Monthly Archives: October 2024

Do you call today’s holiday Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? How about Leif’s Lost Day?

Columbus Day is actually October 12, but using Monday holidays, this year, it falls on October 14. Call the day what you want but know some of the history.

By indigenous people, the reference is Indians or Native Americans (there was no America when Indians arrived, though). I know this because I received an email from an organization I belong to. It will be closed on Monday to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

It went on to state that the day was first recognized in Berkeley, California, in 1992 after a long struggle by activists seeking recognition of Indigenous people. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation wiping out Columbus Day and creating Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

The first people to come to North America were from Asia, although there is a weak alternative theory. The Native Americans from Asia theory would then mean they were a force of immigrants. By the time European settlers arrived, Indians were already making land grabs, killing each other, and practicing slavery-all of this on each other. Remember the 1619 Project? The 1619 Project ignores anything before 1619, and it’s fiction anyway.

That said, Columbus never reached the shores of North America, but we know from grade school, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” We can credit him for having the courage to make the trip some believed couldn’t be made and for finding the so-called New World. And it’s okay to ignore Erikson on being first, even though he showed up 500 years earlier.

According to Icelandic sagas, Leif set sail from Greenland to North America in a roundabout way. He traveled in the opposite direction, from Greenland to Norway, which was intentional.

On his return voyage to Greenland, a storm blew his ship off course, and he discovered the North American continent, but not by design. Since he was already there, he decided to explore and establish a settlement called Vinland. So, he was in Newfoundland in Canada today, although the exact location of Vinland has yet to be discovered.

An unintended detour during his return trip brought him to North America. A storm blew him off course. In theory, he could have made the trip in three or so days before he would have known he was going in the wrong direction. Leif was lost, so it was more of an accidental discovery of North America.

By the way, there is Leif Erikson Day, an annual observance on October 9 to honor him. In approximately 1000, he was the first European believed to have set foot on the North American continent. Notice I used the word “European.” But wait, it gets better.

Geographically, Greenland is part of the North American continent. It is politically an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. It’s closer to the North American mainland but influenced by European ties. Technically, Erikson resided in North America when he “accidentally discovered” it. Call it fake news. October 9 is bogus, too, but chosen for a reason.

My father’s family came from Norway. A date was needed, so the date was chosen because the first Norwegian immigrants arrived in New York Harbor on October 9, 1825, more than 800 years later. It commemorates a fictitious date, but why quibble?

September 14th-A Day of Meaning

I write part of this in jest, of course, until the end. It’s important to me because I was born on this date. The thing is, when I was young and went to sporting events, I was always impressed by how people would stand and give me a standing ovation. For a young kid, that’s really something big. But it turns out there is more to the story.

Francis Scott Key penned the Star-Spangled Banner on this date, so maybe, just maybe, the people weren’t standing to honor my birthday at all.

In September 1940, and this is a little trivia, Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act, providing for the first peacetime draft in U.S. history. It would become important later.

The first date picked in the draft lottery in 1969 was September 14. I was numero uno. What an honor to have my birthday recognized by the federal government. Except I wasn’t eligible because I was still in high school. The following year, I was number 247 but, again, not eligible. With the numbers going back and forth from low to high and being eligible the following year, I anticipated a low number. Nope. In my year of being eligible, I was number 253.

It was guessed that the anticipated draft would be limited to the first 40-50 numbers. There was no way I’d be drafted. I remember watching that day on television as the numbers were drawn with a group of friends. I did have a close friend born on September 10, drawing 46. He went to the Army.

Another thing happened in 1994. Major League players went on strike, which ended the season and the World Series. My standing O was out the window for the remainder of the baseball season.

Incidentally, it’s important in another, more profound way: my dad, Cpl. Edward Thompson, U.S. Army Air Force, was stationed in Europe. The war ended there on May 8, 1945, and many of the soldiers were sent back to the States. The war in the Pacific raged on, and there was a thought an invasion of Japan would be imminent, with high casualties.

He was left there to possibly be transferred to the Pacific if an invasion was necessary. This is all speculation on my part, but my rationale is easy enough. A corporal during WWII was considered a non-commissioned officer. My dad was also a surgical technician and had an ambulance license.

I just found out about this a few days ago. To order a plaque for the back of his gravestone, a promise I made 21 years ago at his request but neglected, I was looking at his DD-214 discharge papers and decided to search for some answers. My conclusion is if casualties would be high, Cpl. Thompson would be needed.

My dad must have seen some bad stuff; I don’t really know because he never talked about it. But a couple of big bombs in August made the invasion unnecessary. The official surrender was September 2, 1945, my mom’s birthday.

On September 14, my dad returned to the States to be discharged. Seven years later, on the exact same date, I was born.