No Thursday Thirteen today - First of all let's just say that I was moved last night while watching American Idol. The amount of money that was raised was outstanding. If memory serves me correctly when they went off the air had raised $30 million. The performances where outstanding. You know, you hear about this stuff all the time but it really doesn't sink in until you see if first hand. I wish that I could do more... but I can't. All I can do is donate what I can, that I did. I'm going to jump out on a limb here and make a challenge. I donated $50... I'm challenging all bloggers to donate as well. I know that some can't give $50, but if you can just give a little that will help. It all adds up in the end. Here is the link where you can donate - https://www.idolaid.com/ Yesterday my Wordless Wednesday was some pictures that I had taken in Pulaski, TN of Sam Davis. I had several say that they did not know who Sam Davis was. So here is a brief history of him. This statue is on the town square in Pulaski. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sam Davis (1842–1863) is called the Boy Hero of the Confederacy. He was executed by the Union Army for espionage during the Civil War. Davis was born in Smyrna, Tennessee and educated at the Western Military Institute which he attended from 1860-1861. While there, he came under the influence of headmaster and future Confederate General Bushrod Johnson. He was recruited by Confederate scout forces early in the Civil War. He signed up as a private in the First Tennessee Volunteer Infantry in 1861 and his regiment marched off to war first at Cheat Mountain next in the Shenandoah Valley then at Shiloh and Perryville. Wounded slightly at Shiloh, Davis suffered a real wound at Perryville but soon was in a very active saddle as courier for Coleman’s Scouts. He was captured in Middle Tennessee (more particularly, near Minor Hill, Tennessee) on November 20, 1863 wearing a makeshift Confederate uniform and in possession of Union battle plans. He would not give the name of who gave him the items. For this reason, he was arrested as a spy, and sentenced to die by hanging unless he was willing to divulge the name of his contact. He is purported to have said, "I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend." Another famous quote, reminiscent of Nathan Hale, was, "If I had a thousand lives to live, I would give them all rather than to betray a friend or the confidence of my informer. Davis wrote a letter to his mother before the execution. "Dear mother. O how painful it is to write you! I have got to die to-morrow --- to be hanged by the Federals. Mother, do not grieve for me. I must bid you good-bye forevermore. Mother, I do not fear to die. Give my love to all." There was a postscript for his father, too. "Father, you can send after my remains if you want to do so. They will be at Pulaski, Tenn. I will leave some things with the hotel keeper for you." He was hanged by Union forces in Pulaski, Tennessee on November 27, 1863. As he was trundled along to the hanging site atop his own coffin, Union soldiers alongside the bumpy wagon road shouted out their entreaties for his cooperation, lest they have to watch the grim execution. Supposedly the officer in charge of the execution was discomforted by Davis' youth and calm demeanor and had trouble carrying out his orders. Davis is alleged to have said to him, "Officer, I did my duty. Now, you do yours." Davis' story, and its obvious parallel to that of Nathan Hale during the American Revoltion, became a rallying point for the Southern cause in the waning days of the Confederacy. His boyhood home is preserved in Smyrna as a museum, and the spot of his hanging in Pulaski is likewise marked by a monument and a small museum which, as of 2004 was open by appointment and request only. A statue of Sam Davis was erected on the grounds of the Tennessee state capitol at Nashville. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Davis"