Pearl Harbor Day


Today is
the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  According to About.com,


  • The
    attack lasted 110 minutes, from 7:55 am until 9:45 am
  • A
    total of 2,335 U.S. servicemen were killed and 1,143 were wounded


At this distance of
71 years, very few Americans remember the day clearly. There are conspiracy theorists
who claim that President Roosevelt knew about the attack in advance and
permitted it to happen in order to pave the way for the US to enter the War on
the side of England.

But for all of the
budding social and political scientists out there, a real question is:

Did Mr. Roosevelt say
“A day which will live in
infamy”, or did he say “A date
which will live in infamy”?


The Wrongologist
solves this question for you: Roosevelt said: “A date which will live in infamy”.
 You can see the speech here. If you choose to read the various drafts of the written speech, they are contained in the
National Archives and you can review them here.
 

So, What’s Wrong?

There was another “date
that will live in infamy” in Washington DC. It occurred in the fall semester of
the Wrongologist’s freshman year in college. He lived in a dorm with an ancient
cell-phone like device called a pay phone at the end of the hall. It was
located just outside the Wrongologist’s room.  One day, he answered the phone to hear a
female voice:



Caller:
“I want to speak to someone who is more than 6 feet tall”

Wrongologist:
“I am more than 6 feet tall”

Caller:
“Do you have a suit?”

Wrongologist:
“Yes”

Caller:  “Can you be at the Hotel Willard tomorrow at
7 pm? There’s a dance”

Wrongologist:
“Yes”

Caller:
“Meet me in the Lobby”


In a show of bad judgment,
The Wrongologist went to the Hotel Willard. (below)



There he met Charlotte, a 6’ 5”
Catholic girl from what was then called Trinity
College
. He is certain that she was a wonderful person, very smart too.

In
a show of horrifying judgment, The Wrongologist soon excused himself, visited the
men’s room and then left the hotel.


While
this barely qualified as a date, it clearly lives in infamy

It is very clear that
the incident does not speak well of the Wrongologist’s character, or his judgment.

On the other hand, based
on this experience, he should have had a VERY successful career in politics: Show
up, lie, fail to deliver and sneak out the back.


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