Hear this right as you enter the tunnel… EXIT 55 I-95n: Fort McHenry Tunnel entry “Ok Road Trippers, listen up. And you in the driver’s seat, please turn on your headlights, cause you are going down! Not to be confused with the Francis Scott Key Bridge that recently fell into the river, you are going down into a tunnel of the same name. But no worries. The tunnel is safe! The official name of the tunnel ahead is the Francis Scott Key Tunnel named for the prisoner of war who wrote the poem that became America’s National Anthem. It was during the War of 1812 and the war was going badly for the United States. Still angry about losing the Revolution over 20 years earlier the invading British were attacking Baltimore. They would at one point march down the road to nearby Washington DC. There the invasion force burned down the White House. Fast Fact: the National Anthem was a poem that grew to be hugely popular years before it was ever set to music. Fast Forward to 1985; the 8-lane Fort McHenry Tunnel became part of I-95. The Tunnel crosses under the Patapsco River south of Fort McHenry, and connects Locust Point and the Canton areas of Baltimore City. You are about to go under the famous Fort McHenry whose bombing inspired that Prisoner of War, Francis Scott Keys to write what would become the National Anthem. As a POW aboard a British ship, he had witnessed the British bombardment of Baltimore's final fortification and before going to sleep, he assumed the end was imminent for the new nation. When the sun rose in the morning of September 14, it shone on the last shreds of the American flag. Like the song says, “Wow! Our flag was still there!” After nearly 24 hours of shelling, the huge British fleet almost immediately ceased fire. Frustrated and low on ammo, the Brits released Francis Scott Key and their other prisoners. Then they surprisingly withdrew. Months later, a peace treaty was signed over in Belgium.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, “Although neither side achieved decisive or lasting military gain, the War of 1812 did have beneficial consequences for the United States. The nation emerged stronger at least internationally. No matter how poorly prepared the United States had been, the government’s readiness to take up arms against a mighty foe substantially enhanced American prestige abroad. Former President Thomas Jefferson said the war demonstrated that “our government can stand the shock of war.” Delaware Senator James Bayard expressed a commonly held sentiment when he vowed: “It will be a long time before we are disturbed again by any of the powers of Europe.” Indeed, within a decade, President Madison’s successor, James Monroe, formulated the Monroe Doctrine, which put “European powers” on notice that the United States would tolerate no further incursions on the “American continents.” From skirmishes with European powers trying to run un-taxed cargo into the United States to the Russians placing Missiles in Cuba, America has been the police man of the Western Hemisphere. Good or bad, no world Wars have happened here under this “Pax Americana”. From the harbor above you, ripples went out into the world. The United States had come of age. #PaxAmericana #FrancisScottKey #NationalAnthem #StarSpangledAnthem #Baltimore #1812 #MonroeDoctrine #ThomasJefferson #FortMcHenry
0 Comments
I-95 northbound (NJ Turnpike) EXIT 10 to I-287 (Edison Tpk), Matuchen & Perth Amboy, New Jersey Ok Roadtrippers now it's time for a Road Test. So prepare yourselves for the Fast Facts! The winner of this Road Test gets not just a free Big Gulp at the next 7/11 off Exit 10 but also gets paid $20 by the driver… Driver, eyes on the road! Ok now, that is a good place to start. The road. Look around you. Likely you see large trucks composed of two units. The truck and the load. We call these big rigs "18 wheelers", or semi trucks or simply semis. They are big and powerful and do a lot of good. Big names in Trucking include Werner, Covenant, and JB Hunt. Also you see a lot of public companies represented like Amazon and Walmart. You might speed by them on the highway without thinking much about all that, but there's a lot worth knowing. Frankly, we at RoadSpoke can wax poetic about any one Fast Fact about trucks and trucking companies and the logistics industry but just for this Road Test we are going to discuss 18 wheelers from an over-broad perspective. The facts reveal that they are essential to the lifeblood of America. What you probably don't know about them will surprise you. Listen up! Now for the Road Test so here come the Fast Facts,: Fact One: 18 wheelers transport over 70 percent of the goods in the United States. That’s right; more than railroads or other things. They are the source of food on supermarket shelves, Amazon deliveries, even gas in your car. Two: The maximum weight for a truck and full trailer is 80,000 pounds. To visualize that, it’s about 20 Indian Elephants. Ok that’s weird but it works for me. Three: In 2016, according to Popular Mechanics Magazine, semitrucks drove 175 BILLION miles. Four: Recent estimates suggest trucks deliver about 60,000 pounds of goods per American — per year. That’s a lot of stuff, right? In fact it comes out to about 18.5 Indian Elephants. So each truck is almost entirely dedicated to you. Think about that. Five: Truck Drivers work hard but by law must take rest stops every 8 hours. So yes most trucks have sleeper space behind the cab. The amount of luxury varies. But it is not uncomfortable back there. Even basic sleeper cabs incorporate tables, closets, refrigerators, flatscreen TV mounts, and, of course, beds. Six: Some Sleeper cabs can accommodate even a small family or a pair of spouses. They are not likely, however, to accommodate an Indian Elephant. Fast Fact Seven: Spouses who both drive the truck are called a Tag Team. Now for the Road Test: you have 3 seconds to answer. Now for the quiz: How many elephants are accommodated in a sleeper cab? Three. Two, and one. If you said none, you win! Ok Driver, cough up. Pay the genius twenty bucks. And be quick about it because you gotta get right to Exit. 7/11 owes you a Big Gulp. Just tell em the Spoken Road sent you! #18wheelers #PepsiProducts #JBHunt #Werner #Covenant #Semitrucks #PopularMechanics #IndianElephants #sleepercabs Long Island's Jackie Robinson FreewayRoadSpoke’s EXIT of the Day: EXIT 8 on I-678n aka the Van Wyck Expressway, the EXIT for the Jackie Robinson Expressway near Kew Gardens in Queens, New York Today in 1991, BET Networks, was the first African-American company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Robert Johnson was the media company’s CEO and Founder. So in honor of that first as well as the End of the World Series...... we will revisit another first. And they are related since Number 42 went on to become the first African American TV sportscaster.... Like most New York Super Stars, baseball great Jackie Robinson came from somewhere else only to make it BIG in the Big Apple. Jackie Robinson was the first African American who blasted through the Major League Baseball color barrier when The Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947. The Brooklyn Dodgers effectively ended racial segregation which had relegated black players to the Negro Leagues since the 1880s. In his first year, Jackie faced a lot of abuse. But he persevered quietly. And successfully. In an ultimate act of revenge, Jackie was the recipient of the First Ever "Rookie of the Year" Award. Robinson was born into abject poverty, as a sharecroppers son in rural Georgia. He went on to become an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in 6 World Series including the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship. In 1962, Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. After his pro career, he celebrated many other firsts. He was the first African American Sportscaster. He was the first African American to sit on the Board of Directors of a Fortune 500 Company, The Chock Full O'nuts Coffee Company. After his death in 1972, Robinson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as well as The Presidential Medal of Freedom. Then in 1997, Major League Baseball "universally" retired his uniform number, Number 42. But for one exception, all major league teams will never award an athlete with Jersey #42; he was the first pro in any sport to be so honored.
