White Cane Safety Day

In History:

1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

1965 – David Miller was the first person to burn his draft card.

1954 – Hurricane Hazel made landfall at Myrtle Beach SC and ran up the coast to Ontario, Canada. Effects of the storm were felt as far inland as Raleigh with recorded winds of over 100mph. Over $1billion in damage was recorded and more than 400 people were killed.

1951 – Premiere of “I Love Lucy”. It ran for 6 season and a total of 181 episodes.

1948 – For the murder of his wife 2-1/2 years earlier, Arthur Eggers was executed in the San Quentin gas chamber.

1917 – Mata Hari was executed by firing squad for her spying activities.

1863 – CSS Hunley sank to its death during a (second) trial run. The first test resulted in the death of 6 of its 8 crew. The second test was successful in that it planted an explosive devise on the hull of a Yankee ship, but sank on its return to Charleston killing all 8 of its crew, including the inventor.

  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

  1969 – Actress, Vanessa Marcil, I met her on General Hospital but she was cute in the Sean Connery/Nicholas Cage flick, “The Rock”.

  1959 – Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. She is a descendant of King Charles II, albeit an one from a broken one, shall we say. Sometimes, that’s all there is.

  1959 – Chef Emeril Lagasse. He was born in Fall River, Mass. Not that I am saying I wouldn’t eat his food, but he was born in the same town as Lizzie Borden!

  1946 – Richard Carpenter, singer/piano player and sister of Karen Carpenter. The duo made up the group, The Carpenters.

  1943 – Actress/director Penny Marshall. Some of my favorite directed movies are A League of Their Own, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Big, Awakenings, and Riding in Cars with Boys.

  1924 – Lee Iacocca, savior of Chrysler Motor Company in the 1980’s.

  1920 – Novelist of such stories as The Godfather, Mario Puzo.

  1917 – Arthur Schlesinger, Jr, a historian in America and was known as the court historian to President Kennedy.

  1908 – John Kenneth Galbraith, economist. I could list a few books he wrote, but I’m afraid that you might fall asleep and not finish reading, maybe drop the computer off your lap.

1881 – Novelist, PG Wodehouse was born. She created the infamously known butler, Jeeves.

October 14th

Be Bald and Free Day & National Dessert Day

The History Book, Chapter: 

1975 – Ronald DeFeo, Jr went on trial for killing his parents and brothers and sisters.  In 1977, a book was published about the next owners of the house. A book called The Amityville Horror.

1964 – Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Martin Luther King, Jr.

1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis began.

1957 -  Wake Up Little Susie hit #1 on the charts for The Everly Brothers, their first.

1947 – Captain Chuck Yeager flew faster than sound, the first person ever. Does that mean he couldn’t hear himself think while he was flying?

1913 – An explosion in a Welsh coal mine killed 439 workers.

1912 – President Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest at near point blank range. Because of a glasses case and his evening speech folded up in his breast pocket, he merely received a flesh wound.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY…

…Rap singer, Usher (1979),  I’ve never been a follower.

Fashion Designer, Ralph Lauren (1939), I’ve never been a follower.

…John Dean (1938), attorney known for being the White House council during the Watergate Scandal.

…James Bond actor, Roger Moore (1927).

Previous US Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop (1916).

…poet ee cummings (1894), with over 2,900 poems, I won’t attempt to list them.

…Dwight D Eisenhower (1890), 34^th president of the US.

…Elwood Haynes (1857). Mr. Haynes not only received patents for stainless steel, stellite (I don’t know) and a cobalt-chromium alloy, but he is known to have designed one of the first automobiles. He called it “Pioneer”. You can visit it at the Smithsonian.

…Founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn (1644).

Suicide? Seriously?

IN…

…2008, at a speed of 192mpg, Luc Costermans set a new land speed record…for blind drivers.

…2002, former US President, Jimmy Carter, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

…1984, The first American woman “walked” in space. Congrats Kathryn Sullivan. I wonder if she took her pedometer.

…1975, Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham marry.

…1975, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtain and Laraine Newman appear together for the first time. Saturday Night Live debuts on NBC.

…1975, Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen, hit the top 40.

…1968, the first manned Apollo mission was launched.

