Author: Arthur Mullen

Roger Sherman, also of Connecticut, was known to have given one of the shortest speeches in history at a bridge dedication ceremony when he said, "I think it will hold up all right," while testing the strength of the bridge with one foot.

Black Rock Fort / Fort Nathan Hale / Fort Wooster Park: New Haven, Connecticut — November 28, 2022

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"From this superb and sightly spot, in clear weather, the mountains west of Hartford, 37 miles distant to the northward, may be seen and the Long Island hills 25 miles southward are visible, giving from point to point a prospect of between 50 or 60 miles with the naked eye. Here on this hill in Indian times was the fire place of the Quinnipiac Indians, from which they sent up great clouds of smoke to attract to their harbor the early Dutch traders, and here also was their Palisade Fort and northward their burying ground."

Dawnland / Prius Hazards Blinking / Red Sky at Morning, Personalized History Tour Conductors Take Warning — November 27, 2022

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A psychic medium who dined at the restaurant claimed she had observed the spirit of Mayor Roger Sherman in the upstairs coat room: sitting on a chair, beside the replica of his life-size portrait. While conducting a personalized history tour with Yale students, I shared another observation from the same psychic medium: "The portal to the spirit world is the mirror in the Sherman Room, and the doorway is open."

“Tu files un en mauvais cotton” / Thanksgiving / Tuba & Euphonium — November 22 – 26, 2022

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The French idiom filer un mauvais coton translates literally to, "spinning a bad thread." The word coton actually means cotton, but is understood as thread. A French-to-French definition of the expression is se laisser aller, which means to let oneself go. Here are some French-to-English translations of filer un mauvais coton: to be heading for trouble; to be going downhill; to be in a bad way; to be going to pot.