But there is one exception... On April 15, 2004, Major League Baseball also adopted a new tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day". That day, EVERY player on EVERY team wears Number 42. But in some sense -- every day is Jackie's Day... no more so than today when a Black Entertainment Network was born — and people of color play on every professional sports team including the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals. #JackieRobinson #BETNetworks #42 #WorldSeries #Baseball #MLB #ChockfullofNuts #JackieRobinsonDay #ThePresidentialMedalofFreedom #BETNetworks Cos Cob, Connecticut on Mianus River Bridge Ok Road Trippers, upcoming is a Road Test, so pay attention. Here are the Fast Facts. You are now driving across the Mianus River Bridge above commercial buildings in Old Greenwich and Cos Cob. Nowadays not investing in America's infrastructure is a hall mark of our Congress. In 1983, the Bridge on which you drive, collapsed. Yup, the entire northbound side fell in. Three people were killed and three others were seriously injured. Casualties from the collapse were few because the disaster occurred at one thirty in the morning when traffic was low. Perhaps in some kind of Karmic revenge the one car that drove off the bridge was a recently stolen BMW containing the 3 car thieves. All the occupants died in the fall. In the nineteen fifties, investing in Connecticut’s infrastructure meant short term costs for smart long term gains. So while Connecticut lost many wartime factories following the end of hostilities, by investing in Highways, the state shared in a general post-war expansion that resulted in solid growth in suburban areas. One strong supporter of Long-term Infrastructure improvements was Greenwich native, Senator Prescott Bush. In conjunction with Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, Senator Bush saw the need to invest in a coast to coast Interstate Highway system. Senator Bush represented Connecticut in the United States Senate from 1952 to 1963; his son George Herbert Walker Bush and grandson George Bush both would become Presidents. Now for the road test: What was Senator Bush's first name? #MianusBridge #InfrastructureInvestments #PrescottBush #PresidentBush #Old Greenwich #Connecticut #CosCob #OldGreenwich I-95 Delaware Northbound Exit 1b To: DE 896, to Newark, Middletown, near Newark, DE Ok now it’s time for a Road Test so get ready to hear the fast facts. Folks you are now in Delaware. Congratulations. Really. Nearby is the home of the University of Delaware. Originally surrounded by farmland nearby Newark, Delaware is now surrounded by housing developments -- although farmland plays an important part in locally based University of Delaware's creation. Newark itself was founded by Scots-Irish and Welsh settlers in 1694. Schools have played a significant role in the history of Newark. A grammar school, founded 1743, became Newark Academy. Newark Academy became the University of Delaware. Among the first graduates of the school were three signers of the Declaration of Independence: George Read, Thomas McKean, and James Smith. The University of Delaware is the largest university in Delaware. As far as state universities go, it is medium-sized – approximately 18,000 undergrads and 5,000 grad students. U.D. is a so-called “land-grant” university. Land grant colleges began after 1862 in a program whereby government land would be sold or converted into college property. Before land grant colleges existed, most Private Universities only served the nation’s elite. Land Grant colleges specifically focused on teaching useful trades, like farming and engineering, mostly to poor citizens. This heritage is likely why the mascot of University of Delaware is a farm animal: The University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens. And since hens are quite nasty when provoked, they also fit the fighting spirit of the student body at sports games. Right? As to teaching superlative courses, the university's programs in chemical and bio-molecular engineering as well as business are all highly ranked. Perhaps that is because of the presence of locally headquartered chemical giant, Du Pont Corporation. But Delaware is not all science and numbers. It is also one of only four schools in North America with a major in art conservation. And Delaware was the first American university to begin a Study Abroad program. In fact, the school graduates a large number of international students. Now for the Road Test: who is the college's fine feathered mascot? You have three seconds. Three…. and two….and One. If you said Fighting Blue Hens, then go to the head of your class. And if you are already attending University of Delaware, that means you are amongst a lot of very smart kids. So great job!
