July 4, 5 and 6

On the 4th in 1817, construction of the Erie Canal began in Rome, New York. Typical of most government undertakings, construction was not completed until October 25, 1825. It would be nice to think that this beautiful canal, which made New York City the center of economic power in the country, is now a place of beauty and serenity. It is a quite lovely inland waterway but sadly, almost 200 years after its completion lawyers and politicians still have their fingers in this pie up to their elbows, going back and forth, back and forth on a yearly basis, a bit like the swallows returning to Capistrano or the buzzards to Hinckley, Ohio, over the issue of who pays what, and when is it paid, for the canal’s maintenance.

On the 5th in 1954, Elvis Presley made his first commercial recording: That’s All Right (Mama), for my money the best song he ever did, and I don’t really like Elvis all that much. Actually, I loathe him.

On the 6th in 1885, Louis Pasteur successfully tested his rabies vaccine on a kid named Joseph Meister, who had conveniently been bitten by a rabid dog.