried fruits and popcorn. The star on the top of the tree is the symbol of the morning star in the Nativity story and the holly symbolizes the thorns on the head of Jesus when he was crucified. In the Roman times holly was used also to ward off evil spirits, which were placed outside houses and doors.

My Conclusion

There are many today that decide not to celebrate Christmas, it is a free country and it is the prerogative of those that choose not to do so. However, in my experience I have seen a blatant disgust of Christmas and a majority of it comes from those that profess Christianity. I have had personal insight on how some denominations and the people of those denominations show abhorrence towards the symbolic celebration. I have witnessed subconscious hatred when they see Christmas lights, Nativity Scenes, Christmas Trees, Christmas Music and the giving of gifts. I've seen these denominations that abstain from the Nativity Story, that they teach very little or even not give it any importance in their services, schools and sermons. I can actually feel the energy of defiance and repulsion. Probably the same feeling that is felt by them from Atheists, radical Muslims and even Orthodox Jews.

Christians vs. Christmas

Yes, Christmas is a time I cherish even more as I get older. Not from a religious, commercial or selfish stand point, but I cherish the fact that it is a time for human compassion, the hope of a better life, the gathering of families, a time of forgiveness, and yes, a time for celebration, to eat drink and be merry. Hats off to the early Christians/Roman Catholics for penetrating what seemingly was an unruly nation in Rome and symbolically introducing the birth of God to the World. Felicitations to the Anglican, Protestant churches for embracing Christmas as an opportunity to teach the faith of new born life. To the Messianic Jews for the tolerance of the celebration, to the peaceful Muslim nation for their respect of the celebration, ("Invite all to the way of your Lord in Wisdom and Beautiful advice, and reason with them in way of best graciousness: for your Lord knows best for those that are strayed from His path and those that receive guidance" Quran 16: 125).

For those Christian denominations that generate intolerance towards Christmas must think of the opportunity that is being denied to teach the meaning of the birth of whom they worship and whom they pray through, to reach the most high. To condone the good nature of compassion, love, sharing, gifts, patience and mercy. These things found in Christmas. It's not a time for apartheid, contention and prejudice. If being Pagan is a fear, we all come from Pagan roots even the festivals of the Old Testament Bible are rooted and convoluted with Paganism, any conscience Rabbi will admit. To interpret and judge what is right or wrong and declare it law today holds the air of arrogance and conceit. Pagan is such a misused word, it decides an absolute in which we cannot be. Everything we practice comes from Paganism, the wedding bands, clothes, social acceptance. The very billboards that you possibly post your programs reflect Paganism, for example "Sabbath school on Saturday, March 21st" used was a Pagan day, a Pagan month, Saturn god of Agriculture and March god of War. All your newsletters, memos, tithing envelopes, calendars, watches on your wrist, the automobile you drive, the brand name of your appliances etc. reflect in one way or another, Paganism! It would be down right sanctimonious to claim full exoneration from such claim. Therefore, if it's left for one's wisdom be wise and knowledgabe, otherwise if one picks and chooses, you're left standing on the "sand".

God gave the knowledge and power to the Romans to name the Planets, Moons, stars, diseases, medicine, animals and foods. Maybe God gave it to them for a reason, we've only adopted Biblical names such as John, Michael, James, Stephen, Paul, and so on, the rest are probably from other "Pagan" cultures. One thing for sure is that Christianity and its trimmings have pierced through the world with reckless abandon, into humanity with the sanctity of life. And Christmas is just a trimming of it. And I know many will throw in that Satan plays a role in the evolution of the world, however, I see it in negative human qualities, hatred, fear, despair, insecurity, mental addictions, envy, jealousy, selfishness, condescent, prejudice, depression, callous, egotistic, all of which have been part of historical figures, however, non-imperious. Roman Emperors Nero, Diocletian as well as Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mussolini, Muslim terrorist extremists all committed evil deeds that did not prosper. If the Devil exists then these would be the tools and subjects to manage dominion. However, has not succeeded in destroying the human spirit. Out of all the quotes from the Devil, Satan, and evil in the Bible none reflect any type of intellect, even to our human standards.

I say go out and teach your children, your congregation your families the values of love, family, respect, responsibility, tolerance, gratitude, graciousness and be grateful to that of which you follow in faith.

