Nostradamus said there'd be days like these

Those of you readers who are familiar with my work know that I usually try to find the humor in life around us.  Sometimes that is hard to do, such as after Penn State loses a football game.  Sometimes, it is impossible--humor after what may or may not have transpired at Penn State is impossible if not inappropriate.

Saturday Night Live tried.

And Bill Bettwy by cartoon in the Altoona Mirror.

As for me, I'm not going to touch the subject.  Oops!  Did I just say touched?  My bad.

But I did find something interesting.

Did you know that Nostradamus (the 16th century seer and not the founder of Notre Damus) wrote about PATERNO in one of his quatrains???  Most historians think he was referring to a city in Italy called Paterno.  I wonder if maybe he wasn't predicting what happened at Penn State!

Here are the quatrains from Crystalinks:

80


The blood of innocents, widow and virgin,

so many evils committed by means of the Great Red One,

holy images placed over burning candles,

terrified by fear, none will be seen to move.



81

The new empire in desolation

will be changed from the Northern Pole.

From Sicily will come such trouble that

it will bother the enterprise tributary to Philip.



82

Thin tall and dry, playing the good valet


in the end will have nothing but his dismissal;

sharp poison and letters in his collar,

he will be seized escaping into danger.



83

The largest sail set out of the port of Zara,

near Byzantium will carry out its enterprise.

Loss of enemy and friend will not be,

a third will turn on both with great pillage and capture.



84

Paterno will hear the cry from Sicily,

all the preparations in the Gulf of Trieste;

it will be heard as far as Sicily

flee oh, flee, so many sails, the dreaded pestilence !

Do you not have goosebumps???

The blood of innocents and so many evils committed by means of the Great Red One?  Are people not saying that McQueary ("big red") is morally responsible for allowing this to perpetuate?

Burning candles--does that not refer to the vigil at Penn State?

And while Paterno's "empire" is not new, it would be to someone in the 16th century.  And that empire is certainly in desolation now.

Tributary to Philip?  Okay this is a bit of a stretch here.  There's Phil, the most famous groundhog in PA, but I doubt that has anything to do with this.  There's Phil Grosz, of Blue White Illustrated.  Maybe fans will stop paying for his magazine, advertising on his site or paying the "tribute" to get premium information on his paid site.  Works for me.  Isn't this getting eerie?  And Erie is a city in Pennsylvania!

The good valet--is that not Spanier???

George Paterno wrote a book about Joe, The Coach From Byzantium!

A third will turn on both . . . is that Curley and Schultz--and Paterno or McQueary is the third?  Or is there more to come?

And is it mere coincidence that PATERNO is mentioned in quatrain 84.  I think not!  Paterno is 84 years old!