#UniversityofDelaware #FightingBlueHens #NewarkDelaware #Delaware #UD #engineering #StudyAbroad #DuPont Real Georgia Peach: Trisha YearwoodExit 42 I-95n To: GA 99 near Brunswick, Georgia Okay y’all now listen up. And listen good. And I hope you selected the Text to Speech Voice in your mobile phone that is neither American nor British nor Australian on account of this being heard best in a true southern drawl. Does your phone have southern drawl on it? If not — too bad. Because we are about to launch into a discourse about a talented singer. A country singer who is as Georgia as peach cobbler. She is more Georgia than moonlight over them there swamps. We are fixin to speak about one talented pretty lady known as Trisha Yearwood. Since she also acts, Trisha Yearwood is actually a triple threat having acted both on TV and in Major Motion Pictures. And of course everyone knows that Trisha Yearwood is a country singer extraordinaire. In her day job, Yearwood has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, and has won three Grammy Awards, three Country Music Association Awards, and two Academy of Country Music Awards. Yearwood rose to fame in 1991 with her debut single "She's in Love with the Boy”, followed by hits, "How Do I Live”, "Walkaway Joe", and "I Would've Loved You Anyway”. But do they know the triple threat is that the Georgia Farmer’s Daughter is also a diva in the kitchen? Trisha, and I call her Trisha because we are friends, loves to cook up classic southern dishes like candied lemon slices and of course, Georgia Peach Cobbler. Yearwood has so much fun with cooking she has ventured into the culinary arts writing and releasing three successful cookbooks. Since she does everything good these books earned her the status of two-time New York Times best-selling author. She does love to make cakes though and to many of her cooking fans, cakes and Peach Pies are this diva’s forte. And what about this person Garth? Well fellow country star Garth Brooks is her biggest fan on stage and in the kitchen. Garth Brooks is her third Husband. According to Yahoo news, Ask Garth and her three stepdaughters what her signature dish is though, and they'll reply with something totally ordinary: mashed potatoes. "That was the thing I think that really won them over when I first moved to Oklahoma," she shared. “The kids were like, 'Okay, this girl can marry our dad because she makes really good mashed potatoes!’" But what about Garth? Can he cook? Mostly sandwiches it turns out. So no. But that’s fine cause maybe it's best for us to skip a meal. Ain’t that right, my fellow Georgia Peaches?
#TrishaYearwood #Farmersdaughter #GarthBrooks #Countrywesternmusic #CountryMusic #Grammy #Diva #KitchenDiva EXIT of the DAY: Exit 99b in GA I-95s To: I-16w to Macon, Georgia If you drove toward this EXIT and had RoadSpoke, you would hear this: Music up... Country Music... Jason Aldean's "Fly Over States" plays... "Alright Road crew, time for a Road Test. Is the upcoming Exit 99b the road to fame and fortune? Well for someone in the car it may well be. The winner of this quiz gets paid $20 by the driver. Driver, eyes on the road! "Now time for the fast facts… "You are on the trail of greatness. Up the next Exit many music superstars have driven. This unassuming EXIT to Interstate 16 and Macon Georgia was an onramp for success. Think rock stars like Little Richard, Bill Berry of R.E.M. and maybe the most iconic Macon musical act , the Allman Brothers Band. Also think the late great soul singers, Otis Redding and James Brown. Being in Georgia it is no surprise maybe that a contemporary great is a country star. Think Country and Western Star, Jason Aldean. Macon, Georgia is Jason Aldean’s home town. No surprise the Macon Sound is a mix of influences and the musicians have no problem mixing with others in the broader industry. In July 2018, like many Country Stars, Jason Aldean returned to his home town, Macon. He had just played a benefit concert for a children's hospital to a sold out crowd in Atlanta. But Jason is a new breed of country star. Jason’s songs liberally include rocker licks. On top of that, he rubs shoulders with hip hop stars. In fact, his pal Georgia born rapper Ludacris joined him on stage for a set. So while Jason sells out stadiums with country and western audiences, he is not afraid to think different. And he draws in a more mixed bag of fans. It’s a mix that allows for diversity and inclusion. Jason loves to use his celebrity to do performances that are about something bigger than himself. For the man whose hits “Any Old Barstool”, “Tonight Looks Good on You,” and “Fly Over States”, this was the third year he has done a concert benefiting sick kids cared for at Atlanta's @Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital. Says Jason: “There are a lot of reasons I love doing what I do, but being able to give back to kids and their families is definitely really important to me.” This of course includes his own family which includes 4 kids and wife Britney. Jason’s roots run deep in Macon. He was raised by his Mom in Macon. He first performed on stage at the Macon VFW Hall when he was 15. But before that, during summer break, he would spend time with his Dad in @Homestead,Florida. Before his father went to work he would instruct Jason where to place his fingers to play chords. Then while his dad was at work, young Jason practiced all day. When his dad got home, they got out their guitars and played together. Moving home to Mom was no bad thing for Jason though. Jason loves Georgia deeply. In fact, except for watching University of Georgia @Bulldogs Football every Saturday you could find Jason in the Georgia woods since he is an avid outdoorsman. He even owns a Hunting Company called Buck Commander. But guns and concerts created a grand tragedy in Las Vegas Nevada when a mad man began shooting in October 2017. Jason had just begun performing when the shooter began firing into the crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort. 58 people were killed and 851 people were injured. Until recently, Jason stayed out of the debate that's going on over gun control. Then in a new interview with BILLBOARD Magazine, he reveals there should at least be a more thorough vetting process. After the shooting Jason visited survivors in the hospital. He admits to serious guilt over the fans who got shot. They were present to see him. He also feels a connection to the survivors from the high school mass murder in @Parkland,Florida. Many of those students have become gun control activists. Says Jason, "Unless anybody has witnessed anything like that, it’s really hard for people to really understand where you’re coming from on that stuff," he reflects. "It’s like the kids from the school in Florida, that shooting. I get it, man. I understand how they are feeling.” But no doubt, Jason Aldean wishes he did not need to address the raging gun law debate. In fact, he would have been far more comfortable raising donations with rapper friends at that benefit concert to build a kids’ wing at a hospital." Now for the Road Test: what is Jason Aldean’s first name? What? “Jason” you say. Correct!
