The first "Indy 500" was held in 1911

The Indianapolis 500 is always a real treat.    It's like the Super Bowl in the sense that people get together and watch the race over food and drinks.   It is the only race that I try to catch.

It all got started in 1911 when Ray Harround came in first.   Good luck to the drivers and their teams.

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Happy Memorial Day

We salute, and remember, today all of the men and women who died serving their country.

Let me say a word about Nathan Aguirre, a young man from our church who was killed in Iraq in 2006.  I know his parents and send a warm greeting to both of them.

We remember reading the story of Katherine Cathey and her husband killed in action.

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A WORD ABOUT MEMORIAL DAY

Memorial Day is a special American holiday.  My guess is that all countries have one day to remember those who have paid the ultimate price, as President Lincoln said.  In the US, we call it Memorial Day and it has a long history. 

Let’s start with the war between the states or The Civil War (1861-65) and “Decoration Day“:    

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.

The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

Later, it became Memorial Day after World War I and World War II:    

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

Looking back today and reading about Decoration Day, I am amazed how our ancestors were willing to decorate the graves of northern and southern soldiers.  It’s a good lesson for those who want to remove statues.  Sometimes the best way to heal is to honor the dead rather than selectively remove them from history.

Remember their sacrifice on Memorial Day.

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Summer reading: The great Bart Starr

Once upon a time, the NFL was more about rushing than passing.   In other words, those QB's from that era did not attempt 45 or 50 passes in a game.   Nevertheless, they were still the big heroes on the field.

My first football hero was Bart Starr.   I fell in love with # 15 because of Starr.   I used to move and throw the football like he did.    He was my complete idol.

Starr won two Super Bowl MVP's leading the Packers and establishing himself as one of the greatest QB's ever.    In this book, we see how much Bart Starr was in the middle of the development of the NFL into the game that we know today.

Great QB, maybe the best ever!   He died on this day in 2019.

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A word about Hal David's death, great songwriter

Hal David died in 2012. He was born on this day in 1921.   

David, along with Burt Bachrach, wrote some of the most popular songs of the last 60 years:

"Bacharach and David wrote many top 40 hits including "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head," "Close to You" and "That's What Friends Are For."
"As a lyric writer, Hal was simple, concise and poetic -- conveying volumes of meaning in fewest possible words and always in service to the music," 
ASCAP's current president, the songwriter Paul Williams, said in a statement. "It is no wonder that so many of his lyrics have become part of our everyday vocabulary and his songs... the backdrop of our lives."
Many lyrics and tunes from Bacharach and David continue to resonate in pop culture, including "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and "I Say A Little Prayer" to "What The World Needs Now Is Love." 
Their music was recorded by legendary singers including The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond and their longtime partner Dionne Warwick."

It's hard to pick a song.....let me pick "Close to you" by The Carpenters.

The first Atlantic crossing by plane: Still amazing to think about

(My new American Thinker post)

Jimmy Stewart's The Spirit of St. Louis is a great movie, especially thanks to the scenes of Charles Lindbergh trying to stay awake over the Atlantic Ocean.

On May 21 in 1927, Charles Lindbergh did something that had never been done before:

At 7:52 a.m. EST on May 20, The Spirit of St. Louis lifted off from Roosevelt Field, so loaded with fuel that it barely cleared the telephone wires at the end of the runway. Lindbergh traveled northeast up the coast. After only four hours, he felt tired and flew within 10 feet of the water to keep his mind clear. As night fell, the aircraft left the coast of Newfoundland and set off across the Atlantic.
At about 2 a.m. on May 21, Lindbergh passed the halfway mark, and an hour later dawn came. Soon after, The Spirit of St. Louis entered a fog, and Lindbergh struggled to stay awake, holding his eyelids open with his fingers and hallucinating that ghosts were passing through the cockpit.
After 24 hours in the air, he felt a little more awake and spotted fishing boats in the water. 
At about 11 a.m. (3 p.m. local time), he saw the coast of Ireland. Despite using only rudimentary navigation, he was two hours ahead of schedule and only three miles off course. He flew past England and by 3 p.m. EST was flying over France. It was 8 p.m. in France, and night was falling.
At the Le Bourget Aerodrome in Paris, tens of thousands of Saturday night revelers had gathered to await Lindbergh’s arrival.
At 10:24 a.m. local time, his gray and white monoplane slipped out of the darkness and made a perfect landing in the air field. The crowd surged on 
The Spirit of St. Louis, and Lindbergh, weary from his 33 1/2-hour, 3,600-mile journey, was cheered and lifted above their heads. He hadn’t slept for 55 hours. Two French aviators saved Lindbergh from the boisterous crowd, whisking him away in an automobile. He was an immediate international celebrity.