My stance is having an open mind, embrace the beauty of humanity and its nature. Delve in life's mysteries and wonders, examine theory and spirit, the ways of faith and physics. Don't entrench in dogmatism, absolutes and fear driven blind faith, it is foolish and shallow.

Favorite Biblical Passages

Some of my favorite biblical passages are Ecclesiastes 8: 15 - "So I commend pleasure, for there is nothing good for man under the sun except to eat, drink and be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life that God has given him under the sun". Ecclesiastes 3:3-5 "A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build up, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing". My favorite of all is John 2: 1-12 when Jesus, his mother and his Disciples were invited to a wedding celebration in Cana, Galilee his mother put him on the spot by telling Jesus "they are out of wine!" and Jesus replied "so what does that to do with us? It's not time? Then Mary went to the servants and told them "see him there (He is my son)? Do what ever he says?" Then Jesus told the servants to "fill the barrels with water and take a sample to the head waiter", low and behold wine! Then the head waiter said 'wow! Usually in a party the best wine is served first then the worst wine is last, but you did the opposite'. Now that must have been a heck of a wine, the finest of all wines ever made.

Yes, this Christmas I am going to eat, drink (Manischuwits Concord Grape) and be Merry! Celebrate in good faith and in peace, the season will be filled with miracles, joy and sweet myrrh. And churches, keep Jesus as the reason for the season.

Noah Joshua Giron

Agnostic, Eclectic

Comments: send to gironjoshua@gmail.com

Thanksgiving, thanks for the Turkey or the Goose

Did you know that a turkey was not included in the original Thanksgiving meal? When the European settlers came to Plymouth Rock in 1620 they befriended the Wampanoag Indian Tribes who taught the Pilgrims how to fish. hunt and harvest. They had a 3 day harvest celebration which most likely was of the local food made up of cod fish, corn, lobster and rotisserie goose as the main course. As other settlers came in they brought in more of a religious Puritan's view in which they celebrated the day as a thanks to God.

As this evolved through hundreds of years a lady be the name of Sarah Josepha Hale petitioned to established governments to observe a day of Thanksgiving. Sarah was notably known for being the writer of the child nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". By 1863 Abraham Lincoln declared that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the last Thursday of November and by 1941 Congress declared Thanksgiving an official government observed holiday.

How's that? I am going to get me some Goose and stay original.

Panthers in the Restroom

The following is a childhood blog entry for my website (http://sites.google.com/site/gironjoshua). It was a scary experience that left a lifetime impression (See my blog site at http://www.alphaomega1962.blogspot.com/.) I say it was Spring time 1969-1970 my mom and I were at the Woolworth & Lothrop department store in the area of H streets and 7th avenue in Washington DC. As usual my mom would go browsing all the women's clothes while I would go and venture the toy section or electronics stores. At one point nature started to make it's call, I needed to find a restroom because I had to go really bad, and it was number 2. I got to the public restroom of the store and I saw that it was closed down for service, I had gone to my mother and told her of my dilemma, she quickly communicated that to a department store worker, this employee saw the distress in my face and offered an alternate restroom.

This employee told me to take the elevator to the 4th floor and turn to the right and to go all the way to the end and there was a restroom. I jovially headed towards the elevator, got on and was on my way. I got to the 4th floor and when the doors opened....There was a silence, it was dim, quiet and spooky. It was a completely different atmosphere, a dark, wide open area, a derelict looking floor. It had boxes, crates, rolling shelves, body parts of Playtex mannequins and other old equipment which seemed carelessly lying around, it was some kind of storage floor. It was a big change, no piped in music, no sound of people, just dead silence. I hesitated in getting off, however, I had to go bad, so I turned right just like the lady said and walked towards that side of the huge room as my foot steps echoed throughout the floor.