Ok Driver, cough up. Pay the genius twenty bucks. And be quick about it. #JasonAldean #Flyovercountry #Georgia #Macon #Parkland #HarvestFestival #Massshootings #GeorgiaBulldogs #BuckCommander Hear this… here! I-95 Southbound Exit 17 To: MD 202, Landover Rd, to Upper Marlboro near Hyattsville, MD Ok now Road Warriors, I have a quick question. What is the name of the highest grossing actor who was born in the poorest neighborhood in Washington DC? An observant person may need an informed understanding of our cultural decay to appreciate the intransigence of our history. Well before the Black Lives Matter movement, this Hollywood Star was a 1960’s Black Activist who pushed non-violent disobedience to the edge. He did so because he thought he could change the direction of our society through radical action. Later he grew to appreciate the importance of art in subtly influencing the arc of history. Samuel L Jackson was born here in Washington DC. Hugely prolific, the sheer number of films in which Jackson has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide. This makes Sam Jackson the highest-grossing actor of all time. In many of his movie roles he taps into his personal demons of rebellion and addiction to create highly attractive yet morally nebulous roles. But don’t be surprised into thinking Hollywood is his sole rodeo. Samuel L. Jackson has diverse interests, from civil rights to marine biology. In fact at Martin Luther King’s alma mater, Morehouse College In Atlanta Georgia, Sam initially pursued a degree in marine biology. Still, college seemed a world away from the Civil Rights movement and Sam wanted more than a degree. He wanted to be a part of the movement and he wanted to bring the movement to campus. This would be an explosive convergence of events. You see, while young Sam was born in Washington he spent his years before college growing up with his grandparents in Jim Crow Tennessee. “I had anger in me,” Jackson told Parade magazine in 2005. “It came from growing up suppressed in a segregated society. All those childhood years of ‘whites only’ places and kids passing you on the bus, yelling, the N word!” There was nothing I could do about it then.” Immersed in Deep South racial strife, after the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackson left school to attend the funeral in Atlanta. He even served as one of the ushers. Angry and emboldened, Jackson then flew to Memphis to join an equal rights protest. In the Parade Magazine interview Sam revealed: "I was angry about the assassination, but I wasn't shocked by it. I knew that change was going to take something different – not sit-ins, not peaceful coexistence.” In 1969, Sam Jackson and other students held members of the Morehouse College board of trustees hostage at gun point. One of the hostages was none other than the father of MLK, Martin Luther King, Senior. The students demanded that the school put more African Americans on its board of trustees. The college agreed, but Jackson was arrested and charged. He was convicted of unlawful confinement, a second-degree felony. Morehouse then suspended Sam for his his actions. Sam stayed in Atlanta during his suspension. After joining a local acting group on a whim, Jackson’s interest in drama blossomed. No doubt he appreciated the huge influence of film on modern culture. Not content just with core credits, he co-founded an off-campus actors ensemble “The Just Us Theatre”. After his 2 year suspension, Jackson matriculated back into Morehouse College where he switched his major from Marine Biology to Drama. He graduated in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama. Despite battling drug addictions, Sam found his way to Hollywood where he quickly became a box office star. First as a fixture in Director Spike Lee’s early art house films, Jackson pivoted to starring roles in wide release films like Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Django Unchained and the remake of Shaft. Today he is clean and sober, pensive and gracious — but no less engaged. In general he sees our culture declining in the face of populist politics based in ignorance. Says the former Marine Biologist: “I can’t imagine Dr. King watching the Real Housewives or Jersey Shore. We’ve come a long way in our thinking, but also in our moral decay.” Sam still seeks change. But unlike the young activist kidnapping college administrators and suing for radical revolution, today Sam seeks a change more certain and permanent. As an artist, he participates in the movement through his influence as one of the biggest and certainly the most soulful stars in all Hollywood’s firmament. #SamuelLJackson #MoorehouseCollege #DrMartinLutherKingJr #BLM #BLackLivesMatter #SpikeLee #StarWars #JurassicPark #PulpFiction EXIT OF THE DAY: Hear this…. HERE! EXIT 1; I-678s, JFK, Ozone Park, n of Belt Parkway Over there you may think you are looking at JFK Airport, but actually you are looking at the site of an invasion — an invasion from a foreign country. On February 7, 1964 the British Invasion began. It started right here at JFK airport. It came in the form of four mop top musicians from Liverpool. The Beatles had landed! John Paul, George, and Ringo stepped from a Pan Am airliner to greet tens of thousands of screaming teenagers. One sign said, “Please STAY here FOREVER!”. From here they commenced their first concert tour of the USA. After the Beatles came the Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and numerous other British Rock sensations. This was known as the British Invasion. Tens of thousands of world famous celebrities discreetly slip through Customs at JFK International to enter the United States. Perhaps that was why the city authorities thought it imperative to make a grand first impression. John F Kennedy airport was one of the first Airports that melded architectural beauty with functional design. World Famous architects like Skidmore, Owens and Merrill, I M Pei are represented with the most famous likely the TWA Flight Center of 1962, designed by Eero Saarinen and known for its distinctive winged-bird shape and now home to Jet Blue. JFK was originally built on Idlewild Beach Golf Course and named Idlewild Airport. The first airline flight from JFK was on July 1, 1948; the opening ceremony was attended by then President Harry Truman. To push acceptance of the new airport, The Port Authority cancelled foreign airlines' permits to use LaGuardia, forcing them to move to JFK during the next couple of years. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway into the United States, handling fifty nine million passengers in 2015. While the size has expanded to almost 5000 acres, the number of Terminals has been reduced from 10 terminals to 7. Over seventy airlines operate out of the airport, with non-stop or direct flights to destinations in all six inhabited continents. As for the Beatles…John Lennon actually did move here. He eventually moved to New York City and despite push back from Richard Nixon's conservative pals in Washington, John became an American Citizen. How soon will they have regularly scheduled flights to the last continent, Antarctica? No one can say. But maybe if Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the last living Beatles, do a tour there, the crowds will follow! #BritishInvasion #Beatles #JFK #JohnFKennedyAirport #Idlewild #PanAm #TWA #SkidmoreMerrillOwensandMerrill #IMPei #BeltParkway #OzonePark #JohnLennon #PaulMcCartney #RingoStarr #GeorgeHarrison #JetBlue Hear this here! EXIT of the DAY: Exit 75 I-95s: To Jackson Ward, Richmond Virginia "Ok Road Trippers listen up. Time for a Road Test. So now listen well to the Fast Facts. "You are approaching the Exit to a special place. It is called the Maggie Lena Walker House and it is operated by the National Park Service. If you want a break there is a fine