…1809, Meriwether Lewis died under mysterious circumstances…with two gunshot wounds and a multitude of razor cuts from head to toe.  Suicide is the most accepted conclusion.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY…

Luke Perry (1966) Actor; Joan Cusack (1962) Actress; Steve Young (1961)Quarterback; Daryl Hall (1946) Half of Hall and Oates; Ron Leibman (1937) Actor; Dottie West (1932-1991) Country Singer; Elmore Leonard (1925) Author; Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) First Lady; Henry John Heniz (1844-1919) Has 57 favorite flavors, horseradish being his fave. 

Good-Superman

Today is National Angel Food Cake Day

2004 (6 years ago) – Christopher Reeve, my generation’s “Superman” died of heart failure at the age of 52, 9 years after falling from a horse and becoming paralyzed.

1991 (19 years ago) – Joseph Harris went postal, when going postal was a literal event. He killed former postal workers at the post office. The night before, he had gone to his supervisors home and killed her along with her husband.

1985 (25 years ago) – Three days after terrorists hijack the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, US Navy fighters force down the getaway plane. The terrorists were arrested by Italian police.

1973 (37 yeasrs ago) – Spiro Agnew resigned his position as Vice President of the United States, the first to do so.

1935 (75 years ago) – Porgy and Bess premiered on Broadway. It was written by George Gershwin and is considered to be the first great American Opera.

1877 (133 years ago) – General George Armstrong Custer was laid to rest at the US Military Academy in West Point, NY.

1845 (165 years ago) – The Naval School (US Naval Academy) opened in Annapolis, MD. Its first class included 50 students being taught by 7 professors.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATORS:

Dale Earnhardt, Jr-NASCAR driver; Brett Favre-NFL Quarterback; Tanya Tucker-Singer; Ben Vereen-Actor/Singer/Dancer; Dorothy Lamour-Actress; Helen Hayes-Actress.

Meteor or Meteorite?

Curious Events Day             Fire Prevention Day

Leif Erikson Day               Moldy Cheese Day

In…

1992, a 28 pound meteorite struck an orange 1980 Chevrolet Malibu. Let me rephrase, it bore a hole in the car and the driveway beneath. Meteorite/car collisions has only happened (that we know of) twice before.

…1974, Oskar Schindler, German businessman who is generally known for saving the lives of 1,200 Jewish.

…1967, Che Guevara, socialist revolutionary, was executed by the army of Bolivia after having been captured the day before.

…1936, the Hoover Dam began transmitting electricity to LA.

…1888, Washington Monument was officially opened to the general public.

…1635, Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. With help from the local Indians, he founded Providence, Rhode Island promising no punishment for religious dissension and no Indian land confiscation.

…1547, author, Miguel de Cervantes was baptized.

Happy Birthday: Zachary Ty Bryan, Scott Bakula, Sharon Osbourne, Jackson Browne, John Lennon and Russell Myers. I think y’all know everyone on the list except maybe Russell Myers who created the cartoon Broom Hilda, I remember her, she was funny.

Fires, Fired, Planes, Prizes and a Wedding

American Touch Tag Day (you’re IT) and World Egg Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

Matt Damon, Sigorney Weaver, RL Stine, Chevy Chase, Jesse Jackson, Paul Hogan, David Carradine and Eddie Rickenbacker.

On This Day In…

…1998, the US House of Representatives voted to proceed toward impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

…1970, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize in Literature. His early works included One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Cancer Ward and The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956.

…1957, (coincidentally?) Great Balls of Fire was recorded in Memphis, TN by Jerry Lee Lewis even though he felt that the song was too sinful for him to record. If it hadn’t been for Sam Phillips and a stubborn streak, this signature song for Lewis may not have been.

…1937, Dorothy Sayers’ fictional detective, Lord Peter Wimsey married Harriet Vane in Busman’s Honeymoon.

…1919, 15 airplanes left San Francisco, CA and 48 airplanes left NYC in the first US transcontinental air race. This round trip race was won by Lt. Belvin Maynard in less than 10 days or 24hrs, 59min 49 secs flying time.

…1871, the great Chicago fire began. Damages: 200-300 people killed, 17,450 building destroyed, 100,000 homeless, $200 million in damages (2007$=$3 billion). Was it a the O’Leary’s prized cow, someone who had it out for the O’Leary’s OR a comet??

