America is full of vacation lodges . . . on wheels! They are known as motor homes — literally kitchens, living rooms, and beds on the move across America. Some people call them “recreational vehicles,” or “RVs.” Still others, thinking back to more of a golden age of highway travel before crowded, high-speed highways criss-crossed […]
All posts by Ted Landphair
Sharpsburg
Posted December 3rd, 2010 at 6:12 pm (UTC-4)
Out in the Maryland countryside, close by the Potomac River an hour west of Washington, D.C., lies a drowsy little town called Sharpsburg — population 666. Nobody except its townfolk and nearby farmers would pay much attention to it were it not for a meadow outside town that experienced the bloodiest single day in American […]
Palm Springing
Posted December 2nd, 2010 at 1:36 pm (UTC-4)
Palm Springs. Somehow I feel ritzy, elite, just writing the name. If you’ve ever seen a classic black-and-white Hollywood movie such as “Sunset Strip,” there’s almost certain to be a reference, if not a celluloid visit, to the “resort city to the stars.” This California desert town of 48,000 or so people ranks with places […]
Tags: architecture, California, Hollywood, Palm Springs Posted in American Cities and Towns, Life, Lifestyles and Trends
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Posted November 29th, 2010 at 2:31 pm (UTC-4)
A sure way to get a giggle out of your young child is to challenge him or her to SPELL “Mississippi” — and fast! M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I. M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I. It’s actually not as hard as it looks, once you get the rhythm of it. The Old South state of Mississippi, not the lazy “Old Man River” Mississippi, on […]
Tags: Civil War, Mississippi, Race relations, South Posted in American History, American Regions, American States and Territories, Social Issues
Red, Hot, and Phew!
Posted November 26th, 2010 at 1:38 pm (UTC-4)
You may have read my two recent postings about so-called “Cajun Country” in swampy southwest Louisiana. Well, it’s time to get your swamp boots and mosquito repellent on again, for right in the middle of the ancient oak trees draped in Spanish moss, and the black bayous — or slow-moving streams — full of alligators […]
Tags: Avery Island, food, Louisiana, Tabasco sauce Posted in American History, American Regions, American States and Territories
Safely Rest
Posted November 24th, 2010 at 12:33 pm (UTC-4)
Even if you’ve not been to Washington, D.C., perhaps you’ve sized it up for possible places to visit. So you’re allowed to answer this question: What would you guess is the most popular tourist attraction in the capital city of the United States of America? If you said the Smithsonian Institution museums, such as the […]
Only in America: Quack, Quack!
Posted November 22nd, 2010 at 3:11 pm (UTC-4)
Let’s talk museums. Not the artsy kind we so often cover. Not the Smithsonian Institution’s many museums in Washington, or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I’m talking strange museums. You see, Americans may be unique in saving and displaying all kinds of unusual, even useless, items in tiny collections devoted to just […]
Tags: Minnesota, museums, Pseudo-science, quackery Posted in Miscellany and Whimsy, Science and Technology
Only in America: Thanksgiving Fact, Fiction
Posted November 19th, 2010 at 1:01 pm (UTC-4)
Many history majors have a hard time landing good jobs — or any jobs at all — out of college. Today’s big guns — business and entertainment — don’t pay much mind to what happened long ago. But it’s a good thing a few historians did find jobs and are fact-checking our tales about the […]
Bite-sized America
Posted November 17th, 2010 at 3:28 pm (UTC-4)
Every once in awhile, you’ll hear a radio host or a comedian joke that “a letter poured in,” implying that a lot of response to something was expected, but a minimal amount was received. Nowadays, not even one letter would pour in. An e-mail or two, perhaps. Or a text message. When one receives an […]
Tags: Computers, pace of life, texting Posted in Communications, Media and Journalism, Social Issues
Only in America: John Brown’s Body
Posted November 15th, 2010 at 2:25 pm (UTC-4)
If you started to softly sing “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,” most Americans would quickly identify the tune as “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” And they’d be right — but only up to a point. The words to one of America’s most performed — and most bellicose […]
Tags: Civil War, Harpers Ferry, national parks, patriotic songs Posted in American History, Geography, Travel and Tourism
