Jethro is 4, plus a footnote to history

Today, June 19th, is the birthday of our dog, Jethro. His real name, the one on the AKC papers, is Linyear’s Florida Cracker. We showed you his picture last November, but here he is again:
Jethro is a member of the Havanese breed (as in Havana, Cuba). Havanese are said to be “in the Bichon family,” which includes Bichon Frisé, Maltese, Bolognese, and I don’t know what else. Sometimes he reminds me of a Shih-Tsu, only cuter. Sometimes he reminds me of a Lhasa Apso, only smaller, and with a perkier tail. All I know for sure is that Jethro has brought joy and sunshine to our lives ever since Rose and Frank S. gave hime to us in October 2006. Happy birthday, little guy--I mean, big guy! For a close-up of Crown Prince Jethro, just click on the picture.

In a more serious vein, June 19th is also the day slavery really ended in the United States of America. Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but Lee didn’t surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House until 1865, in the month of April. News moved much more slowly in those days, and the last battle of the Civil War was fought six weeks later in Texas on May 30, 1865. Even after the Texans learned that the war had been lost and they were going to have to free their slaves, they didn’t announce it to the slaves for three more weeks. So every June 19th (or “Juneteenth” as it came to be known) is still a day of rejoicing in many Southern communities.

If you’re a midwesterner or a northerner, maybe you heard it here first.