Christopher Columbus - Hero or Thug?

[dualstow]

This thread makes me want to review the 'Christopher' episode of 'The Sopranos'.

[Alanw]

Karnow's book on Vietnam was really good.  (I also highly recommend "They Marched into Sunlight" by David Maraniss.)  I think I'll have to read this one about the Phillipines too.

Only in the past few years have I been able to bring myself to read books about Vietnam. This is the first I've heard of this one. Checked it out on Amazon and it is definitely in my reading queue.

jackh,

If you enjoy ficiton, try Up Country by Nelson Demille.

[smurff]

In NYC, Christopher Columbus had been adopted as an Italian Hero.  Columbus Day here is more like Italian Heritage Day than anything else.  Anyone here who would loudly talk in October about his thuggery and the devastation he brought to the people living in what became North/South America and the Caribbean would be branded as a hostile person, if not worse.

[Alanw]

My dad spent time in the Phillipines during Vietnam and said he was amazed at how great the people were.

He remembered going to a Navy bar where Phillipino men and women that didn't speak a lick of English would cover American music and sound, with no hint of an accent, VERY much like the artist of the song they were covering.

Me and your Dad might have been sitting together in the same bars in Olongapo where the Subic Bay Naval base used to be. The bands were excellent (not to mention the women). Today it's a duty free port but I haven't gotten back to it in any of my travels yet. Plan on doing so when I retire.

Nearly all Filipinos do know some English though most aren't conversant. It is a second language and taught in nearly every school. When my wife went to school they were punished if they were caught speaking their native language. Her English is impeccable.

I missed this post earlier, but I also may have had a beer with you in Olongapo. I was stationed on the USS Intrepid based out of Subic Bay and spent about a year there and in the South China Sea.  Last summer I visited the Intrepid which is now a museum in New York.  What a trip that was.  They actually put me at the front of the line for everything after finding out I was a former crew member.

You are right about the entertainment in Olongapo.  Great bands.  It seems like every bar had live music and every band was playing G-L-O-R-I-A gloria.

I posted earlier about Nelson Demille and his novel Up Country.  It is based on his time in Vietnam during the war.  I enjoyed it. Check it out.  You may enjoy it too.