Perhaps we could use the skills of this chap. He was a Bor Dinka tribesman named Biyordit who was seen as a rainmaker. Next to him is a pole called a Rit on which the carcass of a sacrificed animal is hung. This photo was taken in the early 20th century. He apparently had a sacred spear used in the ceremony to help produce rain. You can read more about him here:
Somehow he got shot in the face and apparently, since his miraculously recovered, he was held in even higher esteem. Well, I’m not so sure our current situation calls for taking a bullet in the chops, but it does call for some relief. And we have lots of moisture moving up from the south and it will help to perhaps cause some passing showers tonight and tomorrow. A frontal boundary will move through on Tuesday enhancing our prospects for rain to levels not seen for a couple of weeks. But before you put away the sprinklers, keep in mind the ole computer models only think a quarter to a half inch of rain will fall out of this whole thing. I would think some people may get more but in any event, this little rain event may wet the ground and help the flower garden, but its not going to really impact the drought situation too much. So, I’ll see if we can’t find one of Biyordit’s relatives and check on his availability.
On this date in history: Paul McCartney was born in 1942…that makes him 65! Will you still need me when I’m 64? Apparently he didn’t need Heather Mills when he was 64 or 65. Report from the tabloids say she was not invited to his birthday party. He probably has a few million reasons why she was left off the invite list.
The war of 1812 began on this date when Congress declared war and President James Madison signed the measure into law. Why we call it the War of 1812 is lost on me because it wasn’t over until Christmas of 1814 and the biggest victory for the United States occurred after the war was over. Seems Andy Jackson and his boys in New Orleans didn’t get the news and met the British in a famous battle around Lake Borgne. The battle took place in January of 1815….so officially, one cannot say there was a battle of New Orleans in the war of 1812 because it was 1815 and the war was over. But, since Cleveland had already taken the moniker “the mistake by the lake” I guess they had to call it something. Wouldn’t that be pretty bad luck if you fought and died for your country in a battle of a war that was already over?
_uacct = “UA-1763609-1″;
urchinTracker();