I got to the door that read Restroom and I opened the door and voila! a well lit white wall bathroom all to my self. So I went into the stall and took care of natures way. After taking care of business I was getting ready to make it back when I hear the restroom door open. "Who could that be?" I said to myself, it was a long way from the store floor. I heard the voices of men. I began to feel a little tension and insecure, so I proceeded to walk out of the stall and there were two men standing in front of the door looking down dead straight at me. The restroom was getting smaller and smaller as I looked up at these two men. I felt my shoulders droop and felt all the energy leave my body, I couldn't have even peed or pooped my pants since I was all out. The shorter of the two men said 'Shup little man?', I couldn't even get any words out with all the stress in my throat. He was impeccably dressed a three piece pin stripe suit with a dark shirt and tie, he had wrap around sunglasses, white and black wing tip shoes, and I remember his skin being really dark and it was perfect. "Whash yo name" he asked as he rubbed his fingers around the edges of his Fedora hat looking in the mirror. I could barely get a word out of my mouth, but somehow I mustered to say 'Noah', he suddenly bent over and said "What?, Cobra?", I didn't even correct him I just nodded my head in agreement, he said "that's a tough name for little man like you", I continued to nod in agreement.

The taller guy had a tailored leather jacket with a black turtle neck shirt underneath, he also had his dark wrap around sunglasses and was wearing a black beret cap and leather gloves. On his leather jacket was a patch that had a black hand making a peace sign and on his cap a button that had a black fist with a broken chained cuff around it's wrist. I remember saying to myself "Jesus if you get me out of this one, I promise I will hand out church pamphlets all day on Saturday".

I've been in many situations but not one quite like this. It seemed like the trek back to the store floor, was a distant travel to the center of the earth. I thought that this was the end of me, and all I was thinking of was what I thought would be the worst way of dying. At the time, it was to be thrown off a tall building (My 7 year old mentality at the time). So then the taller guy asked me "So who are you wit?" Ah, the magic question, in my young mind I was thinking astutely and had to be careful with the answer. I said in a shaken voice "My mom is waiting for me outside" and he answered "There's nobody out there" and I said "I mean she's down stairs waiting for me", I emphasised 'waiting'. The shorter guy was tapping his cane on the floor which was as tall as I was, it was dark brown and glossy, it had the image of a snake wrapped around it that led to the top of the cane and the head of the snake protruding with it's tongue out. I noticed he had a gold ring on everyone one of his fingers and a gold watch with the image of the African continent on it, as I remember it now.

The shorter guy turned to the taller guy and said "I dig that name, Cobra, don't you?" and the taller guy answered "I dig it, I dig it". The shorter guy then takes his cane and taps my shoulder and says "OK Cobra, you watch yourself now" as both men made a path for me to exit. It was as significant as the parting of the Red Sea. I strolled out the door quivering in tension. My first instinct was to take off running after I got out, but I decided to composedly walk. My legs felt like jelly fish tentacles anyway, if I would have tried to run I probably would have wobbled down to the floor in my Buster Browns. I got to the elevator door and my little finger pressed that button relentlessly, feeling like it was an eternity for that elevator door to open. I was thinking to myself, I don't want to run into those men again, they might change their mind.


Finally the elevator door opened and I could hear harps and a choir of angels singing, I got in and pressed the 1st floor button relentlessly again, saying to myself "close!, close!, close! And when it finally closed I leaned back on the elevator wall breathing in a sigh of relief as the elevator floated to the 1st floor. As the door opened on the store level and I could hear the hustle and bustle of people and the department store music, all normal again. I found my mom and she said "Lo encontraste?" I said 'si', I didn't even begin to tell her about my experience, I thought to myself , it wasn't worth it to worry her after the fact, I felt safe now. And another day ended as my mom and I got on the DC Transit bus back home.

Some might say, I would never let my kids go to the bathroom alone at 7 years old. But in that era it was different. I had working parents, no daycare, no siblings and I had to get around on my own as a small child, fixing my breakfast walking a mile to school dodging 'wineos', weirdo strangers calling me over and bullies trying to take my lunch money. It was a way of life for me and I did most of my things on my own.

I wasn't afraid of these guys merely because they were black men. We lived in a neighborhood that was a ratio of 80/20 black. However, the way these guys were dressed made an impression as well as intimidate a 7 year old, it was like something out of the movies, eccentric. And I've watched enough Petey Greene's Washington and 'Soul Tran' to know these guys were different. Later on I realized that these guys may have been party to the Black Panther Organization, when I saw them on the Petey Greene Show 'Adjust your color', a local TV show of the era. Just to think I was rubbing elbows with the Black Panther Party. Those cats must have gotten a kick watching me squirm.

