Chit-Chat Over Coffee Swirls (9)

To start the morning off I would like to quote this expression that was said by Philander Johnson, in 1895, "Oh, what a blamed uncertain thing this pesky weather is; It blew and snew and then it thew, and now, by jing, it's friz"

Looking at the weather channel this morning, it seems like it is going to be another one of those days of freezing rain, etc. For those of us who have to go to work,traveling in bad weather conditions, is not something to which we have to look forward to. At least, we should be grateful that its not a blizzard like in 1888, which occurred during March 11-14, killing about 400 people and, dumping 21 inches of snow in New York City. For an overview of this blizzard, I have provided this link for your benefit:

Americans have always talked with despair and horror about the weather. We have been a witness to the total destruction that has come about from hurricanes that have battered our shores, causing floods and devastation such as in "hurricane Katrina" and hurricane Andrew in Miami", leaving thousands homeless and billions of dollars worth of property damage. How many people vow each year to leave the intense cold of the mid-west and new England States, to move to sunny Florida, only to find themselves in another weather crisis. Let's face it no matter which part of our country we move to, there is no escape from these weather conditions.

Although the early colonists were acquainted with rain, sleet, and hail in England, I don't believe they were forewarned of the severe American climate, with its blizzards, tornadoes, and Hurricanes. Its interesting how some of the terms that we are familiar with today, such as "snow shoes," and "flurry of hail" have dated back to 1664 and 1686. I am going to list a few such as: "snow storm-1771," snow shower-1779," "snow plow-1792," snowed in-1859" and snowed under which was used by 1880. Not until 1870 did the term "blizzard" come to mean a snowstorm with gale winds and low temperatures. The word "hurricanes" which in spanish is "huracan" means "big wind". "Tornadoes" is (Spanish tronada, thuderstorm, influenced by another Spanish word tornar, to twist), 1804.

"New Englanders have called a gale wind from the northeast a "northeaster" since 1774, and we have referred to a strong, cold wind from the north as a "norther" since 1776."

"The first weather forecasts in New York City newspapers was published in 1853. The weather bureau was not established by the Signal Corps until 1870. After being part of the Department of Agriculture from 1891 the Weather Bureau was moved to the Commerce Department in 1940, becoming the National Weather Bureau in 1970."

Articles of weather conditions affecting the New England States as well as New York City such as extreme heat, thunderstorms, floods, snow storms, ice storms, extreme colds and the famous hurricane of 1938 all find their way to thehistorybox.com

So for us here in the Northern states, brrrrrrrrrr..... bundle up because baby, its cold outside. Oh, and most of all, don't leave the house without your ice-scraper and cell phone too.

contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Fleeing From Communist Oppression: The Great Cuban Exodus 1959

Today, the media announced "Aging Cuban leader Steps Down From Power. End of Half A Century Rule." This brings to mind an article which I had written on the subject matter of "Fleeing From Communist Oppression: The Great Cuban Exodus 1959," In this narration I describe the experience of one man who fled for his life as well as the political situation in Cuba that prompted the mass exodus during 1959. I also mention how the Cuban people in America over the years have made an enormous and outstanding contribution of their talents, knowledge and creative abilities to the American culture, for the benefit of all, even being elected to the U.S. Congress, such as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart both of Florida and most recent newly elected Senator Robert Menendez from New Jersey.

If you would like to read this narration, click here.

To contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net

Table Of Contents : Mimi Speaks Blog

There are many people who love to read blogs, but just don't have the time to waste, or are in the mood to go through it's entire contents trying to find something that may be of interest to them. Usually when people approach a blog, they like to go quickly from one thing to the next. As for actually reading the text, there is little evidence of that unless the subject matter should catch their eye, then it becomes worthwhile.

Since my blog was started in 2007, there have been postings of 201 tid-bits of information, which talk about history, life situations, goals and success. So my dear reader, for your benefit, I am making every attempt to improve the navigation to this treasure trove of information as quickly as possible. For this purpose I have created a table of contents divided by categories, for easy accessing. However if there is something that may catch your eye, I suggest you find yourself a comfortable chair, and while you're at it, grab a steaming hot cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese and you'll be all set to settle down for a while. So happy reading.

MAIN DIRECTORY

Table of Contents (2)

(A. ) Getting To Know Mimi (B.) N.Y.C. History (C.) East Harlem
(D.) Spanish Harlem (E.) Black Harlem (F.) New York State

Table of Contents (3)
(G.) Chit-Chat Over Coffee Swirls

Table of Contents (4)
(H.) Jewish Knowledge (I) Self-Improvement (J) Historical Facts On England & United States

Table of Contents (5)
(K) Miscellaneous (L) Timetables (M) Ethnic Groups (N) Legal Talk
(O) Entertainment: Backward Glances (P) Immigration

Table of Contents (6)
(Q) Women__Bio Sketches, Feminine Fancies, Recipes, Kitchen Talk.
(R) Worship

Table of Contents (7)
(S) A Little Taste of History

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Contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net