We remember "super glove man" Aurelio Rodríguez (1947-2000)

We remember Aurelio Rodriguez.   He was born in Mexico on this day in 1947 and died tragically in 2000.

Aurelio broke with the Angels in 1967.    He hit 19 HRS with 83 RBI in 1970.  

After that, he was better known for his incredible glove at third base.   He finally won the Gold Glove in 1976 after Brooks Robinson of the Orioles won 16 in a row.

Overall, he hit .237, 124 HR & 648 RBI in 2,017 games.   He was a great defensive third baseman and that's why he played such a long career with the Angels, Tigers & Yankees.  

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We remember Rod Sterling (1924-1975)

We remember Rod Sterling who was born in Syracuse, NY, on this day in 1924.  He died in 1975.

Most of us grew up watching "The Twilight Zone", one of my all-time favorite TV shows.

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We remember Tim Hardin (1941-80)

We remember Tim Hardin, who was born in Eugene, Oregon, on this day in 1941 and died in 1980.     His life was cut short by some personal problems, specially an addiction to heroin.

His songs include "Reason to believe", recorded by Rod Stewart and The Carpenters,  and "If I were a carpenter", a big hit for Bobby Darin and recorded by many others.

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1860-64: Christmas and President Lincoln

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed reading presidential Christmas proclamations. Some are more prominent than others.   

President Washington always stands out because he set the table for others to follow.    

Then there is President Roosevelt in 1941 after Pearl Harbor.   

President Truman in 1945 or the first peace time Christmas in a few years.   

More recently, President Bush in 1991 or President GW Bush after 9-11.

They are all significant and a reminder that Christmas is a lot more than a day off or a vacation day for federal employees. There is a religious meaning to the season no matter how much we try to replace it with secular messages. 

We think of Lincoln as the greatest president. How did Lincoln spend Christmas week as president and president-elect? Let’s remember:

“In 1860, as President-elect, Lincoln received callers such as Thurlow Weed in Springfield, Illinois, and dealt with Cabinet issues. He was especially concerned that federal forts had been taken in the South. 

On December 20 he received the stunning news that South Carolina had seceded from the Union. 

In 1861 President Lincoln was deeply involved in Civil War problems such as the Trent affair, but found time on December 22 to attend services at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.

On Christmas morning he held an important Cabinet meeting, but was able to entertain a large number of dinner guests by evening.

In 1862 President Lincoln again was absorbed with military matters and was preparing the final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.

On December 23 he wrote to Fanny McCullough, whose father had been killed in action and had been a long-time friend of his. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln visited Washington hospitals on Christmas Day.

In 1863 President Lincoln reassured the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society he had no intention of retracting the Emancipation Proclamation.

On Christmas Day he discussed the constitutionality of the draft with John Hay, one of his private secretaries.

In 1864 President Lincoln received the following dispatch from General Sherman, who had captured Savannah, Georgia:

“I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns & plenty of ammunition & also about 25000 bales of cotton.”

On December 26 Lincoln gave a Christmas reception at the White House.”

Christmas 1860 must have been especially troubling as the President elect could see some very hard times ahead.  

Merry Christmas or Feliz Navidad, as I grew up saying!

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We remember Robin & Maurice Gibb today

Robin and Maurice, Barry's younger twin brothers, were born on this day in 1949.  Unfortunately, Maurice died suddenly in 2003 and Robin from cancer in 2012.

I love their 3-part harmonies and songwriting skills.   

From 'New York Mining Disaster 1941" in the spring of 1967 to "This is where I came in", their last LP in 2001, the Brothers Gibb recorded and wrote some of the best songs of the last 50 years.

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1957: Elvis and the draft

(My new American Thinker post)

During the GOP debate a few days ago, some candidates avoided the draft question.  In other words, they want to send troops to the Middle East but continue to do so with a volunteer army.

For the record, my son served as a volunteer in the U.S. Army.  I am very proud of him.  Also, our volunteer army performed admirably in recent wars, from the Gulf War of 1991 to Iraq to Afghanistan.

A lot of people have forgotten that we used to have a draft, or required service in the U.S. armed forces.  The draft ended in 1973.

On this day in 1957, Elvis Presley got his draft notice:

After six months of basic training–including an emergency leave to see his beloved mother, Gladys, before she died in August 1958–Presley sailed to Europe on the USS General Randall. For the next 18 months, he served in Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armor Corps in Friedberg, Germany, where he attained the rank of sergeant. 

For the rest of his service, he shared an off-base residence with his father, grandmother and some Memphis friends. After working during the day, Presley returned home at night to host frequent parties and impromptu jam sessions. At one of these, an army buddy of Presley’s introduced him to 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, whom Elvis would marry some years later. 

Meanwhile, Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, continued to release singles recorded before his departure, keeping the money rolling in and his most famous client fresh in the public’s mind. Widely praised for not seeking to avoid the draft or serve domestically, Presley was seen as a model for all young Americans. 

After he got his polio shot from an army doctor on national TV, vaccine rates among the American population shot from 2 percent to 85 percent by the time of his discharge on March 2, 1960.

I remember telling my sons a few years ago about Elvis getting drafted.  They said, What?

The draft should be brought back.  It makes your armed forces more representative of the population.  It will also force some young people to understand that there are unique responsibilities to being a superpower, such as defending our way of life.

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2013 show: Cuban food for the holidays with Marta Darby & Sonia Martinez

Guests:  

Marta Verdes Darby, (My big fat Cuban family)

and Sonia Martinez, author of "Tropical taste".

