Virginia Breeze

George Washington rode south with his army in a very poor mood.   He wrote to Layayette:

“I am distressed beyond expression to know what is become of the Count de Grasse, and for fear that the English Fleet, by occupying the Chesapeake, shall shatter our flattering prospects in that quarter….My Dear Marquis, if you get any thing New from any quarter, send it I pray you on the Spur of Speed.”

On September 5th as he stood on the banks of the Delaware River a rider brought him a message.   De Grassi had anchored in the Chesapeake with 28 warships!   He was bringing 3,000 troops ashore.  One can only imagine Washington’s joy at this moment!  Cornwallis would be caught in a trap with nowhere to go.

But Admiral Graves and Admiral Hood had also heard about de Grassi’s arrival and quickly provisioned and headed south.   On September 5th, the same day that Washington was getting the news,  they reached de Grassi and the battle began.

De Grassi was caught at anchor with thousands of troops ashore but he cut his anchors and headed out to do battle with the British.    He was short handed but he was not a sitting target.   And while the two fleets were staking out their positions with each other another Frenchman, Admiral de Barras,  arrived from sea with eight more battleships.   Now the French total was 36.   The English had 19 and de Grassi’s men promptly let cannonballs fly into the rigging of some of those.   The battle itself was short and after sustaining a few losses the British realizing they were outnumbered headed back to New York.  They would remain in control of that city for several years until the peace agreement between the two countries was worked out.

General Cornwallis was caught in the squeeze.  After a few losses he too realized the futility of his position and gave up the fight.  But he could not sail away!  At least he could not do so until he had surrendered and sent his sword to Washington along with his apologies perhaps for missing such a wonderful occasion.   He was ill.

No doubt.   Prior to the battle George Washington paid a visit to Admiral de Grasse.  He had his first view of the French fleet in rows far into the distance and out of sight.   There were negotations and the two forces marched to Yorktown together.

It is difficult to understand or relate to these distant events and a world almost beyond our imagining.  Transportation was by horse or sail.  The only heat on cold nights was provided by fire just as it had been since cavemen tried to ruled the world or at least survive and find dinner.  Communications  that would determine the course of history depended on a horse.

So when Beth and I arrived at Cape Henry and saw the statue of de Grasse it was almost like touching an ancient symbol.  We were transported to a different world.   There is a naval base nearby and jets fly over this area many times per day as de Grassi looks out to sea.  I wonder what he would think if he could see them hurry past at hundreds of miles per hour.

He would probably be as amazed as Washington or Lafayette.   These courageous men might be surprised by modern technology but they would quickly come to terms with it as they did with events in battle.  And they could derive some satisfaction in realizing the major role they had taken in creating a modern and freedom loving  world on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tomorrow evening is the season finale of The Tudors.

Do you know what that means? Yes my friends. Henry VIII is going to have Ann killed. But that is not the unusual part. Lovers quarrel and kill each other all the time.

Henry on the other hand manages to kill his wife after he obtains a legal document granting him permission to do it. And he convinces thousands of his fellow citizens that it is a good idea for their queen to be beheaded.

They all have a party. And then she is escorted to the block and they watch as a guy with a mask chops her head off. A remarkable precedent is set and as we see in the next two centuries one that is not forgotten. First the queen. Then the king.

All of this pretty much blows my mind.

Ann should have known it was time to RUN long before this fateful day. Here is a portion of a love letter Henry wrote to her years earlier. There are love letters between the two that have been saved, ironically enough, in the Vatican Library. The love smitten King of England says. . .

“No more to you at this present mine own darling for lack of time but that I would you were in my arms or I in yours for I think it long since I kissed you. Written after the killing of an hart at a xj. of the clock minding with God’s grace tomorrow mightily timely to kill another: by the hand of him which I trust shortly shall be yours.”

Henry R.

Nice. He was probably trying to tell her something.

“I love you my dear. Run like a deer! I find it necessary to kill things when I am thinking of you.”

It really is a sad tale. And a true one. I have to give Showtime credit for making history come alive in this instance. I am sure there are lots of inaccuracies but history is full of those. I give them credit for trying.

Isn’t it ironic that these two produced one of the great rulers of all time in Queen Elizabeth I.

Here is some more information about Ann Boleyn and her life.

http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/boleyn.html

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Do you enjoy history when it is brought to television? Are there any shows that you feel have been particularly well done?

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The Tudors on Showtime continues to provide rare Sunday evening enjoyment for those of us who have pretty much left the 2oth century medium of television to stew in its own reruns. Time has moved on a bit and Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth, future queen of England, looks to be around six years old.

Henry loves her very much but still would chop off his left arm for a son. Sorry. But chopping is such an integral part of this series. I am really hoping Ron Popeil will be making a guest appearance before it is over. I can only imagine what it’s going to be like when his wife  climbs those stairs and then look down into the hole on the eighteenth green for the last time.

Oh sorry once again. I am thinking about the upcoming British Open. This hole is large enough for a noggin and the director of this series thought it a nice touch to put a camera down below it so we can have a face to face with the soon to be departed.

