Great Scot
I'm sure you're familiar with interjection that forms the title to this post, especially if you've seen or are a fan of the Back to the Future movies, because it's a favorite exclamation of one of the principle characters, Dr. Emmett Brown. As best as I can tell from a few minutes of Internet research, the phrase as we know it first shows up in the 1800s and appears to be linked to General Winfield Scott, commander of American forces in the War with Mexico and briefly one of the generals appointed to lead Union forces during the Civil War -- until President Lincoln decided he wasn't up to the job. So what has that to do with the title? You remember my saying that my wife, who was born a Reagan, wondered whether she was related to John H. Reagan, for whom Reagan County in Texas is named. When I looked him up and established the relationship -- he married one of Sharon's relatives -- I was given a brief genealogy listing that showed how he got into the tree. The...