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We remember Walt "No neck" Williams (1943-2016)

We remember Walt Williams who was born on this day in 1943.  He died in 2016.

In the early 1970s, it was a treat to watch the Chicago White Sox play the Milwaukee Brewers at the old County Stadium.

During that time, the White Sox had a stocky outfielder (5'6" & 165 lbs) with one of the greatest nicknames in baseball, or "No neck" Williams.   His wife said that he got the nickname in his first year of baseball.   

"No neck" played for several years with Chicago, Cleveland and New York Yankees.   His best season was 1969 when he hit .304 with 133 hits.    Overall, he retired with a very respectable .270 career batting average.

Walt "No neck" Williams.    I loved the nickname and very aggressive style on the field.

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We remember Tony Taylor (1935-2020)

We remember Tony Taylor, who was born in Central Alava, Matanzas, Cuba.   He was born in 1935 and died today in 2020.

Tony broke with the Cubs in 1958 hitting .235 in 140 games.  

He was traded to the Phillies and enjoyed a very good career:   2.007 hits, a .261 average, 234 stolen bases and 1,005 runs scored.    Tony had a couple of seasons with 700-plus plate appearances, a test to his durability. 

Taylor retired in 1976.   Tony is one of a handful of major leaguers who played in the pre-Castro winter league and the majors. 

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

We remember Al Kaline (1934-2020)

We remember Al Kaline who was born in Baltimore in 1934 and died in 2020.    

Kaline broke with the Detroit Tigers in 1953.

In 1955, he won the AL batting title, the youngest champion ever at age 20.  

Kaline played right field for the next two decades and finished in the top 3 of AL batting leaders five more times.  He also hit 399 HR and won 10 Gold Gloves.

In 1974, he retired with 3,008 hits and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1980.

One of my all time favorites.   I saw him play several times.

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We remember William Safire (1929-2009)

We remember William Safire, who was born in New York City on this day in 1929 and died in 2009.

Safire was associated with President Nixon, including the famous "Kitchen debate" from 1959.  Later, he wrote several books and a column.  

His books were great.

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1773: A little Tea Party history

Once upon a time, colonists threw tea into the water of Boston harbor.     

Our own "tea party" these days is also based on taxation and the sense that the government is out of touch with the governed.

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We remember Patty Duke (1946-2016)

We remember that Patty Duke was born in Queens, New York, on this day in 1946.  She died in 2016.

Patty had a very popular TV star in the 1960's, or the kind of program that millions of girls would watch every week to catch up with her antics.   

She was very talented and worked on many other movies as well.

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.

 

We remember Bill Buckner (1949-2019)

Bill Buckner was born in Vallejo, CA on this day in 1949 and died after a battle with cancer in 2019.  

He hit .289 with 2,715 hits and a .408 on-base average.    Buckner was a tough out, a great competitor and the kind of guy that you wanted on your team.   Indeed, a great major league hitter.

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1951: Joe DiMaggio retired from baseball

The great Joe DiMaggio officially ended his baseball career on this day in 1951.   

He began with the Yankees in 1936 when he was 21.   We remember him for the 56-game hitting streak and a .325 career batting average.  

He also played in 10 World Series, including 4 in a row (1936-39) and won the MVP 3 times. (1939, 1941 & 1947).

Was he the best?   Let's say that he was one of the best!    

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We remember John Lennon (1940-80)

It's hard to believe but John Lennon was killed on this day in 1980.   Where did the time go?  

Yes, it was a shocking act, as Howard Cosell said on TV, when he broke the story during the football game.

Most of the country heard the story during the aforementioned game.  I fell asleep during the game and heard the news the morning after.

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World War II right after the attack on Pearl Harbor with Barry Jacobsen

Guest:  Barry Jacobsen, blogger and military historian........

.we will look at World War II right after the attack on Pearl Harbor.........the US declared war and now must organize a military response...........and other stories.......

Click to listen:

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1961: The day that Fidel Castro said: “Yo soy un Marxista Leninista”!

 

For much of the first two years of the so called “revolution,” Fidel Castro denied that he was a communist.  In fact, he did it on “Meet the Press” when he visited the U.S. in 1959.     Nevertheless, there were many people who had serious doubts, from Vice President Richard Nixon to many Cubans in the island.

On this day in 1961 Fidel Castro made it official:    

“”I am a Marxist-Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life.”He went on to state that, “Marxism or scientific socialism has become the revolutionary movement of the working class.”He also noted that communism would be the dominant force in Cuban politics:“There cannot be three or four movements.””   

And that was it!   It happened about seven months after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and ended any hopes of a multiparty election or restoration of the freedoms that the regime had eliminated by executive decree.  

Last, but not least,  Cubans were thrown in jail or executed in 1959-61 for calling Castro un “comunista.”   None of those people were ever released after Castro confirmed that he was “un communista.”  They stayed in prison, along with thousands of others.  

As my late father used to say, communists lie and then lie so more!  

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1823: The Monroe Doctrine

 

It all started as a message to Congress and became one of the most important foreign policy doctrines in US history.   We know it as The Monroe Doctrine.   

The declaration, drafted by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams intended to keep European powers from colonizing territory in Central and South America.   The US was also looking westward and did not want to compete with Europeans in North America.

"America for Americans" was the message.    Naturally, it had its critics and supporters over the years.   On balance, it worked well and kept European powers out of America, from North to South.

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

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