So, this is what retirement looks like? I looked at myself in the mirror this morning and came away a bit mad at the tousled gray hair. Not mad at myself, or not completely, but at what has become a new reality. Then retreated to the comfort of the comforter and read the morning incoming traffic on the iPad and found myself captivated by a madman that almost no one really knows, though they should.

Jeeze Louise.

I still get up at the same habitual time- though sleeping in to six or six thirty has become more common. I picked up the tablet and was looking at Sarasota real estate again. Looks like a pleasant place. Then I started to get those Traverse City dreams again. I mean, yes, there is certainly a Michigan winter component to that, and they can be savage. I remember when Mom and Dad would retreat to their master bedroom for five months a year- worried us sick, and we had to cll the cops at times if they forgot to hang up the wireless phone.

I wish we had kept the house, but there were some poisonous familial gases about the division of the estate, and on the whole, it seemed best to just liquidate everything and be done with it.

But I was thinking about how completely cool it is up there in Michigan during the High Summer, and how we even made the winters fun.

So, things to think about, and trust me, I am.

A pal wrote me this morning. He had just completed a read of a book I had not heard of- ‘Autumn of the Black Snake’ by William Hogeland. It is billed as an account of the founding of the Regular Army of the United States of America, which was caused, predictably, by a monumental disaster suffered by unprofessional militia forces who had attempted to enforce the new sovereignty of the fledgling nation on some very tough and determined locals who had not been consulted.

The Indians were not welcoming to the new landlords, and the horrific slaughter of the undisciplined Yankees was such that the bodies of the Americans were left unburied through the change of eight seasons, and the bleached bones of them formed an ivory carpet on the forest floor.

It reminded me of the stories of the British bones left from the retreat of the 44th Regiment of Foot from Kabul in 1842, which could still be seen a century later. It made me shiver, knowing what we know now about the ways of Empire, nd their rise and fall. And it made me a bit contemplative about my own experience growing up in what used to be called The West, which it isn’t any more, but certainly was. In fact, that phrase has always stirred me in my college fight song. But it was the story behind it all that my pal brought forth.

Anthony Wayne was instrumental in establishing the Regular Army- something I have always carried a certain ambivalence about since serving as part of the Eighth Army in Korea years ago. The Green Machine is a thing of wonder, truly. And it’s culture and composition could rightly be attrivuted to its founding father, Mad Anthony. He insisted on discipline, he insisted on order. If artillery would be useful in fighting the indigenous people of the heartland, then by God he would drag them hundreds of miles cross the trackless wilderness and then use it to scourge the locals. He is one of those people that are not talked about much any more, but whose legacy is left in place-names and traditions all across our little part of the nation.

We used to go to our Fort Wayne- the one in Detroit. It is an actual massive brick fort on the narrow straits that drain Lake St. Clair and the lands of the Upper Lakes I so love.

Mad Anthony was part of everything we did in what we thought was the Mid-West. You know Fort Wayne, Indiana, of course. Dad graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit in a hurried effort to make his corporate resume comport with actual fact when I was a young teen.

I m not going to attempt to recount the General’s fiery temper, nor his considerable military accomplishments. I just bought the book to listen to while paddling in the pool on my waterproof iPod (I always hold my breath to see if it still is). Consider a read yourself- as a retiree I should have gone to the library to get it for free, but what the hell. I have to get used to all this.