Plug It In

Come and Take It Day and Mad Hatter Day and Physician Assistant Day.

1991 – Elizabeth Tayor walks down the aisle for the seventh time. No, she isn’t married to construction worker Larry Fortneski anymore, and she is still single after 14 years)

1981 – Anwar Sadat, the President of Egypt, was assassinated.

1967 – The first Physician’s Assistants graduated from Duke University today. The program was created by Dr. Eugene Stead.

1866 – The Reno Gang successfully robbed a moving train, the first. They got away with over $10,000.

1847 – Jane Eyre (a book I am not sure I actually read all the way through) by Currer Bell (aka Charlotte Bronte) was published.

1683 – The first Mennonited arrived from Germany thanks to the open arms of William Penn and freedom of religion in Pennsylvania.

BIRTHDAYS:

Actress, Elizabeth Shue, 1963. You probably remember her in The Karate Kid (the one with Ralph Macchio), Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future II &III, Heart and Souls, Leaving Las Vegas or, maybe, The Saint with Val Kilmer.

Actress, Stephanie Zimbalist, 1956. I liked her in Remington Steele but she was also in Centennial, The Babysitter and The Man in the Brown Suit.

Explorer and anthropologist, Thor Heyerdahl, 1914. I love this story, Mr. H wanted to prove that there could be a connection between the South Americans and Polynesia so in 1947, he and a band (of merry men?) went to Peru, built a raft out of balsa wood and other native materials and set sail. Kon Tiki and the crew made it to Tuamotu Islands in 101 days.

Actress, Janet Gaynor, 1906. She was the first actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress (Seventh Heaven, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Street Angel). She also appeared in the original A Star is Born.

Engineer and inventor, George Westinghouse (1846). He invented the railway air brake and was instrumental in the development of AC (alternating current)...Plug it in, plug it in!

Firsts in TV and Radio

Do Something Nice Day and World Teacher’s Day

1990 – The first NC-17 film was released, Henry and June, starring Fred Ward and Uma Thurman.

1986 – The scandal known as Iran-Contra was revealed.

1974 – Minnesotan, David Kunst, completed the first round-the-world journey ON FOOT. It took 4 years and 21 pair of shoes.

1947 – The first televised presidential address from the White House was given by President Harry Truman.

1930 – Great Britain’s R-101, their largest dirigible, crashed in France killing 49.

1921 – The first radio broadcast of The World Series. Game featured NY Giants and NY Yankees.

1919 – Enzo Ferrari drove in his first car race.

1892 – Coffeyville, KS fought back against The Dalton Gang during a double bank robbery attempt. Only one gang member survived.

Birthday Celebrants:

Kate Winslet (1975) “Rose” in the most recent telling of the Titanic.

Mario Lemieux (1965) NHL hockey player.

Laura Davies (1963) LPGA golfer.

Glynis Johns (1923) “Mother” in the classic Mary Poppins.

Ray Kroc (1902) the founder of McDonalds.

Robert Hutchings Goddard (1882) The man known as the father of the Space Age was born.

Chester A. Arthur (1829) the 21^st US President.  He was featured in the Bruce Wills movie Die Hard with a Vengence.

Only 53 Days To Go

Virus Appreciation Day and Techies Day

Get Organized Week and Customer Service Week

1990 – 45 years after parting ways, East and West Germany reunite.

1995 – In the longest trial in California history, OJ Simpson is acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and a friend. (it feels longer ago than 15 years)

1967 – At the age of 55, Woody Guthrie died at Creedmore Psyuchiatric Center (probably) from complications of Huntington’s Chorea.

1951 – Bottom of the 9^th in the final game of the National League Pennant race. In what is called “the shot heard round the world” Bobby Thomson hit a 3 run homer to have radio announce Russ Hodges to become a broken record repeating “The Giants win the pennant” until he lost his voice!

1895 – Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage was published in book form (originally serialized in a newspaper).

1863 – Abraham Lincoln declared November 26, 1863 a day of thanks (in honor of victory at Gettysburg.

