Today in History: March 29

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last … Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.—Captain Robert Falcon Scott

The final entry in Robert Falcon Scott’s diary is dated March 29, 1912, 104 years ago today. His expedition to the South Pole, begun in 1910 with his ship’s departure from Wales, had become by 1911 a race with Roald Amundsen’s team to be the first to reach the Pole. In January 1912, Scott and four others reached the South Pole only to find a tent and a month-old note from Amundsen stating that he had beaten Scott. The return journey, now one of defeat, stretched on for weeks. Scott and his team started to slow their travels due to frostbite, found that supplies left for them had evaporated in the cold, and missed a meeting by weeks with the remainder of his team. (The team had abandoned hope for them and returned to their ship, where they waited and waited for Scott.) One of Scott’s companions committed suicide simply by stepping outside their tent and standing in the harsh conditions outside: “I am just going outside and I may be some time,” were his last words, Scott wrote.
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My Articles About Raif Badawi

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

The following pieces have appeared in The Gad About Town concerning Raif Badawi:
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No Magic

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

I wanted the ultimate magic kit when I was a kid, but as with so many things in life, disappointment lay in the fact that the magic kits grew more complex, more “magical,” only with higher prices.

Each of them included a “magic wand,” which was just a wooden dowel painted black, or, in the more expensive kits, painted black with a white tip, because a white tip equals classy. The photo of the kid on the magic box with the white tipped wand often showed the kid in tails and with a top hat. (I am sure that because of kids like me, or because of just me, the toy companies needed to add the disclaimer, “Hat and tails not in package.”)
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