The Black Panther Organization of Self Defense was formed in October 1966 in Oakland, California at the height of the civil rights movement. Chapter 27 was formed in Washington DC in 1970 and ironically enough they opened an office around the corner from where I lived. Their cause founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Panthers practiced militant self-defense of minority communities against the U.S. government, and fought to establish revolutionary socialism through mass organizing and community based programs. The party was one of the first organizations in U.S. history to militantly struggle for ethnic minority and working class emancipation — a party whose agenda was the revolutionary establishment of real economic, social, and political equality across gender, color and cultural lines.

The Devil, Warner Bros. and my PF Flyers

I've pieced together an interesting adventure that happened to me as a kid. It was monumental in a way and yet carried a disguise for many years for me. At the age of 10 I spent my after school time at the Georgetown University Campus, in Washington D.C. where I hung out while I waited for my mother to get off duty from the Georgetown Student Cafeteria where she worked for a number of years.

One particular day my dad would routinely park outside of the campus and sat to read the news paper and I would go out on the campus and roam around killing time. This particular day, however, was different. My dad had to park far away from the campus because there was something going on. I noticed that there were a lot of people in the front of the campus and it was corded off to where no one could enter. As I walked around the outside of the campus on 37th street I noticed trucks and equipment, and what really caught my eye was a familiar emblem on one of the trucks, hmmmm... I said to my self, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck! The emblem was of Warner Brothers and I curiously continued my walk trying to get into the campus.

Since I was familiar with the campus, I went around the back area going through a wooded area that led to a steep hill, there I spent many of days scanning the area for tennis balls and any other scavengous type things. Reaching the top of the hill led me to the familiar site were I hung around waiting for my mom. That day I found a tennis ball that was a "Spalding" brand and gray in color. I noticed it was weathered, probably has been there since last summer.

As I reached the top of the hill where the tennis courts are I noticed things out of the ordinary, very different. The tennis court nets were in place and it looked like someone had really spent sometime cleaning the area which was most of the time left unattended. Even more, I noticed camera equipment and weird looking umbrellas, with an ensemble of lights, lamps, cranes and booms as well as people everywhere, which was unusual. I kept hearing distorted screeching voices from some type of speaker constantly going off. I saw students with tennis outfits underneath long heavy winter coats standing around shivering consuming their hot beverages. I walked around just gazing at the unusual environment that had developed in this cold and over cast day.

The cafeteria building was next to the tennis courts and I was walking around bouncing my newly found tennis ball off the ground and the building walls. I kept hearing this voice screeching sounds from this speaker which was beginning to be an annoyance, but I continued my disregardful demeanor playing with my tennis ball. It was at one moment that I decided to try to understand what was being said over this loud speaker. Now picture me, this scrawny little, sniffy nosed, pencil neck kid with a buzz hair cut, wearing a stripped long sleeve pullover fleece with "high water" pants with white socks clashily protruding from the bottom of my straight legged pants wearing my PF Flyer sneakers and a PF Flyer Magic ring. I was one that wasn't into making any fashion statement as a 10 year old.

Well, subsequently at that time I took a moment to really listen to this voice from the speaker and I heard the voice say "Get that goddamn kid out of there!" I stood there and looked around and behind me for a moment wondering who he was talking about, then it hit me, as I got this "deer in the headlights" look, that he meant me! I was the only kid there and at that same time I looked over and see this guy who had badges hanging from his neck approaching me briskly. Now this was something new to me since day in and day out I would wander the campus freely going around unnoticed, for the exception and on occasion when girl students would call me over just to pinch my chin, nose and cheeks and revel over the fact that there was a kid meandering around campus. Other than that, I really thought I was invisible to everyone else.

As the guy with the badges was approaching, I noticed these groups of people had their attention on me, and the guy said "hey kid, you gotta scram or I'll call campus security". Now to me, the word "Security" pressed a button, (Which is another blog) it meant "run for your life!" I turned and began to spin my wheels kicking mud up trying like hell to get the heck out of there, my arms were clumsily frailing and swinging as I tried to keep my balance and not hit the ground. I was about 20 feet from the cafeteria building doors, which seemed a mile away.

