I was a Cub Scout as a child, and guys like Columbus were heroes for me. Columbus, and Amerigo Vespucci, they were heroes, and so were guys like Louis and Clark. The explorers were my heroes.
So, today on Columbus Day is a day to remember what a brave man Columbus was. To get on a ship and take off to where no one he knew had ever gone. Some people thought the world was flat and that he would sail off of the edge of the Earth, but he had the knowledge from Euclid and he knew the world was round, and not only did they know it was round but they knew approximately how big the Earth is, the Greeks were amazing and Euclid knew almost exactly how big the Earth is. Columbus mostly used what they call "Dead Reckoning" to travel, but they used sextons and the stars at night and they used clocks, etc. It is amazing that Columbus could set sail to places he had never been, and then find his way back to the same port that he had left, without getting permanently lost. A lot of people get lost just going for a walk in the woods, just imagine setting sail in a ship and taking off across the ocean.
Then, after my family got to New York hundreds of years ago they kept traveling and they came all the way to the West Coast. I had ancestors who lived in New York, Kentucky, Indiana, Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon, and here in California, that I know of. And I have Native American Indians in my family tree, my ancestors fell in love with the Indians and married Indians, I need to do my DNA test and all of that still, but I am sure that I have Cowboys and Indians in my family tree.
I have the same love of travel that the explorers had, and I was a Cub Scout as a child, I love to explore.
Columbus was a very brave man, with the spark of curiosity and skill to make the unknown known. I love the Native Americans Indians, and I have Indian blood in my veins, and I also respect the bravery and skill of Columbus.
Salute,
Tony V.
