On this day in 1781, the Siege of Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War, came to an end with a decisive victory for the American Continental Army. The Americans, with substantial support from he Marquis de Lafayette and French Army troops, led by Comte de Rochambeau, and a French Navy force commanded by the Comte de Grasse, defeating the British Army commanded by British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.
The Comte de Grasse had defeated the British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, blocking any reinforcements to Cornwallis. The French and American armies moved their artillery close and began a continual bombardment of the British positions. Cornwallis asked for capitulation terms on October 17. After two days of negotiation, the surrender ceremony occurred on October 19; Cornwallis was absent from the ceremony. With the capture of more than 7,000 British soldiers, negotiations between the United States and Great Britain began, resulting in the Treaty of Paris of 1783.
A 1931 US postage stamp depicting Rochambeau, Washington, and de Grasse, issued in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the victory at Yorktown in 1781
THE NEW BRIDE
The banker saw his old friend Tom, an eighty-year-old rancher, in town. Tom had lost his wife a year or so before and rumor had it that he was marrying a ‘mail order’ bride.
Being a good friend, the banker asked Tom if the rumor was true. Tom assured him that it was. The banker then asked Tom the age of his new bride to be. Tom proudly said, ‘She’ll be twenty-one in November.’
Now the banker, being the wise man that he was, could see that the sexual appetite of a young woman could not be satisfied by an eighty-year-old man. Wanting his old friend’s remaining years to be happy the banker tactfully suggested that Tom should consider getting a hired hand to help him out on the ranch, knowing nature would take its own course.
Tom thought this was a good idea and said he would look for one that afternoon. About four months later, the banker ran into Tom in town again .. ‘How’s the new wife?’, asked the banker. Tom proudly said, ‘Good – she’s pregnant.’
The banker, happy that his sage advice had worked out, continued, ‘And how’s the hired hand?’ Without hesitating, Tom said, ‘She’s pregnant too!’
Cooking Adventures!
Today is the birthday, in 1946. of English lyricist and songwriter Keith Reid. He co-founded Procol Harum with Gary Brooker. They had the 1967 UK No.1 & US No.5 single ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ (one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies) and scored the hits ‘Homburg’, ‘Conquistador’. He wrote the lyrics of every original song released by Procol Harum, but was not a performing member. Reid died from colon cancer on 23 March 2023 age 76. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0vCwGUZe1I