As this was all happening I could hear the laughter from all the people that where witnessing my recklessly brash, "Keystone Cop" departure. As I reached the door I swung it open and began to haul my skinny rear end down two flights of stairs occasionally missing a step or two only catching and anchoring my underarm with the hand railing. These stairs led me to the student cafeteria. I don't know how I made it down those stairs without busting my head open, but in my mind it was "do or die". As I got to my mothers work area she noticed me over the food counter as I gasped for air, asked me, Que paso? Out of breath and wiping my snotty nose with the sleeves of my shirt I managed to get out, that I was chased out of the tennis court area. My mother just chuckled, as she usually would when I got into mischief. She said, "estan haciendo un pelicula muy fea aqui (They're making a very bad and ugly movie here), and she sent me to the dinning area to sit down and wait for her.

I sat down patiently catching my breath glaring at the stairs I just flew down from, looking for anyone that resembled security coming to get me. After a while I noticed I didn't have my tennis ball anymore, it must of flown somewhere in my frantic escape. As I sat there I was grateful I still had my magic ring and grateful that my PF Flyers help me get out of that mess. I realized that I had to clean them off before my dad saw them and have cerebral embolism.



Years later I realized that I had stumbled across onto a film shoot set of The Exorcist, this was on or around October/November 1972, it was the scene that took place about an hour into the film, right after the introduction of Lee J. Cobb's character, Lt. William Kinderman, he and Jason Miller (Father Damien Karras) are discussing the mysterious death of the character Burke Dennings, while walking along the tennis court. Behind them, as a backdrop, were the students are playing tennis.

In that scene they had couples playing tennis in their summer tennis outfits in the dead of cold. That created a trivial discrepancy since the characters, Lt. Kinderman was in a long coat with a hat and scarf and Father Karras was in sweats and a towel around his neck. No Georgetown Preps would be playing tennis outdoors in the cold weather with indoor courts available in that complex.

I would have loved to think that the people laughing at my frenzied escape, were legendary silver screen actor Lee J. Cobb and Broadway actor Jason Miller. And also the guy on the bull horn speaker yelling was Director William Friedkin. I would also love to think that I caused disruption in that filming and that's why he was yelling. I'll never know.

The movie debut was on December 26, 1973 in the USA after many pitched a fit over the original date that was going to be on December 25th. I didn't see it until the summer of 1976 at the Aspen Hill movie theater in Wheaton, Maryland. I was 14 years old and I got the wits scared out of me for years to come.

PF Flyers



View on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Q8WLdbFr4

September 11, 2001 Tuesday

I felt compelled to write on this subject when I have seen so much evidence that has surfaced in the last couple of years. 9/11 the day that the terrorist extremists brought down the World Trade Center Towers, an event that changed the world. But was it really a terrorist attack or a set up for future agendas?

Collapse of Building 7 (Salomon Brothers Building)

Take a look at the evidence, some may be marginal and others solid. Did you know there was a third building that collapsed? This was "building 7". It was a 47 story building located 100 yards from the actual towers, and it "collapsed" at 5:20PM that day, 6 hours later. There wasn't very much media coverage of this collapse. The initial reason of the collapse was that the debris from the towers that came down 6 hours earlier were the cause. There were 4 smaller buildings that were destroyed due to their location being directly below the twin towers, however, most of those structures still were standing and were brought down by controlled demolitions. These buildings were called buildings 3, 4, 5 ,6m which were mostly retail stores, restaurants and other office buildings.

Larry Silverstein, lease holder of the twin towers rearranged the insurance for these buildings to declare that if these buildings were destroyed he would have the rights to rebuild. This was done in the early spring of 2001. His investment in the Twin Towers was $50 million, after a couple of lawsuits and judgements he was rewarded $7 billion from insurance that included destruction by terrorism, he won a case in court in which Silverstein wanted the two terrorist acts instead of one, meaning the two planes account for two incidents. Silverstein was also recorded giving the signal to take action on building 7, the Salomon Brothers Building. He was recorded giving an order to "Pull it" which are terms used in building demolitions, in this case meaning drop building 7 as he later admitted. Silverstein tried to rephrase by saying that he gave the command to pull all the firefighters out of building 7. However, according to FEMA and other official investigative reports there were no firefighters in that building, they evacuated the building at 11:30AM. The building fell directly down on it's footprint exactly the way a planned demolition building would come down, this was pointed out by several engineers that examined video tapes as it was documented on the Discovery Channel.

