June 20: Happy Birthday, Brian Wilson, Chet Atkins, and the state of West Virginia.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

It's mine too, but never mind that. Brian Wilson was born on June 20, 1942. Chet Atkins was born on June 20, 1924.

Brian Wilson went through some personal ordeals, but he does get out into public and perform from time to time. Surely the biggest omission in my record collection is "Pet Sounds." Here are Brian Wilson and the rest of the Beach Boys, in two different versions of a lovely song from that 1966 album:

On to Chet Atkins, CGP:

This one pretty much owns the Internet:

I wasn't expecting this:

And I could never leave this out:

As for West Virginia, it became a state on this day in 1863.

West Virginia: Separation from Virginia

See also: State of Kanawha and West Virginia in the American Civil War

West Virginia was the only state in the Union to separate from a Confederate state (Virginia) during the American Civil War. In Richmond on April 17, 1861, the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 voted to secede from the Union, but of the 49 delegates from the northwestern corner (which ultimately became West Virginia) only 17 voted in favor of the Ordinance of Secession, while 30 voted against (with 2 abstentions). Almost immediately after that vote, a mass meeting at Clarksburg recommended that each county in northwestern Virginia send delegates to a convention to meet in Wheeling on May 13, 1861. When this First Wheeling Convention met, 425 delegates from 25 counties were present, though more than one-third of the delegates were from the northern panhandle area, but soon there was a division of sentiment.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. And my mom! And my mom and dad's anniversary!

They are but memories, alas, but beloved ones