The best part of Lindbergh's odyssey is how incredible it was.  It was a test not just of a machine, but of the human body and mind.  In other words, the flight could have ended if Lindbergh had not stayed awake.  He could have crashed and drowned from the lack of sleep.   

Lindbergh said this about sitting in that small cabin with nothing but his eyes and good instincts to get him to his destination:

While my hand is on the stick, my feet on the rudder, and my eyes on the compass, this consciousness, like a winged messenger, goes out to visit the waves below, testing the warmth of water, the speed of wind, the thickness of intervening clouds. It goes north to the glacial coasts of Greenland, over the horizon to the edge of dawn, ahead to Ireland, England, and the continent of Europe, away through space to the moon and stars, always returning, unwillingly, to the mortal duty of seeing that the limbs and muscles have attended their routine while it was gone.

Lindbergh died in 1974.  Wonder what he thought when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon five years before!

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We remember Robin Gibb (1949-2012)

Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees died on this day in 2012.    (Robin and twin brother Maurice were born in 1949.    Maurice died in 2003)

Along with Barry and the aforementioned Maurice, the three brothers formed The Bee Gees. They wrote and recorded some of the greatest songs of the pop era.

The Gibbs were born in England but grew up in Australia. By 1967, when Barry was 21 and the twins were only 18, The Bee Gees hit the US charts with "New York Mining Disaster". As they say, the brothers had a lot of international hits after that!

Robin's voice gave The Bee Gees a very special sound. He sang the lead vocals in several of The Bee Gees' big hits, such as "I started a joke".

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1943: We remember the crew of "The Memphis Belle"!

We remember today one of the legendary flight crews of World War II, or men of The Memphis Belle.

Back in 1943, the aircraft flew its 25th mission over Europe.    It became the first B-17 to complete 25 missions.

A few years ago, a movie was made about this crew:

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Mother's Day 1967: Mantle # 500

On Mother's Day 1967, Mickey Mantle hit # 500 at Yankee Stadium.   

Mantle retired the following season with 536 HR.   Back then, that was third behind Ruth and Mays.   He is 18th on the all-time HR list today.

What if Mantle had been able to play as a DH?     He retired 3 seasons before the AL adopted the rule.     My guess is that he would hit 600 HR with all of those extra at bats.

Mantle played in 12 World Series and hit 18 HR.

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May 10, 1940: Prime Minister Winston Churchill

We remember that Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the UK on this day in 1940.   PM Churchill was one of the great men of the 20th century.    His books about World War II are a must read for anyone learning the history of the war.

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We remember Don Rickles (1926-2017)

We remember Don Rickles who was born in New York City on this day in 1926.    He died in 2017.

Like many of you, I got to know Don Rickles on "The tonight show" or those famous celebrity roasts.   He was hilarious and the master of insult.

He leaves behind a huge legacy of comedy.   He will make us laugh forever.

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1915: A German torpedo sank The Lusitania

It was a turning point in World War I and the US.

On this day in 1915, the Lusitania was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine.   

A couple of years later, the US Congress voted to declare war on Germany and the war was truly global.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).

"Ship of Fools" a movie from 1965

A couple of years ago, the retro channel featured "Ships of fools", a very intense movie from 1965.   It was based on a novel by the same name.   

The story is very complicated about a collection of characters traveling in a German ship from Veracruz, Mexico, to Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1933. 

