So much information, so little history

I was chatting with a young lady in Seattle while we were trying to set up my appointment to see a local chiropractor. The VA allows for this when it's not practical to make the 30 mile drive into Houston for what can be done locally.

She asked me how the weather was in "Texas" and I immediately figured correctly that she envisioned a steaming desert with saguaro cactus springing up around the rocky terrain, replete with rattle-moccasins. For just an evil second, I almost went off in that direction, but I told her it was raining here on the Gulf Coast and about 80 degrees.

"It's raining there?" were her surprised words. I told her, "I am in beautiful Baytown". She'd never heard of it. I asked if she had heard of Exxon-Mobil and she said he had. I told her that is here. "We are near it and our west side is the Houston Ship Channel."  She had never heard of it. "It's very close to Houston."

"Oh, Houston, the hurricane place!" By this time I can tell she has pulled it up on her computer because she comments that "You are indeed on the water!" She tells me the chiropractor I will be scheduled to see is on Massey Tompkins and she gets that right, but when she says "San Jacinto Chiropractic", she butchers it badly. I explained how it is pronounced and tell her it is like the Battle of San Jacinto, where Sam Houston defeated General Santa Anna.

It is dead quiet on the other end and I ask her if she has heard of these men. "No. I have not." I explain that Sam Houston beat the Mexican army nearby to secure Texas independence in 1836 and the city of Houston is named after him. "Of course you remember the Alamo, right?"  There is total silence on the other end. I couldn't help myself at this point, and I hope my readers forgive me, but I all but screamed, "Didn't you ever watch Pee-wee's Big Adventure where he went to the Alamo to look for his stolen bike?" 

"Nope, never heard of it." I wanted to tell her there is no basement in the Alamo, but let it go.

"Yea, the Alamo where Davy Crockett died?" She giggled and I almost swallowed my tongue.

"Who?" At this point I stopped asking questions because my blood pressure felt like Dandy Don's Grand National doing a 40-yard burnout. I backed off as she was no longer a person to question, but a victim of our American history instructors. I told her to grab a pencil, which I knew would be a pen, right? "Write this down.  Alamo, Houston Ship Channel, Battle of San Jacinto, Davy Crocket, Sam Houston..." and then I told her to Google "Baytown Bert" just for grins. Note: I told her I am a famous highly respected writer. Why not, right?

We finished our conversation and I gave her my email addy and told her to let me know what she'd learned and she thanked me and said she actually really hungers for knowledge. I respect that. The only reasons people don't learn is they think they can't, have inept teachers, incorrect material, or simply don't want to.

I watched a number of videos on YouTube where college students were asked simple history questions, like "Who won the civil war?" and believe it or not, most of them had never heard of it. What? I would think a more realistic question that might stump people would be, "Name one of the years that the civil war was fought?" The answer is 1861-1865 by the way, but these college students did not recall it... period. Try something like this on students and you may get a correct answer. Give me the question to this answer: Executive, Legislative, Judicial. Answer: What are the 3 branches of government?

They may get that one right, but what is the old curse concerning history? "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." General George Patton was so effective as a strategist because he studied all the ancient battles and understood the hardships of the terrain, along with why a general failed or succeeded. On the other hand, we have a lot of George Custer's in the land who rush in where they shouldn't, because they have forgot history. "Uh, who is George Patton?"

I hope my short brush with this young lady spurs her on to a greater understanding of our country's history. We watch the news every day and see the signs that many have no clue where we came from.

As a final little note, I want to acknowledge that Tom Petty died and I have always been a big fan.  RIP Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers). He is a big part of Southern rock history.