What or who were the tenants of building seven? The CIA, the IRS, the Dept. of Defense, the Securities and Exchange Commissions, the Mayors office of Emergency Management and several other large Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies. Thousands of SCC case files that were related to the Worldcom scandal of Corporate fraud and the Enron case files on the $70 billion California corporate heist, all vanished in 6 seconds of a controlled free fall building 7.

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World Trade Center Buildings North and South

When I observed the Twin Towers crumble down after the planes hit, I had, in the back of my mind; how could that happen? But like everyone else I was overwhelmed with the thought that outside terrorists could do this to us. I believe those buildings should not have fallen, severe damage yes, to come down completely in their foot print like planned demolitions? No. There were many witnesses that reported explosions little after the planes slammed into the towers and are recorded on video.

Construction of the World Trade Center buildings began in 1966, the north tower was completed in December 1970 and the south tower in January 1972. Decades ago the building were sprayed with fire proof asbestos which was banned in the 1980's. It was expected that the World Trade Center would have to clean it's asbestos problems, however, this would be a huge financial undertaking, which would reach up to the tune of over $1 billion. In addition the towers cost millions of dollars just in maintenance costs such as, electricity, water, sewage, heat, air conditioning and even oxygen. And with tenancy running low, millions of dollars were being lost annually.

What about the molten steel found at the base of the buildings, even in building 7 which had no plane crash into it. Steel melts at 2,750F degrees, nothing burns that hot, not even jet fuel which burns at 1,200F degrees. There is nothing in those buildings that would burn that hot, according to engineers, unless there are incendiary devices and chemicals such as Thermite when mixed with sulfur is called Thermate which can create flash burns or heat that can reach up to 4,000F degrees, which are used typically in building demolitions. Many workers reported heavy construction work on floors that were empty and closed off, specifically the 34th and 98th floors of the south tower.

Who was in charge of Security at the Twin Towers? Marvin Bush, younger brother of the former President as well as Wirt D. Walker, cousin of the Bush brothers. Under their watch was also Dulles Airport, which had involvement on September 11th. The New York Port Authority announced 3 weeks in advance of a power down that would take place a week before 9/11 which was unparalleled, completely unusual. All systems shutdown inclusive of the security systems such as camaras and complete data base banking systems for an entire weekend. During that weekend there were reports of construction workers in the towers with no functioning security cameras. Reports of evacuation drills in excess of the norm were performed weeks prior as well, all this reported by IT specialist, Scott Forbes and 20+ year employee William Rodriguez.

On a side note, no building in the world has ever collapsed due to fire or severe structural damage, except buildings 1, 2 and 7 of the World Trade Center complex. Case in point, on July 1945 a training crew flying a B52 Bomber miscalculated it's flight path due to fog and slammed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building and went through the building severing both of it's engines inside the Empire State Building and crashed through the roof of a 20 story building exploding into a fireball expelling jet fuel in the interior and exterior sides of the building. None of those buildings collapsed. It was a Saturday, therefore, the death toll was no where near 9/11.



Adding insult to injury, the April, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City proved to show that even though there were 4,800 pounds of explosives in a Ryder Truck, it could not have caused the amount of damaged sustained to the building. There is suspicion that explosives would have had to be planted within the building itself to cause the frontal destruction of the building. Therefore, why didn't this building collapsed in it's footprint like the WTC buildings. The remains of the Murrah building had to be professionally collapsed a month later. The "bombing" caused damage to 324 other buildings within a 16 block radius of the Murrah building, none of those collapsed in their footprint.

http://www.physics911.ca/Partin:_Bomb_Damage_Analysis_of_Alfred_P._Murrah_Federal_Building

Strange deaths of witnesses

High profile eyewitnesses of the event are now dead. Notably, Byron Jennings 53, Emergency Coordinator for the New York Housing Authority and Kenny Johannemann,part-time janitor. Johannemann reported committing suicide 12 days prior to the 7th anniversary of 9/11. He saved the life of a man in the south tower and was a witness to explosions in those buildings as well. He left a suicide note that was uncharacteristic to his demeanor and intelligence in which was seen in many media interviews as well as talk shows. He allegedly committed suicide due to being evicted from his apartment.