restaurant serving traditional southern food right next door. It is called "Alonso's Southern Comfort" and the fried chicken is mouth watering good. So get right to exit. Next to Alonso's, Maggie Lena Walker’s former home in the Jackson Ward section of Richmond was the center of African American commerce at the turn of the twentieth century. Talk about a success story, this African American daughter of slaves was the first female bank president in The United States. All along the highway you see billboards. Likely you see signs for banks like Chase Bank, Wells Fargo, and here in Virginia, you see a lot of PNC Banks. Well now, it is time for the Fast Facts: Born to slaves in Richmond, Virginia at the end of the Civil War, Maggie Lena Walker grew up an avid student. She excelled in both math and Bible studies. In her twenties, she became an active member of The Independent Order of Saint Luke which was a Christian Society that encouraged self-help amongst African Americans. Then Maggie did something that today we would call, “Extending the brand.” In 1902, Maggie Lena Walker started a newspaper for the organization, "The Saint Luke Herald." Shortly thereafter, she perceived that most African Americans in Richmond were not welcome at white banks. Through the newspaper she solicited blacks to “put their money together” to work for their own people. Said Maggie, "Let us put our nickels together and turn them into dollars." So Maggie chartered “Saint Luke’s Penny Savings Bank.” Maggie was the bank's first president, which earned her the recognition of being the first woman — anywhere in the United States — to start a bank. Pretty cool eh? During the same time she married and almost lost her life giving birth to her first child. Ultimately she and her husband, Armstead, raised 3 children. Later, Maggie merged Saint Luke’s Penny Savings Bank with two other Richmond banks to become The Consolidated Bank and Trust Company. Maggie served as the bigger bank’s Chairman of the Board. This represented several Firsts for women in America none the least was that the daughter of slaves became the First Woman CEO of a Bank. Said Maggie, “I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but instead, with a clothes basket almost upon my head." Newspaper publisher, bank president, business woman, wife and Mom, as someone else might say, "Only in America…” Now for the Road Test: what was Maggie’s full name? You have three seconds. Three… and two… and one. Her name was Maggie Lena Walker and don’t forget it! #The Consolidated Bank and Trust Company #SaintLukeHerald #SaintLuke #MaggieLenaWalker #RichmondVirginia #CivilWar 1 Post: 249,000 Views!Forty Acres and a MuleHear this right... Here; EXIT of the DAY: EXIT 8 I-95s: Road 13, To Switzerland, Beaufort, South Carolina, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. 'In November 1861 the Union Navy attacked nearby Port Royal Sound and for the rest of The Civil War, Union Troops occupied South Carolina's Sea Islands. Meanwhile local Whites fled their plantations, abandoning about 10,000 slaves. The Union had not planned on this turn of events. Suddenly they were responsible for thousands of people who previously had no experience as freed people. With no provisions for refugees, The Union could only ask that the slaves stay and continue to farm. During the first year of occupation African American field hands successfully harvested approximately 90,000 pounds of cotton. The workers were paid one dollar for every 400 pounds harvested. Thus, these people became the first freed slaves to earn wages for their labor. This soon evolved to become the so-called Port Royal Experiment. While the farmers struggled through the war to make a success of their farms, Union missionaries, teachers, ministers and doctors volunteered to help promote this experiment. Freed people built hospitals and schools. In schools, math and literature were taught for the first time. The experiment was such a success that in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued new land redistribution policies that allowed nearly 40,000 acres of abandoned Confederate plantations to be divided among 16,000 families of the “African race.” But the land was not free. The freed people had to purchase the land. Families were each offered 40 acres each — which became known as the slogan that success could be found with just “40 acres and a mule”. Almost immediately blacks bought about 2,000 acres of land. In part due to the success of the Black Farmers in Port Royal, Lincoln became convinced that African Americans could possibly be effective Soldiers. He sought soldiers from the population and was overwhelmed by the response of those who volunteered to join the Union Cause. It was only the assassination of Lincoln in April 1865, however, that ended momentum. The new president, despite being a resentful poor white Southerner, Andrew Johnson was determined to restore all lands back to the previous white elite “Planter Class”. Nonetheless not all white owners returned to the Sea Islands. So thousands of black families continued to farm their lands until well into the 20th century and even until today. #13thAmendment #Slavery #Freedom #Free #AbeLincoln #Confederacy #SeaIslands #AndrewJohnson #blacks #PortRoyalExperiment LLCoolJ's Best RoadTrippin' RapEXIT of the DAY: Exit 34 on I-278 To Queens, Mid-Town Tunnel and Long Island Expressway in Sunnyside, Queens. Ok Road Crew, check out the white sign for the upcoming Exit - the Queens Midtown Tunnel. It distinguishes the largely working class borough of Queens from Midtown Manhattan -- the access point for major corporate players on Media, Advertising and Communications. One person who embodies a player in all those sectors crossed over from Queens but never forgot where he came from. Like the tunnel itself, he connects his humble roots to touch millions. In doing so, he has become an industry unto himself. "Going back to Cali" by Queens native LL Cool J is ranked as one of the Top 50 Road Trip Songs according to Time Out magazine. Maybe because it boasts the coolest sax solo in all hip-hop. Or maybe because Mister Ladies Love Cool James really does not care if he goes anywhere specific-- so long as he is Road Trippin' in his tricked out Corvette, cruising with his beautiful wife, Simone -- and family... and, of course, listening to RoadSpoke Talking Tours! LL Cool J stands for Ladies Love Cool James. But before he was LLCoolJ, he simply was "James". Always searching, James Todd Smith's first hit at the ripe old age of 16 investigated the lack of musical inspiration in a rap anthem called "I need a Beat." In March 1984, when NYU student Rick Rubin and promoter-manager Russell Simmons founded the then-independent Def Jam label, 16-year-old Hollis, Queens-native LL Cool J was creating demo tapes in his grandparents' home. The commercial success of "I Need a Beat", along with the Beastie Boys' single "Rock Hard" (1984), helped launch the iconic label, Def Jam. Concurrently his first film role was in a high school football movie called "Wildcats". Cool J then landed the role of Captain Patrick Zevo in the 1992 film "Toys" in which he shared the silver screen with Robin Williams. As we all know, LL Cool J is currently a series lead with Chris O'Donnell on "NCIS: Los Angeles". Cool J portrays NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, an ex–Navy SEAL who is fluent in Arabic and an expert on West Asian culture. But perhaps what best accounts for his getting a 2016 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is the fact that he appeared on Sesame Street. LL Cool J appeared in Sesame Street's 39th season where he introduced the word of the day, "Unanimous". Obviously it is unanimous that the Ladies Love Cool James and so do people of all sexes -- especially fans from Queens who love road trips!