Let me share a couple of observations.   

First, it is a very long movie, i.e. 149 minutes!    Get ready for a long movie.  This is not your typical 90-100 minute movie.   

Second, you need to be familiar with what happening in Europe or the world in 1933.   Otherwise, you may miss some of the political comments or not appreciate the context of the story.

Overall, a very good movie but I did not read the book.  My experience is that often the book is better.

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1952: "Decision before dawn", a different World War II movie

"Decision before dawn" is a very different World War II movie.    

It's not "The longest day" or "Saving Private Ryan", a couple of wonderful movies about D-Day 1944.    It's not "Casablanca" or a love story either.    

The film is about Germans helping the allies march through Germany with Richard Basehart as the US soldier who recruited Germans.  

The story is intense.   We've grown so accustomed to Germans as the bad guys that we forget many were opposed to Hitler and what he was doing.

It is a good movie.    However, be patient with the story because it takes time to develop.  

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"Nightmare Alley", a movie from 1947

A few weeks, the retro channel featured "Nightmare Alley", a movie from 1947.  

Tyrone Power plays Stanton Carlisle, "....a mentalist whose lies and deceit prove to be his downfall."

The movie is intense.  I will have to watch this movie again to get a better sense of the plot and the characters.  

Nevertheless, I liked it.   Frankly, I love these black and white movies.

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1946: "The Razor's edge", a very intense movie

Before I start, let me tell you that "The Razor's edge" from 1946 runs about 145 minutes, or a very long time.    Nevertheless, the plot is very different and will keep you tuned in.

It is the story of Larry Darrell, played by Tyrone Power, a young man who just returned from World War I.    He was deeply affected by the war and needs a little to find the important things of life.

His girl is Isabel Bradley, played by Gene Tirney, a beautiful young woman who has marriage and commitment in mind.

There are other great performances in the movie, such as Clifton Webb and Anne Baxter.   Cecil Humphreys as "The Holy Man" is great.

Larry and Isabel do not get married.   They pursue different paths but circumstances bring them back together much later.

And the rest is up to you to watch.    I think that you will enjoy it.    It is based on a popular book by W. Somerset Maugham.    

The Razor's Edge.......1946 movie.... https://t.co/nT5KJCEwdb via @amazon

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) February 22, 2017

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  

October 1992: "A River runs through it" is a great film

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How many times have I seen "A river runs through it" since it was released in 1992?

I don't know for sure.  Sometimes I catch just a few scenes.     Once or twice a year, I watch all of it.

And I've got the VHS or DVD somewhere in my small movie collection.

Recently, I read a NY Times review and it spoke for me:

"By the time the film arrives at its lyrical, elegiac end, it has earned all the feeling that comes pouring out. Mr. Redford's narration is straight forward and calm, allowing the poetry of Norman Maclean's written words to carry the emotion: "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it." 

Yes, there is something very touching about a movie around fly fishing.   I love this movie! 

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Growing up with CCR on the radio!

Back in March 1969, The Beatles were still enjoying the success of the "White Album".

The Rolling Stones had released "Beggar's Banquet", one of their best LPs.   

Later in the summer of 1969, they'd release "Honky Tonk Women", one of their best songs ever.

The Bee Gees were about to release "Odessa", a great album that included "First of May" and the lovely title song.

Add Creedence Clearwater Revival to the radio playlist. Everybody called them CCR because their name was too long!

CCR was "John Fogerty--lead guitar and vocals
(brother) Tom Fogerty--guitar
Stu Cook--bass, and
Doug Clifford--drums".

The band's songs were written by band leader John Fogerty.

Their sound was their sound. You could always tell that it was John Fogerty's vocals and CCR's sound.

In the spring and early summer of 1969, CCR started a long streak of hit songs.    It culminated with "Cosmo's Factory", one of my favorite rock LP's.

"Proud Mary" was a song about going up and down on The Mississippi River. I always think of this song when I cross the river.

It was also the song that put CCR on the top of the charts. It was a very long "stay" because CCR became a very popular band.

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