Barry Jennings would die only days before the release of NIST’s report on WTC 7 and shortly after a firestorm erupted over his testimony where he had heard explosions inside the building prior to collapse of either tower and that there were dead bodies in the building’s blown-out lobby from building 7. He also was sent threats on losing his job and had to ask media to stop running his interviews at one time. The cause of his death was unknown even at this time.

The Pentagon

Picture this? You have, probably, the most surveillanced building in the world, the Pentagon, and only one low quality video found that recorded a glimpse of the UFO that hit the Pentagon. This video is utilized to monitor incoming automobiles? Even in the low quality video it shows white smoke that trailed the 100 ton Boeing 757. The problem with that is planes don't have white smoke trailing them,but missiles do.

Do you really think that we don't have the technology to capture the path of a plane over such important structures like the Pentagon, the White House, the U.S. Capitol which are just across the river from each other?

The Pentagon is 77 feet tall, for a plane to hold a target and hit the first floor without any damage to the ground is a bulls eye target that not even the best pilot in the world could hit with a Boeing 757 under a good amount of duress and even chanting to Allah. It demanded such a precise hit that it would be close to impossible for that precision. Planes tilt and roll back and forth during flight and to hold steady at 345 mph (according to the flight data?) could not be performed by Muslim extremists that have never flown a 757 before. Coincidentally, the side of the Pentagon that was hit was under construction and not very many workers where in that section at the time. The 757 was 55% of the height of the Pentagon wall, it would have had to penetrate through 2 floors of the Pentagon instead of the one first floor damage. This even I could dichotomize using simple logic and common sense. I could understand the plane hitting the ground first and sliding into the Pentagon or missing it at the top and landing on the top side at very best. Lastly, plane debris, luggage, bodies? Not really to much evidence or even information on such findings.

Sell the American Public the Blame Game

On the same day we had several media interviews that ascertained that the responsible were Al Quaeda, Osama Bin Laden. Osama Bin Laden, a rich man , living in and out of caves responsible for such devastation? Within 40 minutes the media interviewed people declaring why the towers tumbled and who was responsible, so quickly, jumping to conclusions with authority? What did Osama, Al Quaeda gain from this? What could possibly be the hidden agenda? Osama did not know about the attacks 5 days afterwards and claimed that it was part of some other radical group with their own agenda. Bin Laden to this day is still on the run, if he's still alive as we're led to believe and has gained nothing financially, rather, if alive, his life has gotten worse. Al Quaeda has gained nothing, they lost several of their operatives in the invasion of Afghanistan due to 9/11 and is hardly able to be a valid force. Saddam Hussein gained nothing, but rather lost his life in an invasion by the U.S. on grounds of hidden nuclear weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

So who benefited? Larry Silverstein $7 billion, the Bushes who are involved in the Oil business around the world and an excuse to invade a middle eastern country, Dick Cheney who still receives a salary package from Halliburton as an ex-CEO of that company. A war is financially lucrative for the arms industry, since 9/11 weapons purchases have gone up with missiles and bombs which was beneficial for Dick Cheney and the Bush family. Oil companies wanted to build an oil pipeline through Afghanistan and control this flow, not for their own use but to control oil to China and other countries.

This evidence is only the tip of the iceberg, there are so many speculative stories that I thought were a little outlandish to include. However, if you like to know more I have dissected some youtube videos that show some credibility and what I consider reasonably conscious speculation. You be the judge.

Frozen Tropics: Riot Stories

The 1968 riots memories are embeded in my psyche, living near 17th and U streets at the time was an experience I will never forget. I invite you to my personal website that tells a short story of my experience at:

http://sites.google.com/site/gironjoshua/images-of-a-childhood/washington-dc-1968-riots

Contacted

Is the word "contacted" a real word (verb). I understand that the Collegiate Webster Dictionary will not accept this as a word. Well if they allowed "Ain't" then that defies all the rules.

Baseball

Is baseball discriminatory? In this hemisphere we do things from right to left or move clockwise. Why is it that in baseball we run bases counter clock wise? Is it because it's easier for right hand batters to run to first base. Shortstops, 2nd and 3rd basemen can easily throw from right to left towards first base, the most targeted base? Only advantages to a lefty is playing first base or batting against a right handed pitcher, I wonder if Alexander Joy Cartwright thought of this in the middle 1800's