The Symzonia Review’s Brief look at November
A humorous examination of some noteworthy, and some not quite so noteworthy, events that have occurred in November.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
Louis Pasteur
In case you haven’t noticed, let me be the first to point it out for you: This year is winding down with ever-increasing speed. Soon enough, we will all be sucked in to the vortex that will deposit us in 2007. I have no idea what any year holds for us but personally, I would have chosen a year other than 2007, though I can’t quite figure out which one. It is somewhat disappointing that the twenty-first century seems to be barely living up to its potential, and it had such great promise, didn’t it? I’m fairly certain that I would go with something twentieth century, which is one of my favorite centuries, although I must confess a fondness for the seventeenth as well.
Boies Penrose was born on the 1st in 1860. As an adult, he would serve in the United States Senate from 1897 until his death on December 31, 1921. His contribution to Public Service can best be summed up in the following quote, delivered in a speech Penrose gave in 1896: “I believe in the division of labor. You send us to Congress; we pass laws under which you make money…and out of your profits, you further contribute to our campaign funds to send us back again to pass more laws to enable you to make more money.” It is unnecessary to mention that Penrose was a Republican.
Radio station KDKA, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was the first licensed commercial radio station. On the 2nd in 1920, the station began its life by broadcasting the results of that year’s Presidential elections. Warren G. Harding decisively beat Franklin D. Roosevelt with a score of 404 electoral votes for Harding and 127 for FDR.
On the 4th in 1825, the Erie Canal was officially completed. New York Governor DeWitt Clinton officiated at the Wedding of the Waters ceremony during which he poured water from Lake Erie in to the water of New York Harbor. It is unusual that they held a wedding ceremony because the Erie Canal can’t really be said to be straight.
The next item has been a favorite of mine ever since John Lennon asked the question “Do you remember the fifth of November.” On the 5th, in 1605, England’s King James I was scheduled to address both houses of Parliament during the opening session of the 1605 parliament. Guy Fawkes was arrested when he was found in the basement with lots of gunpowder, preparing to assassinate James I and give the British another holiday – Guy Fawkes Day.
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