They talk a lot about legacy these days, but creating the United States Army is not a bad resume bullet.I will simply steal from Wiki about some of the others:

“There are many political jurisdictions and institutions named after Wayne, especially in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, the region where he fought his battles with resolution and a commitment to victory,” a commodity in short supply off late.
Boroughs

The Borough of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
The Borough of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
Cities

The City of Fort Wayne, Indiana
The City of Wayne, Michigan
The City of Wayne, Nebraska
The City of Waynesboro, Georgia
The City of Waynesboro, Mississippi
The City of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
The City of Waynesboro, Tennessee
The City of Waynesboro, Virginia
The Village of Wayne, Illinois
The Village of Waynesburg, Ohio
The Village of Waynesville, Ohio
The Town of Waynesville, North Carolina
The Town of Waynesville, Missouri
The Township of Wayne, New Jersey
Communities

The community of Wayne, Pennsylvania
The community of Waynedale, Fort Wayne, Indiana
The community of Waynewood, Alexandria, Virginia
Counties

Wayne County, Georgia
Wayne County, Illinois
Wayne County, Indiana
Wayne County, Iowa
Wayne County, Kentucky
Wayne County, Michigan
Wayne County, Mississippi
Wayne County, Missouri
Wayne County, Nebraska
Wayne County, New York
Wayne County, North Carolina
Wayne County, Ohio
Wayne County, Pennsylvania
Wayne County, Tennessee
Wayne County, West Virginia
Forests and parks

Wayne National Forest in Ohio
Anthony Wayne Recreation Area, part of Harriman State Park, in New York State
Anthony’s Nose, the mountain on the east end of the Bear Mountain Bridge near Peekskill, New York
Wayne Square, in Tallahassee, Florida – present location of City Hall and one of 5 public squares established in the city’s original plan
Wayne Park in Beaver, Pennsylvania
Towns and Villages

The town of Wayne, Maine
The town of Waynesville, Missouri
The town of Wayne, New Jersey
The town of Wayne, New York
The town of Waynesville, North Carolina
The village of Wayne, Ohio
The village of Waynesville, Ohio
The town of Wayne, Oklahoma
The town of Wayne, Pennsylvania
The town of Wayne, West Virginia
The town of South Wayne, Wisconsin
The town of Waynesville, Georgia
Townships

Wayne Township, Ohio
Wayne Township, Illinois
Wayne Township, Allen County, Indiana
Wayne Township, Marion County (Indianapolis), Indiana
The former Wayne Township, Montgomery County, Ohio (now the City of Huber Heights)
Wayne Township, New Jersey
Wayne Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
the former Mad River Township and Mad River Township Local School District (now Riverside, Ohio)
Villages

The Village of Wayne, Illinois
The Village of Waynesfield, Ohio
The Village of Waynesville, Illinois
The Village of Waynesville, Ohio
The Village of Wayne City, Illinois
The Village of Waynesburg, Ohio
Schools and Colleges

Anthony Wayne School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Anthony Wayne Elementary School in Defiance, Ohio
Anthony Wayne –Elementary School in Franklin, Ohio
Wayne Trace High School in Paulding, Ohio
Anthony Wayne Middle School in Wayne, New Jersey
Anthony Wayne High School Whitehouse, Ohio
Anthony Wayne Local Schools, Ohio, whose sports teams are known as the “Fighting Generals”[15]
General Wayne Elementary School, in Malvern, Pennsylvania
Wayne County High School, in Monticello, Kentucky
Wayne Community Schools in Corydon, Iowa
Wayne County Community College in Detroit, Michigan
Wayne Elementary School Erie, Pennsylvania
Wayne High School, Huber Heights, Ohio
Wayne High School (Oklahoma), Wayne, Oklahoma
Wayne High School, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Wayne State College, Wayne, Nebraska
Wayne State University, Detroit
Waynesboro Area Senior High School, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Waynesboro High School in Waynesboro, Virginia
Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
Waynesfield-Goshen Schools, Waynesfield, Ohio
Anthony Wayne Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan
Wayne Trail Elementary School in Maumee, Ohio
Anthony Wayne High School Whitehouse, OH
Anthony Wayne Elementary School in Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Wayne County High School (Waynesboro, Mississippi)
Wayne Memorial High School, Wayne, Michigan
Streets and highways