https://www.timeout.com/chicago/music/50-best-road-trip-songs #LLCoolJ #JamesToddSmith #RobinWilliams #RockHard #IneedaBeat #NCIS #GoingBackToCali #Toys #BeastieBoys #DefJam #RussellSimmons #RickRubin #Hollis OK Road Crew, now it is time for a Road Test. So here now are the Fast Facts. Back in 1945, a former J. C. Penney employee opened his first store in north west Arkansas. Sam Walton’s focus was to sell products at lower prices to get high volume sales, portraying it as a crusade for the consumer. He was able to find lower-cost suppliers than other stores. Sales increased 45 percent in his first year of ownership to $105,000. The lease then expired so Sam opened up a new store on North Main Street in Bentonville, naming it "Walton's Five and Dime”. By offering always low prices, always, within its first five years, the company expanded to 24 stores in Arkansas. Sam did not expand outside of Arkansas till 1968 -- some 23 years later. Bad Business? Well consider this... Today, Walmart is the world’s Largest Retailer with 11,000 stores in 27 countries and Growing! It is also the largest employer in the world with over 2 million employees and growing. Each week, over 275 million customers shop at Walmart or its other outlets like Sam’s Clubs. Other superlatives include many environmental initiatives like using wind turbines, biofuel boilers, and solar panels. In fact, it is the biggest commercial producer of solar power in the United States. It is also the biggest seller of organic milk and the biggest buyer of organic cotton in the world. In so doing, it demands that Walmart suppliers cut back on harmful fertilizers. What does it mean to you? Well, the Average American saves nearly $1,000 annually by shopping at Walmart. Plus it has the widest selection of goods and produce, so who does not shop there? Finally, while a lot of Walmart’s inexpensive merchandise is produced in low wage places like China, the management insists over $10 Billion a year goes to US manufacturers and another $250 Billion in purchasing comes strictly from United States based corporations. It even has started societal initiatives to impact its customers in good ways. For instance, in 2011 Walmart announced a program to improve the nutritional value of its store brands, reducing the amount of salt and sugar and completely eliminating trans fat altogether. Oh and Walmart is still a Family Store. The Walton kids and grandkids still own over 50% of the stock. So what happened to that first Walton Five and Dime in Bentonville? Well, That store is now the Walmart Museum.
Now for the Road Test: where did Sam Walton work before he started his own company? You have 3 seconds. Three… and two… and one. If you said JC Penney, you would be correct. #Walmart #SamWalton #Walmart Trucks #Bentonville #JCPenney #LargestRetailer #LargestEmployer #BetterTogether #Alwayslowpricesalways Hear this right… HERE! Right at this Exit sign! Exit 41 I-278 Brooklyn Queens Expressway, to Northern Boulevard (IND Queens Boulevard Line), Jackson Heights, Queens Can you imagine, spending $50 on a radio advertisement and generating a return of $150,000? That's a return on investment of three thousand percent! Wow. Well it happened right here in Jackson Heights. That’s because from the printing press to Facebook, new media SERIOUSLY impacts the way people live. After the American Revolution, newspapers were the primary way people got their news. They often would be distributed by the Town Crier who would walk around villages and loudly proclaim the latest news often augmenting this with the sale of pamphlets: “Hear ye, Hear ye… Queens Man put to death for killing his neighbor. Read all about it.” The tech of journalism was different too and it impacted how the papers were treated. Before 1900, newspapers were printed on cotton which was sturdier than paper. Cotton lasted months. Newspapers were expected to be handed around. So most folks got "second hand news.” No surprise, newspapers from this era are still in good shape. By World War One, however, cotton was replaced by cheap paper — which meant the newspaper was less resilient and more disposable. News Papers after this period eroded in weeks. Yet newspaper circulation became more targeted. In one household, Dad might read one Newspaper while Mom would read another. The adaptation of media to modern lifestyles was essential for success. It conformed with how people lived. With the advent of subway commuting around 1900, publishers began to make more money with single sheet paper tabloids instead of fold out newspapers. Jam-packed strap-hangers preferred to peruse the thin copy, large images, and single leaf tabloids of say the Illustrated Daily News — today’s Daily News — over the unwieldy erudite New York Times. Predictably these dailies targeted the masses with sordid stories about millionaires and immoral ladies -- preferably both. And more eyeballs meant more money from ads. These cheap paper tabloids quickly faded and grew jaundice -- but so-called Yellow Journalism boomed. According to the Ric Burns and James Sanders companion book to Ken Burns' PBS Series, NEW YORK, AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY, the impact of the new media of radio was even more staggering. While papers reached thousands, radio could reach millions. Although first broadcast commercially in 1920, it was not for 2 more years that the first radio advertisement was transmitted. On August 22, 1922 on NYC Radio Station WEAF ran a 10 minute advertisement for an apartment complex right here in Jackson Heights, Queens. The response was overwhelming. The advertiser who had paid just $50 for the airtime quickly sold $150,000 worth of apartments. Driven by the vast new scale of radio, not just media but also the advertising industry in New York exploded. That’s because, for the first time a single product could be sold to the entire nation at once. Already the nation’s leader in culture, fashion, and publishing, no surprise New York City excelled in the new art of heightening the power of advertising. And so what "Wall Street" was to Finance, "Madison Avenue" became for media and advertising... and both were