Lucky?
One of the ways schools raise additional funds is by sending cute little kids door-to-door selling candies or other items we really don’t need. They say, “How can you turn down that face?” They might even coach the kids to get Grandma to help Johnnie earn a little trinket. Johnnie will probably totally forget about that trinket in a couple of days. The kids are encouraged to sell, sell and sell some more.
When I was in middle school, I became involved with one such promotion. We were selling one of my favorite items of all, chocolate candy bars. They were a dollar a piece, which was a lot for a candy bar at that time. For every three candy bars we sold our name would be entered into a drawing for three very cool prizes.
Many of my schoolmates really got excited about the prizes and went to work selling those candy bars. My Mom and Dad were a little different. They didn’t really want me pushing candy bars. Their theory was that if someone bought a chocolate bar from me, they would then “owe” that child, or child’s parent, a purchase on some other overpriced, useless item.
Not to be totally embarrassed, by not selling any bars, I purchased three bars for myself. Boy were those chocolate candy bars good. Although my three candy bars didn’t even come close to the sales of the others, some of whom sold over a hundred, at least I didn’t come in with no sales. My little one entry into the contest might not have counted for much, but at least I got my name in the hat.
The big day of the drawing came and all the other kids were so excited. I sat in my seat thinking it was sort of funny that they even thought they had a chance to win. Even if their name was entered fifty times, there were plenty of other kids that had fifty entries as well.
They announced the winner of the grand prize. I can’t even remember what the grand prize was. Groans went up in our classroom as it was obvious the winner wasn’t a resident there. The second prize was announced. Again, I’m not even sure what that prize was. More groans from my classmates. No one in our class was a winner again.
My attention turned to something else. This was really a waste of our time. The third prize was to be a new tape recorder. The tape recorder, at that time, was like the newest iPhone that comes out today. It was the newest, coolest technology available at the time. As my attention dozed off into something else, my classmates were jumping up and down and saying, “Wayne! You won the tape recorder!” I had to hear the announcement a second time before I believed them.
The USS Princeton was one of the warships that put the United States on the world navy map. Its technology was the newest available. It was the first screw steam warship. John Ericsson was its Swedish inventor. The two vibrating lever engines were built by Merrick and Towne of Philadelphia. Her construction was supervised by Captain Robert F. Stockton, who would also command the vessel once it was completed.
When the Princeton was finished it would make a trial trip down the Delaware River. It engaged the British SS Great Western in a race. The Princeton cruised to an easy victory. We finally had a ship that was better than the British.
What is a warship without guns? The champion gun at the time was the “Oregon.” The wrought iron Oregon was a 12 inch smooth bore muzzle loader that was capable of firing a 225 pound shot five miles.
Captain Stockton was not satisfied with the Oregon guns. He decided to design his own gun. Hogg and Delamater, of New York, would build the new gun to Stockton’s specs. They would call the new gun the “Peacemaker.”
The Peacemaker was mounted on the USS Princeton. The Princeton would be sent up the Potomac River so it could eventually be shown to the President so he could see what a great vessel she really was. They would test fire the Peacemaker on three separate days prior to the President’s inspection. This was to make sure it was working properly.
The gates slammed shut. The pathway was very dark and scary. With sticks they poked him to get him to go further down the path. This was one of their forms of entertainment. Besides, those little Hebrew boys were a dime a dozen.
This young Hebrew was especially irritating to them. Every good idea they came up with he seemed to snub his nose at. They decided they had enough and they plotted to extinguish this burning thorn.
Pulling a fast one on the king, they decided to slip into the king’s stack a law they knew the young Hebrew could never agree with. When the king noticed the law in his stack, he questioned them about it. The lawmakers were quick thinkers, I’ll give them that. They played up the law as honoring the king and his greatness. Never one to shy away from a compliment, nor was he one to think of the consequences of his actions, the king proudly signed it into law.
When the lawmakers arrested the young Hebrew and presented him to the king, the king was confused. He really liked the young Hebrew and had made him one of his advisors. “What has he done?” declared the king. “He broke your law and now he must pay the punishment,” the lawmakers responded. “What law did he break?” asked the king. “The one you signed the other day that doesn’t allow anyone to worship anyone but you,” they replied.
“What type of punishment is given for that offense?” the king inquired. “We can’t have rebels like him around. If we don’t rid our society of such scum, then everyone will think they don’t have to honor our king,” they calmly explained to the king. “Daniel must be thrown into the lion’s den. The lions must determine his fate,” they said as they tried to hold back their smiles.
The lawmakers knew that the lions hadn’t been fed in quite a while. Fresh meat, that was defenseless, was their favorite kind. They knew Daniel’s cry for mercy would find no ears. The lion’s roars, before they attacked, would drown out any pleas.
