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Thursday, April 3, 2014

APRIL 3RD ... Write a bestseller? How about parting the Red Sea!

Raymond Chandler:

You want the Letter C for today,
my fellow Outlaws?

C for me, besides being "Yes,"
is Raymond Chandler~

“From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.” 
― Raymond Chandler, The High Window


Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American novelist and screenwriter.

In 1932, at age forty-four, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression.

Some of Chandler's novels are considered important literary works, and three are often considered masterpieces:

Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The Little Sister (1949), and The Long Goodbye (1953).


On this date in 1312, B.C.  the Red Sea is traditionally thought to have been parted. 

By the Hebrew calendar, it was 21 Nissan (no, not the car) 2448.


Describing my job as the Pony Express for Blood, I know that the real Pony Express Mail started on this date in 1860.

The Pony Express was the quickest and most reliable mail delivery method in the newly developed American West,

and covered land from Missouri to California in under ten days, an unheard speed at the time.

Though the Pony Express only lasted for about a year, it deeply impacted the development of the West.

$5 for evert half-ounce of weight.  Though the Pony Express still captures the imagination, it only lasted until October 1861.


The 3rd of April was not a good date for outlaws, my bandito friends:


In 1882 - Outlaw Jesse James is shot in the back by Bob Ford, one of his own gang members, reportedly for a $10,000 reward!

The James gang terrorized the Midwest for over 14 years, though they were largely romanticized even in their own time

 — in fact, James' tombstone said that he was "murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here."

For a supernatural tale of the first talking Western filmed on location listen to:



Nor is April 3rd a good date for great men:


Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his 'mountaintop' speech

to a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn., less than 24 hours before he is assassinated.


Washington Irving was born on this date in 1783:

“Great minds have purpose, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.” ― Washington Irving



18 comments:

  1. Life is such a mixed bag isn't it? The good, the bad, the seriously ugly snuggled in together on the one day. If I took life seriously I might weep, as it is, I laugh. Wincing.

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  2. Hi Roland .. I used to love reading Chandler interspersed with other detective novels .. the Pony Express started on this day .. and you're continuing on ..

    Lots of snippets of information here .. cheers Hilary

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  3. The Pony Express is so iconic- ironic it only lasted one year.

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  4. Ah, Raymond, one of my idols. Talk about a writer with a distinctive voice! So distinctive that 65+ years later hardboiled mystery writers are still trying emulate it.

    VR Barkowski

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  5. Some interesting info. Didn't know that about the pony express, I always thought it was around a lot longer than a year.

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  6. I didn't know the Pony Express only lasted a year. Wow. C = yes, so you're a Spanish or Mexican or is it Texican bandito?

    I love that Chandler quote: succinct and pointed. . .

    Drop by to see Cezanne at my blog today, you may like his work better. Hope the nose is healing well, since you mentioned it yesterday.

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  7. Elephant's Child:
    In my days as a counselor, I wept a great deal over the pain I saw.

    Life is too important to take seriously. :-)

    Hilary:
    Snippets are all the length my weary mind can hold these days! I still read Chandler for his dialogue. :-)

    Alex:
    It probably seemed longer to those poor guys racing across the West with Indians after their scalps!

    VR:
    I find Chandler filtering into some of my dialogue even now. Glad to find you and Hilary who like him as well!

    Siv:
    When I was little, I, too, was surprised to find how short-lived the Pony Express was.

    D.G.:
    I wondered if anyone would get my little bandito joke. I am a Texan Outlaw, but we get across the border from time to time to evade the law! :-) I'm mounting up and heading to your blog now.

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  8. A lot of bad and good has happened on April 3rd throughout history. Amazing. Once again, thank you for sharing. I'm enjoying finding out the historical details of every day in April. My birthday is on the 12th, so I'll be very interested to know what you have for that post. :)

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  9. Chrys:
    Always a strange brew is each day in some form or fashion. I'm glad you are enjoying my outlaw trail through the days! April 12th is an interesting day. :-)

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  10. Oooh, so he's the guy who wrote those books. Good to know! :)

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  11. I love that Chandler quote. I have seen some women like that, so I know just what he is talking about with that one!!!

    I didn't know that the Pony Express lasted only a year. Wow. It seems like something so legendary would have lasted longer. Guess not...

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  12. Everytime I watch Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'mountaintop' speech, I wonder if he knew his demise was soon.
    "Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." MLK
    Prophetic nonetheless...

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  13. Chandler was such a great writer. I never will forget that April day in 1968. And for the rest or your post, I continue to be astonished at all the interesting information you come up with on so many different subjects.

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  14. I'm glad David quoted from King's speech. Very moving and prophetic.

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  15. Robin:
    Arthur's Camelot lasted such a short time. Kennedy's Camelot lasted even shorter. Magical things seem to last but a short time.

    DAVID:
    He knew the FBI was hounding him, bugging him. He knew he made the power brokers in high places nervous and angry. A black woman had already stabbed him. He knew his time was short ... sigh.

    Like Denise said: thanks for quoting from the mountain-top speech. It is still moving.

    Inger:
    Chandler is one of my inspirations as is Martin Luther King -- my mind is a treasure trove of floating facts. :-)

    Denise:
    Rev. King's speech is timeless and is his courage and wisdom.

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  16. So according to tradition it was like 3000 years ago when Moses parted the Red Sea? It almost seems like it was that long ago when I actually had hair that I could part. Sadly I have had to part with my hair.

    Lee
    A Faraway View
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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  17. Arlee:
    The Father knowing the number of hairs on my head is not as hard as it once was! Better to part with your hair this way than having an Apache hair-cut! :-) Thanks for commenting on my posts. It means a lot to me.

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