headquartered in the Big Apple. #RicBurns #NewYork #NEWYORKANILLUSTRATEDHISTORY #JamesSanders #NewYorkTimes #DailyNews #Radio #newmedia #JamesSanders #PBS #PBSNEWYORK The 2 Roads of Wes MooreIf you had the RoadSpoke app… hear this here: EXIT of the Day: EXIT 22 I-95s Delaware Expressway to I-676, SR 30 to Wayne PA, in Philadelphia PA “The subject of this EXIT has an amazing resume. He is a former Army Ranger, a Decorated Combat Veteran, the current Robin Hood Charity CEO, a Best Selling Author, and Best Friend Forever of none other than Miss Oprah Winfrey. But we had a hard time figuring off what Exit to place this story. It could be placed at Baltimore, The Bronx, or even beside a tiny tropical sugar town of Trelawny Parish on the Caribbean Island of Jamaica. The story is about one man named Wes Moore. It is a story about being born along the mean — then plummeting. It is a fight against the odds, falling and bouncing back to reach the highest height -- a J Curve, if you will, which every person experiences. The best part of this trajectory is Wes Moore’s story is not even half-way done. What heights will he attain? Remarkably this Wes Moore wrote a Best Selling book about 2 Black Kids from Baltimore both named Wes Moore. Both started along the same mean, each chose a different path. The Other Wes Moore is now spending his life in prison, convicted of murder. The Book itself is entitled, THE OTHER WES MOORE. As for the EXIT of the Day, we chose an offramp that takes you to Wayne, Pennsylvania which is the home of Valley Forge Military School, a dormitory prep school which marked the bottom of our Wes Moore’s plunge and from which he rose to succeed in so many things. You see, as a 3 year old child, little Wes witnessed his father's death from a rare virus. Moore's mother then took him to live in The Bronx with his grandparents. His grandfather, Dr. James Thomas, was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. His grandmother was a retired school teacher from Trelawny Parish, Jamaica. A smart kid, Wes got financial assistance to attend the elite Riverdale Country School. When Moore's grades fell, he got into trouble with the law. His mom yanked him and enrolled him in Valley Forge Military Academy off the approaching EXIT. It was here that he learned discipline and he began to rise. It was here too that he first parachuted which gave him the desire later to lead combat troops with the 82nd Airborne. He went on to attend Johns Hopkins University where graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 2001. He also won a Rhodes Scholarship and attended the University of Oxford in England. In 2005, abandoning a Wall Street Job, Wes volunteered in the Army to serve and see combat in Afghanistan. Today, Wes heads up the Robin Hood Foundation. Robin Hood is one of the most innovative and well funded non-profits investing tens of millions annually in providing solutions to the War on Poverty. In addition to leading crusades against poverty in Urban New York, he is a strong advocate for Veterans Affairs and has produced TV Shows with Oprah Winfrey and TED Talks about reintegrating veterans into society. Wes is married to Dawn Moore with two young daughters. He lives in suburban Connecticut, many many Exits from the Other Wes Moore — who is still his friend. So it only seems appropriate that we credit EXIT 22 with being the right road for Wes Moore. Down this Exit, Wes Moore drove to the Valley Forge Military Academy that changed his direction in life. So it is the correct choice for our EXIT of the DAY.” #WesMoore #TheOtherWesMoore #ValleyForgeMilitaryAcademy #RobinHoodFoundation #RiverdaleCountrySchool #82ndAirborne #Army #TrelawnyParish #TedTalks #Oprah EXIT of the DAY: Exit 22 I-95 s to Bordentown NJ. Hear this here! "OK Road Scholars, listen up! This RoadSpoke was submitted to us by Jungyung Kim, a ninth grader from Harrington Park, New Jersey. Thanks Jungyung! Here now is the spoken road... "Upcoming is a Wendy’s Restaurant. In his book "Dave's Way," Wendy's Founder Dave Thomas recalls how the family dressed up his 8 year old daughter in a striped dress for the opening of the first location. To make her pigtails stick out, Mom put pipe cleaners in her hair. That's the little red headed girl in the logo. Now time for a Road Test: The winner gets a free Frosty from the upcoming Wendy's off the next EXIT. So get right now and listen up for the Fast Facts! Fast food outlets are all along Interstates so you are all familiar with Wendy’s, Burger Kings, and McDonald’s. Believe it or not though, back in the 1800’s establishments that sold just food were almost unheard of. Eating out was rare if largely unheard of. Everyone ate at home. Eating out was only something travelers would do and so Hotels or taverns may offer meals to their nightly guests but no one else. Then just before the Civil war, fine dining became a thing with rich people but mainly in big cities. Delmonico’s in Manhattan is credited with being one of the first eat-only places. All the fashionable and famous in the Big Apple would gather there to see and be seen Then came the Civil War. Perhaps it was then with vast segments of the population traveling far from the farm did offering meals for pay become an idea. From the Civil War forward, inns, taverns or saloons would offer food to supplement the sale of their profit centers which was liquor or beer. But except for pickled or salted meats and vegetables, almost all food was cooked to order. There was no standardization of meals nor were meals pre- fabricated in industrial capacities. In the 1950’s Fast Food rose in tandem with high speed travel along interstates. Upcoming is a Wendy’s. Founded in 1969 in Ohio by Dave Thomas and named for his daughter, Wendy’s claim to fame is being the home of fresh, never frozen beef. The chain is also known for its square hamburgers, sea salt fries, and Frosty, a form of soft-serve ice cream. Despite being bashful and self effacing Dave held the record for appearing in his own commercials. He starred in them over 800 times. Remarkably his daughter Wendy never did. So while you may be familiar with all types of fast food, eating