He headed to the White House with his eight children: Mary, Robert, John, Letitia, Elizabeth, Anne, Alice, and Tazewell. His wife Letitia would die of a stroke in the White House about a year and a half after he claimed it as his residence.
Julia Gardiner was the beautiful daughter of New York State Senator David Gardiner. Her parents were alarmed by all the attention she was getting from male suitors. When, at nineteen years old, she posed, for a middle-class store, with a gentleman who was not related to her, she was sent to Europe in hopes that she would acquire better social skills. That middle-class store would bill her as the “Rose of Long Island.”
Upon her return to the States, the Gardiners would head to Washington DC for the social season. The Gardiners would become really good friends with the President’s two oldest boys, Robert and John. Julia would fit right in, too. In a very strange twist, though, the President, whose wife had died, was very interested in Julia even though he was thirty years older than her.
The President fell hard for Julia. Over and over again he would propose to her. Each time she turned the other way. The President wasn’t about to give up on her though.
The lawmakers couldn’t wait for the next day. They would bring down the king to the gates where they disposed of Daniel. Their prideful hearts were sure they would be rewarded by the king for their protection from such a rebel. The king was sad though. He liked Daniel and he felt this was injustice and not justice.
Sadly the king cried into the dark pathway, “Daniel!” It was probably more of a cry of anguish and not one looking for a response. “Yes, your majesty,” Daniel said as he stepped into the light for all to see. He didn’t have a mark on him. Everyone’s jaws dropped.
The king ordered the gates opened. He grabbed Daniel and hugged him so hard Daniel probably thought he was going to break him. The king then ordered that the lawmakers be thrown into the den to see if the lions rendered the same judgment towards them. The lawmakers weren’t so lucky. Let’s just say, the lions weren’t hungry after they finished off those bill makers.
When the Princeton was ready to be shown off for the President, the President decided this would be the perfect way to impress Julia and her father. So the President invited them both to the display.
The Princeton left Alexandria, Virginia on February 28. It was full of dignitaries. Among them were members of the President’s Cabinet, former first lady Dolley Madison, Julia and her father, and of course, the President. There were also some 400 other guests. Everyone was there to witness the firing of the guns. All were impressed. They then retired below the deck for lunch and refreshments.
When the guests finished their lunch, they were summoned again to the deck so they could witness another firing of the mighty Peacemaker gun. The President stayed below deck to offer a toast. Julia and about 100 guests went on deck to witness the firing. Those below deck heard a massive explosion that sounded a little different than the one they heard earlier. Then they heard shouts and screams. They rushed up the stairs to the deck to see what was going on. Smoke was everywhere. People were running around covered in blood and in shock.
The Peacemaker blew up sending shrapnel into the crowd. Among those instantly killed were Secretary Upshur, Secretary Gilmer, Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Captain Beverly Kennon, Charge d’ Affaires to Belgium, Virgil Maxcy, the President’s Valet, a slave named Armistead, two soldiers and Julia’s father, Colonel David Gardiner. When Julia heard the news of her father’s death she fainted just as the President was rushing up the steps. She would not wake up until she was in President John Tyler’s arms, who was carrying her off the ship.
Tyler’s comfort and quiet strength slowly turned her heart Tyler’s way. She and President Tyler would slip into New York and marry at the Church of the Ascension, not too far from Julia’s father’s home. The Right Reverend Benjamin Treadwell Onderdonk, fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, would perform the ceremony. President Tyler was fifty-four years old and Julia was twenty-four.
Luck is a very strange thing. We can victoriously hold the tape recorder when the odds don’t favor us. We can survive the explosions that rock us. We can shut the mouths of those who are against us. But luck also has a flip side. Think of all the candy bars and effort that didn’t produce the prize. Think of the heart ache that resulted in the violent death of a father. And the shut mouths of the lions still had to be fed at the expense of others.
Perspective, like luck, has double vision. One view is of its effects on us. The other view is of its effects on others. It’s easy to be overcome by a situation and only look through the lens of how it affects us. All our lives are intertwined and God’s overall purpose isn’t always revealed by our celebrations or our pains. There are those lucky ones that win the tape recorder, despite others working harder. We feel deaths sting, yet, out of those ashes new life blossoms. We are in at dark, damp cave, praying our lives out to God that the lions don’t eat us. Sometimes, like in Daniel’s case, he gives us the answer we seek. Sometimes, like in the lawmakers’ case, we aren’t so lucky with the results.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Sometimes it’s very easy to look at life as only good luck or bad luck. Help me to enjoy those moments when you chose to send me “good luck.” Give me the strength and wisdom to handle those “bad luck” situations. Moreover, help me to realize it is usually not about luck at all, but is part of your overall plan. Amen.
