On April 12th, in 1955, the nation was loudly celebrating great medical news. Dr. Jonas Salk announced a vaccine against polio — the most feared disease of that era. Polio affects the nervous system, causing paralysis in the legs and the muscles operating the lungs. Most victims were children — hence the other name for the illness, infantile paralysis. However, adults could also contract polio and its most famous victim was Franklin D. Roosevelt. After the introduction of the Salk vaccine, the incidence of the disease quickly declined, and by 1967, had nearly vanished. Today, more than nine-out-of-10 infants are vaccinated against polio. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Yes, I know today is the 13th, but I when I post the open lines articles, I have not yet received the above release for the day so it’s always a day behind. Today is the 13th, some consider it an unlucky number.
According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a “Friday the 13th” superstition before the 19th century.[1][2][3] The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in Henry Sutherland Edwards‘ 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini:
Rossini was surrounded to the last by admiring and affectionate friends; Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky
Consequently, several theories have been proposed about the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition.
One theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that thirteen is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day.
- In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 successors of Muhammad in Shia Islam, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.
- Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century’s The Canterbury Tales,[4] and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys, begin new projects or deploy releases in production. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s.[3][5]
- One author, noting that references are all but nonexistent before 1907 but frequently seen thereafter, has argued that its popularity derives from the publication that year of Thomas W. Lawson‘s popular novel Friday, the Thirteenth,[6] in which an unscrupulous broker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th.[1] Records of the superstition are rarely found before the 20th century, when it became extremely common.
- – Read more about Friday the 13th here
Discuss and more on today’s Open Lines
Can’t remember ever complaing about the HPD but yesterday about 3:00 after heading north on I85, I got off on the Dabney Drive exit. I had 2 children in the car, ages 9 & 10. We were headed to McDonalds and at the light there were several police cars and an older gray sedan blocking the right lane on Dabney. Sitting on the curb, handcuffed, were 4 men with several officers standing by. The children had lots of questions and comments about what they were seeing. One officer was looking thru the men’s coats but there did not seem to be much else going on. About 20 minutes later after finishing at McD’s the situation had not changed, men on the curb, police standing around, no one doing much of anything, cars blocking lanes. Traffic was a huge snarl leaving from the Wal Mart direction because of the blocked lanes. My question is why did they not have those men in the police cars where they would be out of sight. Why did they just leave the cars blocking traffic, making the traffic so horrible on a Friday afternoon? If someone had never been to Henderson, the whole scene may have convinced them that this is a rough town. I’m sure there may be legitimate answers but it looked like there was no worry about the law abiding citizens going about their business, and the negative scene on display and horrible traffic were just too bad. Anyone else come across this and get annoyed yesterday?
Now where else could I post this observation and ask for feedback but HIH? Thanks, Phil.
Dagny,
Might I suggest you contact the Chief of Police Sidwell. I have heard him say more than once, he WILL answer phone calls–as soon as he can. Give it a try–and let us know the outcome.
Wow ….Dagny .. really? You are ANNOYED because these officers made you just a bit inconvenienced? I imagine if they weren’t arresting predators and putting their own lives in danger every day, your world would be much more than inconvenienced. I think it’s time for you to take a bit of a walk down reality lane. With that said…I want to thank the HPD, and all law enforcement, and also the military, for doing what they do everyday to make the world a better place…..I can’t say that for the court system who puts these predators right back on the street again.
Really? Are you serious?
Comment by Andrea Harris on our crime problem:
Commission board member Andrea Harris countered she found the problem to be with the judicial system.
“Wherever we have economic distress, we’re going to have these negative social consequences,” Harris said. “We can’t turn around and blame the victims. People are what they see. I have a real concern about how long it takes to prosecute, particularly when it comes to the most violent crimes.”
Unclear on which point you are referring to, Mudball? If you mean me, yes, I am serious. If you mean Dagny, then yes, it would seem she is serious too (really!?!!!) . I would have to disagree with what Ms. Harris says — the economy has nothing to do with the crime. Bad people are bad people. Good people don’t commit crimes.. simple as that. Victims are the hardworking people who are losing the little bit they have — in this town their property values, property, lives, jobs, and more — to predators. Predators are not the victims, although the liberals in our Society try to make it seem so. I agree with the concern about the judicial system, but my opinion is that if we paid the lawyers using a case rate, instead of every time they have a court date, then the trials would go much faster.
To emphasize my opinion that the economy has nothing to do with crime is the poorest place in the U.S…. a place with virtually “non existent” crime. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/nyregion/kiryas-joel-a-village-with-the-numbers-not-the-image-of-the-poorest-place.html?pagewanted=all
WE need to stop finding excuses for predators.
We have come to the same conclusion as Ms. Harris quoted above: the problem lies in the judicial system of Vance County.
How can one go about changing this system?
Are there places we can find summaries of decrees made by the judges in this county? Have the judges we have now, have they been in power for too long? We’re sure it’s time for some changes.
Likewise, we encourage people to vote off the current School Board. The school systems in Vance County are failing. Seniors are passed simply because they’re seniors. Students are promoted from elementary and middle simply because of their age and because the people there are tired of dealing with them. Education is no longer a system of LEARNING, but a system of persistence. That, or whose parent can scream the loudest.
There’s a lot of things that need to change in Vance County.
I agree, Crusader. The amount of crimes committed by some of the repeat offenders in this county are outrageous. Wish we still had 3 strikes and you’re out. I often wonder how many times the average district court case gets continued? Does anyone know?
As for the board of education….it needs to be revamped. Our school system is the number one turn off to people looking to relocate to Henderson. I am very serious about this. Has anyone out there had a conversation with some of the current board members?
I assure you: if lawyers were paid based on the “case” and not every time they show up on the court schedule, then those cases would be tried post-haste! Instead, we give them incentive, on our tax dollars, to get paid as much as they can by making the case come up each month and continue it for three years. I agree with Crusader in that we need to know the statistics of the court cases — how many actually get tried, dismissed, etc.