Today Jack Wagner (1959), actor who appeared on General Hospital as Frisco Jones he also is known for singing, not much I only recognized All I Need; Chubby Checker (1941) singer and fad creator of The Twist; Harvey Kurtzman (1902), created Mad Magazine.

Darwin and Schultz, McLean and Sumner and a Rock

International Frugal Fun Day

National Custodial Worker Day

Name Your Car Day

After a short two months after publicly announcing that he had the ‘newly discovered’ virus, AIDS, Rock Hudson became the first major celebrity to die from the disease on this day in 1985.

A bunch of kids showed up in homes today in 1950 for the first time…Charles Schultz, a cartoonist, had his strip Peanuts published in national newspapers.

President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke. Although he survived, his health suffered and a cloud remained with rumours that his wife had taken over as presidnet.

In 1836, Charles Darwin, after a 5-year ocean expedition, returned to his native England. 23 years later, his masterpiece, The Origin of the Species by Beams of Natural Selection, was published.

Only a few birthdays I want to mention today, Kelly Ripa, from Live with Regis and Kelly was born today in 1970, oh, that makes her 40! Gordon Sumner was born in 1950 be has become one of the most watched singer/songwriter/musician in the world today oh, yes, he also became Sting. American Pie singer/songwriter Don McLean was born in 1945.  In 1937, attorney Johnny Cochran, Jr was born, although he has worked for decades as a lawyer, he will probably go down in the history books as one of the lawyers for ill-fated OJ Simpson (is he still in jail?). Do you remember George McFarland (1928)? You may remember him as Spanky of the Our Gang films. Bud Abbott of the Abbott and Costello comedy team was born in 1928.  And, finally, in 1890, Marx Brothers leader, Groucho Marx. 

Eat Your Veggies

October is National Vegetarian  and Eat Country Ham Month. Which came first: Country ham or Vegetarians?   Today is World Vegetarian Day.

On October 1:

1971 – The Happiest Place on Earth, Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL, opened its gates for the very first time. Nearly six years later, I would visit the park with my Girl Scout Troop. Hi Pam, Vanessa and everyone else I can’t remember your names of right now!!!

1963 – Mark McGwire, MLB Baseball player who was also embroiled in a steroids scandal.

1962 – The Tonight Show introduced a new host Johnny Carson after its most recent host, Jack Paar, had quit on the air and returned a month later and then quit again within the month.

1950 – Randy Quaid, character actor seen in the “Vacation” series of films as well as the blockbuster hit Independence Day.

1959 – Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone premiered with an episode called “Where is Everybody?” starring Earl Holliman.

1935 – Julie Andrews, the woman everyone wanted as their nanny, governess and ‘queen mum’. Along with Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and The Princess Diaries and the “Shrek” films she has appeared in other films such as Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Victor/Victoria.

1928 – George Peppard, actor who started out in westerns and military films. His fifth movie was Breakfast at Tiffany’s. He will be best remembered as Hannibal Smith on the 80’s action series, The A-Team (now a major motion picture).

1927 – Tom Bosley, Mr. C, Happy Days; Sherrif Tupper, Murder, She Wrote; Father Dowling, Father Dowling Mysteries.

1924 – William Rehnquist, appointed to the Supreme Court by Richard Nixon in 1972 and remained on the court until 2005. He served as Chief Justice 1986-2005.

1924 – Jimmy Carter, peanut farmer and 39^th President of the United States.

1921 – James Whitmore, actor who started his career in The Undercover Man (1949). Can also be seen in Asphalt Jungle, Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma, Planet of the Apes, The Shawshank Redemption and The Majestic.

1920 – Walter Matthau, actor. Atomic Attack (1950), King Creole, The Odd Couple (1968), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Earthquake, Little Miss Marker, Grumpy Old Men, Hanging Up (2000)…and that is only a few of his films…Don’t get me started on the stage and television shows.

1908 – Ford produced the first Model T. It was so successful it was produced until 1927, What a ride!

1903 – Vladimir Horowitz, classical pianist. His first solo recital in 1920 and he worked up until his death in 1989.

1890 – Yosemite National Park was “born” thanks to congress and President Harrison.

1856 – The first segment of the novel, Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, was published in the Revue de Paris. Later, he was acquitted of obscenity charges and the book became a smash.