Mailbag: Columbus failed to reach mainland America, but what a journey
Columbus failed to reach mainland America, but what a journey
“In 1493, Columbus sailed the blue” … that was the rhyme that school children learned to remember when Columbus became the first European to sail across the Atlantic in an age when men thought this was impossible!
Most people thought the world was flat. They feared they could fall off the ends of the earth or be devoured by sea monsters that lived on the edge of the world (as shown in their maps).
Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in the 1450s. Genoa was the hub of exciting maritime and commercial activity then. Here Columbus heard the great stories of travel and adventure which the seamen brought from all corners of the known world. Soon Columbus was dreaming of traveling across the forbidden ocean, to get to this land in the East where spices, silk, exotic adventures and riches could be found.
Columbus started to act on his dream. First, he prepared himself by becoming a mapmaker with his brother. Maps revealed the most recent and highly treasured information about travel in the expanding world. Next, Columbus became a seaman so he could learn how to become an excellent navigator. Finally, he moved to the Canary Islands where he studied the currents of the ocean and the patterns of the winds.
His unique idea was to head west to get to the east (the Orient). He presented his plans to the courts of Europe in order to secure financial backing, but he was met with rejection and ridicule.
Most people today would become discouraged and quit, but Columbus persisted with his dream. After seven long years of presenting his ideas, he finally received an encouraging word from Queen Isabella of Spain, who was interested in financing his expedition.
Now Columbus set out with his three famous ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria for the five-week voyage across the Atlantic. Columbus kept two sailing logs because he didn’t want his crew to become terrified at the distances traveled.
Once the halfway point was passed, the point that the sailors knew half of their provisions had been used up and a return trip could become deadly, the crews became mutinous. Not only did Columbus have to contend with sailors who wanted to mutiny, but he also had to contend with the competitive and jealous Pinzon brothers who captained the two other ships.
Finally, on Oct. 12,1492, Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador. On Christmas Day, Columbus founded the first settlement of La Navidad on Hispaniola.
No one had ever crossed the Atlantic before. Now Columbus sailed across the ocean to Spain and back for a total of four round trips over a 14-year period.
Amazing! The first trip back, he brought the exciting news of the discovery of new lands along with a few natives to exhibit and who he hoped would learn the language for translating and making alliances in the New World.
On the second voyage, Columbus explored the area of the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. On the third voyage home, Columbus was bound in chains by his competitors, who contested his authority.
On his fourth voyage, he explored the area of Honduras and Central America. He was the first European to experience a hurricane, and then he survived a shipwreck on the desolate island of Jamaica for almost a year.
It’s amazing to think, but Columbus was a failure! He never set foot on the mainland continent of the Western Hemisphere. He never discovered the passage to the Orient (China), and yet Columbus was a great man, an adventurer, a man with vision, patience, persistence, courage and the skills to pull of this triumph feat of crossing the Atlantic Ocean and leading others along the way. He is a man for us to admire and from whom we can learn much!
Sherry Nord Marron
Newport Beach
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School board forum excluded us
In reference to “Challengers question board decisions,” (Oct.5), we would like to provide clarification on why we were not present at the forum.
When the Mesa Verde Community Inc. (MVCI) originally scheduled its school board forum, we had other board member obligations. We followed up to work to find an alternative date. It was then canceled unilaterally by MVCI.
The forum was taken over by Mesa Verde Homeowners Assn. member Martie O’Meara, who contacted the challengers but never contacted us to see if we were available or to reschedule another date. It is curious that in addition to being excluded, the forum was focused mainly on previous unpopular board decisions.
We would have welcomed the opportunity to be present in order to provide the reasoning and background behind the decisions reported in the article. Advertising a forum (also published in Daily Pilot) as including all candidates, and following up with an article critiquing prior decisions without hearing all sides is misleading and not fair to our community.
Vicki Snell, Martha Fluor, Dana Black
Newport-Mesa
Editor’s Note: The writers are members of the school board.
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Donald Trump is not a tax-dodger
The L.A. Times, which owns the Daily Pilot, printed an article on the front page of the Oct.6 California section titled, “Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan have just one thing in common: Both dodged their taxes.”
Because just about every newspaper, news media, television program, etc., all lean left, and fortunately the Pilot seems somewhat fair, perhaps a reader can help me out. If you deduct the mortgage interest from your gross income to reduce your taxable income, is that tax-dodging? Is this what the L.A. Times calls “tax dodging?”
Never has Trump, nor was Reagan accused of breaking the law. How about when Bill and Hillary Clinton deduct charitable contributions to their own foundation to reduce their own taxable income? Maybe we should all set up our own foundations. Now that is what I call tax-dodging.
Juli Hayden
Newport Beach