out, Dave Thomas and even Wendy’s fast food, well you nor anyone in America has ever met the so-called Wendy herself. Was she real. And was that her real name? Now for the answer to the Road Test: What was the name of Dave Thomas’ daughter… the one for whom Dave named the chain? If you said "Wendy" , technically you would be wrong. Wendy or Wenda was just her baby name. Melinda Lou was the lady’s real name. Now let’s get right to exit. I want a Frosty from Melinda Lou’s. And don't forget... you gotta tell em RoadSpoke sent you!" #Wendy's #DaveThomas #Frosty #NewJersey #ExitofThe Day #Delmonico's Hear this right… HERE! I-95 South EXT 49B to 695 and I-70 West, near Baltimore, Maryland Quick! Look Up. See the exit sign? Upcoming Exit 49 b is an innocuous number for a major crossroads. Imagine that from this point in the highway you can pretty much go ANYWHERE in North America. You can drive to California, to Florida to Alaska or to steamy Mexico. Brazil or Peru even! The road promises infinite possibilities. Starting right HERE on I-95, Interstate 70 goes from here — near Baltimore in the mid-Atlantic States— transecting the continent through Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and ending all the way out in tiny Cove Fort, Utah. I-70 and I-95 are Cross Roads just above the Mason Dixon line. Cross roads is the theme here where cultures cross and mix. I-70 goes over the highest point on the Interstate in the Colorado Rockies. The road goes through some serious country, right? Well, even more than you can imagine. Not a lot of music investigates the trials of Life’s long road like Country Music. Do you get crazy when you hear certain Country and Western songs? No? Not really a Country Western fan? Or do you love it? Well that does not matter because with Patsy Cline, let’s just say her music transcended the boundaries of musical genre. Songs which have become world wide classics resonated with all Americans and are today recognized all over the globe. One of those songs, named “Crazy” should immediately come to mind. There are not a lot of musicians who crossover from Country and Western to pop. Most recently, the brightest star in this rarified firmament is none other than Taylor Swift. The embodiment of the All American girl who happens to have huge talent, Taylor grew up in a rather bucolic setting on her family’s Christmas tree farm in West Reading, Pennsylvania. West Reading is about an hour west of Philadelphia. Born in 1989, Taylor shot to the top of the charts when she was just a teenager. For her, the road to fame was relatively easy. Her hit "Our Song", made Taylor the youngest person to single-handedly write and sing a number-one song on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Swift's second album, “Fearless” explored country pop fusion and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. At the age of 18, her singles “You Belong to Me” and “Love Story” became crossover hits garnering huge audiences in both the Pop and Country Western audiences. However, Taylor owes a lot to a person who had dropped out of high school to help support the family, worked in a Virginia slaughter house plucking and gutting chickens, and was a victim of parental child abuse. This happened all before little Patsy Cline turned 17. While Patsy Cline had to wait to her mid twenties to achieve her success in the late 1950’s and early ’60's, she was the very first Country artist anywhere who became a major artist on both the Pop and Country Western charts. No doubt Patsy’s struggles expanded the emotional resonance of her songs. Her limpid clear voice had universal appeal. In fact, she credits a sickness that almost killed her with expanding her vocal range. Abandoned by her father and born to a 16 year old mother at the height of the Great Depression in 1932 east of here in the Blue Ridge community of Windsor, Virginia, Patsy Cline found stability and started her ascent to stardom at the Moose Lodge in nearby Brunswick, Maryland. There she met her first husband who provided some sort of stability for the 16 year old itinerate singer. If you take the next exit west on Interstate 70, you will be encounter Brunswick in a few miles. But in an interview in 1957, Patsy claimed that her hospitalization and near death at age 13 for rheumatic fever actually improved her voice. Said Patsy, “"I developed a terrible throat infection and my heart even stopped beating. The doctor put me in an oxygen tent. You might say it was my return to the living after several days that launched me as a singer. The fever affected my throat and when I recovered I had this booming voice.” Booming is hardly the adjective to describe Patsy’s hits. Soulful. Melodic. Haunting even. Patsy is best remembered for “Walkin’ After Midnight”, “I Fall to Pieces”, “She’s Got You,” and “Crazy”. Fast Fact: “Crazy” was an early single written by a little known Nashville songwriter named Willie Nelson. Willie originally called the song “Stupid”. No doubt even as “Stupid”, the great Patsy Cline would still have made it a number one hit — in both genres. As a pioneer for women in Country Music, Patsy was among the first to sell records and headline concerts. Still her career was cut short one night in a storm somewhere over Tennessee. Returning to Nashville from a concert in Kansas City, Patsy’s plane crashed. She was just 31. Since her tragic death in that 1963 plane crash, Patsy’s fame has just grown. Patsy Cline has been cited as one of the most influential singers of the 20th Century. Her music has influenced musicians of various styles and genres. But ultimately Patsy Cline’s roots were pure country. No surprise: in 1973, she became the first female performer to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Rest in peace, Patsy Cline. Enjoy your success, Taylor Swift. Across a universe of time and space the road leads directly from Patsy to Taylor. You both owe each other and have much to be thankful for. But Taylor Swift would not have happened without Patsy Cline... and there is nothing crazy about that. #PatsyCline #CountryMusic #CountryandWestern #TaylorSwift #Crazy #Walkinaftermidnight #WillieNelson # |