Be easy about it. Don't rush into things. Savor them more. Make more plans and be more deliberate and specific about the plans that you are making, and in all that you do, let your dominant intent be to find that which pleasures you as you imagine it.
-- Abraham
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This message is coming at me from all directions lately, and I'm paying attention. Really, I am.
As I'm typing this, a really bright light is shining (lol!! I just got the irony of that) to my right in the form of a light therapy box. I bought it last week after reading about how it can help reset your circadian rhythms, of which mine are apparently are all out of whack. After four days of exposure to this light, I think I am seeing a difference in how I feel, especially in the late afternoons. So I'm going to keep it up, and see what happens.
This tidbit from history has grabbed my delight bone and won't let go:Brock began bombarding the Americans inside the fort and fooled the Americans into believing there were more British than there actually were. For instance, soldiers were told to light individual fires, instead of one fire per unit, thereby creating the illusion of a much larger army. The British troops were marched in plain sight of the American side, then quickly marched off and ducked behind entrenchments, where they would join the front of the line again. The same was done for meals, where the line would dump their beans into a hidden pot, then walk to the front to pick them up again where they could be seen. To the observing U.S. forces, it looked like long lines of troops were waiting just out of their sight. He also gave his militia uniforms of regular army soldiers to make Hull believe most of the British force were regulars. Tecumseh's warriors did likewise, and made loud war cries.
Brock sent a message to Hull that included a threat: "The force at my disposal authorizes me to require of you the immediate surrender of Fort Detroit. It is far from my intention to join in a war of extermination, but you must be aware, that the numerous body of Indians who have attached themselves to my troops, will be beyond control the moment the contest commences…"
Brock's plan worked better than he thought it would. Hull didn’t think that his troops could hold out against a force of what he thought were thousands of British regulars, and, hearing the Indian war cries, began to fear the worst. Women and children, including his own daughter and grandchild, still lived inside the Fort. Against the advice of his soldiers, Hull flew a white flag of surrender. He sent messengers to Brock asking 3 days to agree on terms of surrender. Brock replied he would allow him 3 hours. Hull was relieved from his governorship, and although he was court-martialed and sentenced to be shot, he was pardoned by President Madison. He retired to Newton, Massachusetts and published two books in the hopes of clearing his name.
Hull surrendered his entire force along with 39 cannon and 2,500 muskets. Two large detachments in the area were even surrendered.
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I love the slight-of-hand on the part of the British. I love how this perspective of the event wasn't mentioned in any of the other recountings I came across on the internet while researching Mr. Hull for my son's social studies presentation. I love how even back then, and probably back to the beginning of written history, someone was attempting to clear his name after a truly wacked out circumstance.
Do not mess with what belongs to other people and not expect the law of reciprocity to kick in, dude.
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