It all started 519 years ago
October 10, 2011 (Monday)
Today is Columbus Day. Many of us learned about Columbus in our early school days and were taught the little rhyme, “In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” He and his crews (a total of 87 men) made the trip from Spain in three small ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
Replicas of the three ships have been in Corpus Christi and when I first saw them, I was shocked at how small they were (about 55 feet long). A lot of people thought the earth was round, but few understood how big it is. Columbus was seeking to find the East by sailing west. Instead of reaching India, however, he discovered a new world unknown by anyone in Europe.
He reported to Isabella and Ferdinand that he had reached the East Indies (so he called the people he found there, “Indians”), but he had been to Cuba and Hispanola. He returned to the Royal courts with some “Indians” brought back from his explorations. And so began Europe’s involvement in the western hemisphere.
As time went on, settlers arrived in the new world in such numbers that eventually a new nation was created: The United States of America. Unless you are a “native American,” you are an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants. My ancestors came from Germany, Holland, Ireland, Scotland and England, I think. We’re still trying to sort it all out. I think Columbus was the first European to visit western shores, but maybe not. Anyway, here we are. We’ve got each other. Everything’s not perfect here, but I’m thankful to be here, and my guess is so are you.
