November 24

I have begun carrying calling cards, as I am certain many other people have. I find that it saves a great deal of time and avoids the problems that arise when my handwriting is difficult to read. It also gives information to salespeople when they are preparing a bill of sale or adding me to a mailing list. The information my calling cards contain is rather basic: my name, address, telephone number, email, website and a cool image of a manual typewriter. Even though he died on the 24th in 1468, I would like to see Jean de Dunois’s card. Jean de Dunois was Lord of Valbonais, Count of Mortain, Viscount of Saint-Sauveur, Count of Périgord, Count of Dunois, and Count of Longueville. What size font would he have had to use to fit all that on a card measuring 2” by 3”?

de Dunois accompanied Joan of Arc when the French forces were relieved at the siege of Orléans in 1429.

November 23

The art world is a highly competitive world and an artist must spend a great deal of time pursuing their craft to receive acknowledgment and praise. 30 year-old Sculptor Rachel Whiteread won two awards on the 23rd in 1993. This was truly a stunning feat for one so young. She won not only the Turner Prize for best British modern artist but also the K Foundation Prize for worst artist of the year. Can you guess which prize Ms. Whiteread probably doesn’t note on her resume?

November 22

Howard Carter, noted Egyptologist and hack archaeologist (who always seemed to have his hand out when in the company of aristocrats), discovered and opened the tomb of Tutankhamen, the Boy King on the 22nd in 1922. For reasons known only to Carter, he would wait until the 26th to enter the tomb. It is well known that King Tut put a curse on his tomb that promised certain death for all those who dared to disturb his resting place. It couldn’t have been much of a curse however, because Carter would not die until March 2, 1939 at the age of 65. So much for the swift and sure death, that Tut had gone on and on about.

Carter opened Tut’s tomb with Lord Carnovan, who had provided funding for Carter’s search. In addition to being ridiculously wealthy, George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, was also ridiculously patient. Carnovan had begun funding Carter’s expeditions in 1907.

November 21

On the 21st in 1783, in Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier[i] and François Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes made the first ascent in an untethered hot air balloon[ii]. de Rozier and Pierre Romain, his traveling partner, would die on June 15, 1785 when their hot air balloon[iii] crashed while attempting to cross the English Channel. I guess he had decided that he had to get out of France even if it killed him, which is a feeling shared by many people who have had to go to there.

[i] When not flying, Pilâtre de Rozier was a chemistry and physics teacher. In June of 1783, he had witnessed the first balloon ascent by the Montgolfier brothers.
[ii] King Louis XVI was present at the balloon’s first ascent.
[iii] The air that carried the balloon aloft was heated by a wood stove, the fire being fed by wood and brandy

November 20

I opted out of the entire political process thirty years ago. Why? you may well ask. Are you lazy or just irresponsible? That is a very good question. My answer is simple: I choose to not participate in what I see as an empty, futile gesture. I offer the following as one event, which serves as a good illustration of how politics really works. On the 20th in 1407, John, Duke of Berry[i] brokered a truce between John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and Louis of Valois, Duke of Orleans. It seems that John and Louis had been at odds for quite some time, both attempting to fill a power vacuum, which had developed because King Charles VI was clearly out of his mind. The two never learned how pleasant it could be to share and neither was able to simply shake hands and make nice. Three days after entering into this solemn truce, John the Fearless (pictured) had Louis assassinated.

[i] It was John, Duke of Berry that commissioned the medieval breviary The Book of Hours.

November 19

After a successful career, many professional baseball players may retire to lead the life of a gentleman farmer, write a book and hit the lecture circuit, or carry over their product endorsement contracts into private life after leaving the baseball diamond for good. Then there are those who choose to leave their careers as athletes behind and take a completely different path. Have you ever wondered what the unsuccessful baseball players do? William Ashley Sunday, born on the 19th in 1862, was a baseball player in the latter part of the 19th century. He played with the Philadelphia Phillies, among other teams, and was not, by any stretch of the imagination, an exceptional player. He never hit well and his fielding was considered sub-par. On the field his only talent of note was running. As a runner he was incredibly fast, which apparently is a talent that comes in handy when playing baseball. During either the 1886 or 1887 seasons, on a day off, Sunday and his teammates were wandering around Chicago drinking beer and pretty much hanging out on street corners. At this point in the story of baseball, I guess this was the equivalent of totaling expensive cars, doing cocaine and steroids, and then trashing nightclubs and hotel rooms, hobbies so popular among athletes today. On one corner, the group encountered a bunch of street preachers from the Pacific Garden Mission. It may have been the preaching or, perhaps it was the beer, but whatever it was Sunday quit drinking for good and transformed himself in to Billy Sunday, self-styled evangelist. He would go on to achieve the fame and fortune that had eluded him as a baseball player.