But we have a ways to go before Ann lays out her lovely neck for the last time. She is ecstatic at the moment because she is pregnant and feels sure she will give Henry his son thus establishing her own position.

But Henry is a complicated guy and he doesn’t seem to be so happy. For one thing he misses Sir Thomas. And he blames Ann  for “making him” execute his friend and mentor. And then he gets a letter from his first wife who dies from lack of attention or something.

There is a strange and unbelievable scene where he sits on the floor reading this letter and holding his knees. Then he falls over and starts to cry. What’s that all about? Artistic license? Let’s not go overboard with all this sensitive king stuff.

Henry is quick to anger but he forgives his few friends after awhile because he is so isolated in his role of king and head of the new church. He would like to be sitting around with Sir Thomas and laughing about it all.

“Seriously, Sir Thomas. Do you really think you will burn eternally in flames if you whisper in my ear that I am who I think I am? You can be telling yourself I am a philandering miscreant at the same time as long as I can’t hear you. Isn’t it what’s in your heart that is important Sir Thomas. Hahahaha. Here! Have another drink. Don’t you feel even a little twinge when you see one of those beautiful young women we have around here? Hahahha.”

Henry kicks himself for depriving himself of all these wonderful moments. He feels so bad about it he sometimes sees Sir Thomas hiding behind the curtains in his room at night. He has nightmares too. And they all seem to center around his habit of beheading those who disagree with him.

He’s a gentle person at heart. Ann is the cruel one. It’s all her fault. She is an ambitious b**ch and quite shallow too.

You can tell this is the case because she is so happy at the moment. She has even stopped running her hand around her neck. And there is one more scene I must share with you. Ann and some of her friends are having a dance in a small tavern or room with a romantic fire in one corner. It is very dark. She runs into the arms of someone who picks her up and twirls her about the room just as Henry walks through the door.

Talk about your awkward moment. You can hear a pin or a pinhead drop as he walks around having a look at his “competition”. Then he grabs Ann and they start this long, passionate, angry and overly choreographed dance that ends up with a shot of them in bed.

Ann sinks one of her royal fingernails about a half inch into Henry’s back and then lets it wander down to his butt in an attempt I suppose to see if he really does have a spine. She must not have found it because then she smacks him in the face a couple of times!

Talk about pressing your luck. Henry started doing a slow burn a long time ago where Ann is concerned. He is isolated in the geopolitical sense and in the sense that he executed his best bud! How much more of this can he take?

A lot is riding on whatever is baking in the royal oven. If this does not turn out well we may see Henry’s fingernails revealed. They are very long and sharp. And they are attached to ten foot long poles in the possession of some very scary and masked avengers.

So tune in and see what happens next. And don’t forget to grab a feed so that we can discuss the finer details here when it is over.

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Here are some photos from the Showtime series

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We are nearly at the end of the competition. So let’s get down to business.

David A sang And So It Goes by Billy Joel. This was Paula’s choice. It was a beautiful performance of a song he probably was not familiar with and he mastered it. He has such a pure voice but he needs a song that will let him show some personality.

His second song was With You, a Chris Brown song, and David chose this one for himself. It started off a little rough but he got into it by the chorus. He could learn to do an up tempo song without too much difficulty.

His final song was Longer by Dan Fogelberg and it suited him well enough. The key change helped with the emotional momentum. David’s biggest problem is his inability to convey very many emotions when he sings. Compare him with last year’s winner, Jordin Sparks, who was also seventeen and you can see immediately a vast difference.

Syesha sang If I Ain’t Got You , an Alicia Keys tune , and Randy chose this one. She did an excellent job this time hitting the strong parts and keeping it melodic. She is confident and looks amazing.

Her second song was Fever chosen by herself. It was also a terrific performance. Her personality came across very well and it was a great arrangement.

And finally she sang Hit Me Up, a Rhianna song, It was a solid contemporary performance and ended a great night for this girl. After tonight she absolutely belongs in the finals.

David Cook sang First Time Ever I Saw Your Face a gift from Simon. It was a tough challenge and he met it with a contemporary rendition of a great classic.

He then sang Dare Ya To Move chosen by himself. I had never heard this song and did not much care for it. David was pitchy in the beginning and it went on from there but as a whole it did not work well.

The producers chose I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith. It was a good song choice for him but he hit a bad note at the end. Other than that it was a good solid performance from David if a little predictable by this point in the competition.

None of the contestants were at their very best having to learn so many songs plus visit their hometowns for all the shenanigans there.

Who will be leaving? It’s a tough choice. It seems unlikely that David A will go since he is the best singer. Syesha is the best entertainer and she should definitely stay. David Cook is the most inventive singer but he has a problem with consistency. He is like Blake Edwards in a way although their styles are vastly different.

Last year Melinda, the best singer, went home in third place. If history repeats itself David A should be leaving us. David Cook will be the 08 Blake and go home second.

Syesha will be this year’s Jordin. Lots of personality and a great voice. The entertainer wins in the end.

Will it happen? We will see!

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