Originally from the UK and now residing in Texas, I have always believed that when moving to another country the only way to happiness and success is to embrace the culture of that country and to try to gain knowledge about that country as time goes along. I’ve done just that and when events pop up I’ve always tried to delve into their origins and meanings so I am not out of it alongside the local yokels. Well Monday guys it’s Presidents Day. This is what I found upon my fact finding mission …
Firstly, officially there is no such thing as Presidents Day. It is a common “unofficial” moniker for George Washington’s Birthday, the feds view. Some states apply add-ons and link another and often different president’s name to it as well and the most popular name that crops up is Abraham Lincoln. Generally and once again unofficially it is used as a day to honor and celebrate the lives and achievements of all of the U.S. presidents so I thought I needed to know more on that subject and some of the lesser known historical facts are really interesting.
Only five U.S. presidents came into office sporting facial hair and the last one was in 1889, Benjamin Harrison. (For those who don’t know me, I am a fan of a good mooey.) We often accuse the government of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing but in reality there have only ever been seven left hand presidents including three of the last four. The odd one out was George W. Bush and did you know that he married Laura only three months after he met her?
The first president to smoke a cigar (me ~ fan of a good smoke too) whilst in office was James Madison and he regularly smoked until his death in 1836 at the age of 85. He was also the shortest president at only 5 feet 4 inches.
How many people know what the “S” stands for in Harry S. Truman? Well it doesn’t stand for anything. His middle name was simply S to honor two of his grandfathers whose names both had an S in them. (I am thinking of Richard C. “H” Manning in honor of my Harley, what do you think?) On the subject of relations it is interesting that Franklin D. Roosevelt was related by either blood or marriage to 11 former presidents.
Oh, and some of the presidents certainly suffered during their lifetime. For example, Calvin Coolidge the 30th president suffered from chronic stomach pain and needed 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night as well as a regular afternoon nap. William Taft the 27th president weighed more than 300 pounds and had to have a special, oversized bath tub installed in the White House. Ulysses S. Grant died of throat cancer which is not surprising as for most of his life he smoked 20 cigars every day and Grover Cleveland the 22nd and 24th president underwent surgery on board a yacht in 1893 to remove his cancerous upper jaw. Even worse was James Polk the 11th president who, sedated only with brandy, survived gall bladder surgery when he was only 17.
On a more cheerful note, John Tyler the 10th president fathered 15 children, more than any other president, 8 by his first wife and 7 by his second. At the other end was the 15th president James Buchanan who was the only unmarried guy ever to be elected.
Weather is always a popular subject at this time of year so what about the 9th president, William Henry Harrison who was inaugurated on a bitterly cold day and proceeded to give the longest inauguration speech ever, in the history of ever. He died exactly one month later of pneumonia which was the shortest term of office ever, ITHOE. In warm weather the 6th president made a habit of skinny dipping in the Potomac River before dawn whenever he could.
So Monday, it is the history of these great men who have held office in the U.S. that we should be honoring. Their lives, their accomplishments, their leadership and their position that ensures safety and freedom for us all. Or will we all revert to type and see it as a traditional day when the car dealerships have their biggest sales and the retails stores all announce the biggest discounts ever, not ITHOE?!?!