S6E6 When in Doubt, Blame the Jackass

Welcome to Mysteries to Die For.I am TG Wolff and am here with Jack, my piano player and producer. This is a podcast where we combine storytelling with original music to put you in the heart of a mystery. Episodes are structured to challenge you to beat the detective to the solution. These are arrangements, which means instead of word-for-word readings, you get a performance meant to be heard. Jack and I perform these live, front to back, no breaks, no fakes, no retakes (unless it's really bad)For Season 6 is again ad-free. I do this because I love mysteries, Jack does it because he loves me. Jack maybe a starving college student but it’s because… We do ask you support the writers of our show. This week it’s Kyra Jacobs. Check her out on her website and social, buy and read her stories, help other readers find her. Make writing for Mysteries to Die For the best decision she could have made. In your review, tell her Tina and Jack said ‘the cat did it’. This is Season 6, Things that Go Jack in the Night. This season contains truly imaginative mysteries around one of the most common words in the English language. From the brandy distilled from hard cider known as applejack to that nefarious one-eyed jack, to the animals, vegetables, fruits, tools, weapons, and slang, the way the word “jack” is used in the English language is truly unique, inventive, and too numerous for me to count. And yes, it is also the name of my piano player and producer. For Episode 6, a jackass is the featured jack. This is When in Doubt, Blame the Jackass by Kyra About JackassesLet’s go to Wikipedia…The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass and was domesticated in Africa some 5000–7000 years ago. There are more than 40 million donkeys in the world where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. An adult male donkey is a jack or jackass, an adult female is a jenny or jennet, and an immature donkey of either sex is a foal. Jacks are often mated with female horses (mares) to produce mules; the less common hybrid of a male horse (stallion) and jenny is a hinny. At one time, ass was the more common term for the donkey. The first recorded use of donkey was in the late 1700s. From the 18th century, donkey gradually replaced ass and jenny replaced she-ass, which is now considered archaic. The change may have come about through a tendency to avoid pejorative terms in speech and may be comparable to the substitution in North American English of rooster for cock, or that of rabbit for coney, which when spelled differently but pronounced the same, is slang for a special part of a woman’s body.Donkeys vary considerably in size, depending on breed and environmental, with heights at the withers range from less than 35 in to approximately 59 in.  Working donkeys in the poorest countries have a life expectancy of 12 to 15 years; in more prosperous countries, they may have a lifespan of 30 to 50 years. But how did this hard working animal become synonymous with human idiocy? According to The Conversation.com, by the 1820s, jackass was commonly being used to describe a “stupid person.”This was the intent of a retort in the 1820s by Kentucky congressman Henry Clay to Massachusetts Congressman Daniel Webster. Clay was sitting outside a Washington, D.C. hotel with Webster when a man walked by with a pack of mules. “Clay, there goes a number of your Kentucky constituents,” Webster said.“Yes,” Clay replied, “they must be on their way to Massachusetts to teach school.”Mark Twain defended the jackass. He thought comparing men and politicians, in particular, to jackasses was unfair to jackasses. “Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn’t any,” he said. “But this wrongs the jackass.” In his 1894 novel “Pudd’n’head Wilson,” Twain wrote.“There is no character, howsoever good and fine, but it can be destroyed by ridicule, howsoever poor and witless,” he wrote. “Observe the ass, for instance: his character is about perfect, he is the choicest spirit among all the humbler animals, yet see what ridicule has brought him to. Instead of feeling complimented when we are called an ass, we are left in doubt.”https://theconversation.com/calling-someone-a-jackass-is-a-tradition-in-us-politics-132306https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DonkeyABOUT Kyra Jacobshttp://www.kyrajacobsbooks.com/Kyra Jacobs is an extroverted introvert who writes of love, humor and mystery in the Midwest and beyond. When this Hoosier native isn’t pounding out scenes for her next book, she's likely outside, elbow-deep in snapdragons or spending quality time with her sports-loving family. Kyra also loves to read, tries to golf, and is an avid college football fan. MysteryRat’s MazeMystery lovers, have you heard of Mysteryrat’s Maze podcast. Lorie Lewis Ham and Kings River Life Magazine bring you mystery short stories, and first chapters of mystery novels, read and brought to life by local actors. To listen to the episodes, and subscribe to the podcast, you can go to mysteryratsmaze.podbean.com or https://kingsriverlife.com/category/area-arts/podcasts/WRAP UPThat wraps this episode of Mysteries to Die For. Please do support our show by subscribing, telling a mystery lover about us, and giving us a five-star review. Check out our website www.TGWolff.com/Podcast for links to this season’s authors.Mysteries to Die For is hosted by TG Wolff and Jack Wolff. When in Doubt, Blame the Jackass was written by Kyra Jacobs. Music and production are by Jack Wolff. Episode art is by TG Wolff. Join us next week for a Toe Tag, the first chapter of a fresh, new release. Then come back in two weeks when one of our favorite author, Ken Harris is back with his take on jack. Episode 7 is Live Free or Die Jacking.