Anthony Street, Celina, Ohio
Anthony Boulevard, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Anthony Wayne Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
Anthony Wayne Drive, in Detroit, Michigan
Anthony Wayne Drive, in Baden, Pennsylvania
Anthony Wayne Drive, in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania
Anthony Wayne Drive, Warminster, Pennsylvania
Anthony Wayne Trail, in Toledo, Ohio
Anthwyn Road, Merion, Pennsylvania (across from the inn)
Mad Anthony Street, Cincinnati, Ohio
Mad Anthony Street, Millersburg, Ohio
Mad River Road, in Hillsboro, Ohio
North Wayne Avenue, Lockland, Ohio
North Wayne Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania
South Wayne Avenue, Fort Wayne, Indiana
South Wayne Avenue, Lockland, Ohio
South Wayne Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Southwest Anthony Wayne Drive, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Wayne Avenue, Ticonderoga, New York
Wayne Avenue, Bronx, New York
Wayne Avenue, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Wayne Avenue, Collingdale, Pennsylvania
Wayne Avenue, Chicago, Illinois[16]
Wayne Avenue, Dayton, Ohio
Wayne Avenue (Rte 112), Stony Point, New York
Wayne Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wayne Avenue, Greenville, Ohio
Wayne Road, running through (from North to South) the municipalities of; Livonia, Westland, Wayne, and Romulus, Michigan
Wayne Street, Celina, Ohio
Wayne Street, Fort Recovery, Ohio
Wayne Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Wayne Street, Toledo, Ohio
Wayne Street, Erie, Pennsylvania
Wayne Trace, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Wayne Trace Road, running from Eaton in Preble County, Ohio, to just outside of Seven Mile in Butler County, Ohio
Structures and businesses

The former Anthony Wayne Bank in Fort Wayne
Former Anthony Wayne Drive-In Movie, Wayne Township, New Jersey
Anthony Wayne Barber Shop in Maumee, Ohio
Anthony Wayne, a campsite at Woodland Trails Scout Reservation in Camden, Ohio
The Anthony Wayne Movie Theater in Wayne, Pennsylvania
Anthony Wayne Recreation Area in Harriman State Park, New York
AWS, formerly Anthony Wayne Rehabilitation Center for the Handicapped and Blind, Inc. in Fort Wayne, Indiana[19]
Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge near downtown Toledo, Ohio
Anthony Wayne Terrace Housing Association Baden, Pennsylvania
Mad Anthony Brewing Company, in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants basketball team of the NBA Development League
General Wayne Inn in Merion, Pennsylvania
“Mad Anthony’s”, a local pub in Waterville, Ohio
Wayne Corporation defunct school bus manufacturer, originally Wayne Agricultural Works, then Wayne Works
Wayne Hospital in Greenville, Ohio
Anthony Wayne Hotel in Akron, Ohio, demolished in 1996
Anthony Wayne Motel in Yellow Springs, Ohio on US Route 68
General Wayne Inn, Honey Brook, Pennsylvania on US Route 322
Anthony Wayne Hotel in downtown Hamilton, Ohio renovated into the Anthony Wayne Apartments
Hotel Wayne & restaurant, 1202 North Main Street, Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431
Mad Anthony’s Bottle Shop & Beer Garden in Waynesville, NC
Wayne Oil Inc. in Fort Recovery, OH
Wayne IGA in Fort Recovery, OH
Wayne Hose Company No. 1 of the Stony Point, NY Fire Department
I kind of like the last of these. But I do have to mention that I was born in Wayne County, and cannot think of a better legacy than being a Champion of the West by virtue of my college affiliation, and a son of a truly amazing Mad Man. Let’s read the book together, shall we?

And another tid-bit from the days when the fate of the West hung in the balance, and ended long before the banks of Mississippi River: Wayne County is located south of Oakland County, whose County Seat is named for another one of those people you may have heard about but never considered. His name was Pontiac.

(Grave of Major General Anthony Wayne, Commanding General of the American Legion).

Copyright 2017 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com