1878: Pro baseball started in Cuba

On this day in 1878,  professional baseball started in Cuba.    

The first game was between Habana and Almendares, the two teams that would be great rivals until Castro dissolved the league after the 1960-61 season.    

The league had four teams in the 1950s:   Habana, Almendares, Marianao, and Cienfuegos.   

It was great and very passionate baseball.

Along the way, many major leaguers played winter ball in Cuba, from Willie Mays to Brooks Robinson.   

During the summer, Havana was also a AAA franchise, the Havana Sugar Kings in the Cincinnati organization.    Havana played in The International League with other teams in Montreal and Toronto.

For more on Cuban baseball history, check out "The pride of Havana".

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

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We remember Scotty Moore (1931-2009)

In 1954, fate put Elvis and Scotty Moore in the same studio.    And the rest is musical history and some of rock's most famous recordings.   

He was born Winfield Scott Moore III on this day in 1931 in Tennessee.    

He is # 29 in Rolling Stone's Top 100 guitarists.  You can hear him in those great Elvis' songs.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

 

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1975: Top 10 WABC radio New York this week

  1. That's the Way (I Like It) -                                 
                    KC & the Sunshine Band (T.K.)  
  2. I Love Music, Part 1 - The O'Jays (Philadelphia Int'l)      
  3. Saturday Night - The Bay City Rollers (Arista)              
  4. Feelings - Morris Albert (RCA)                              
  5. Sky High - Jigsaw (Chelsea)                                 
  6. Let's Do It Again - The Staple Singers (Curtom)             
  7. Love Rollercoaster - The Ohio Players (Mercury)             
  8. Fly Robin Fly - Silver Convention (Midland International)   
  9. Nights on Broadway - The Bee Gees (RSO)                     
 10. Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) -  Diana Ross (Motown) 

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

 

1941: PM Churchill addressed Congress

UK Prime Minster Winston Churchill addressed the US Congress on this day in 1941.   It was 3 weeks after Pearl Harbor.  

PM Churchill spoke in support of President Roosevelt’s proposal that America become the “great arsenal of democracy”.  

In a few months, US troops headed to Europe and the Pacific.   They would fight a terrible war for the next 4 years.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

We remember Fred Foy (1921-2010) the man who used to say "a fiery horse with the speed of light"...

Back in 2010, our friend Bill Katz, of Urgent Agenda, wrote a wonderful post about the passing of a radio legend:

"Fred Foy announced "The Lone Ranger," one of the greatest, and longest-running, radio adventure shows ever. My, how we would sit at those old Emerson and Philco radios and wait for Fred to tell us that the Ranger, and his trusty native-American sidekick, Tonto, were galloping our way.
These days, the show would be considered politically incorrect. But to us, the Lone Ranger and Tonto were heroes, moral and otherwise."

I grew up watching The Lone Ranger.  Didn't everybody love Silver, the beautiful white horse?

More recently, my sons became real fans too! 

RIP Mr Foy!  Thanks for:

""A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Yo, Silver! ...""

Great show.....great voice!

 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.

Happy # 71 to AG Jeff Sessions

We say happy birthday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions who was born on this in Selma, Alabama.    

No ‘Feliz Navidad’ for Jorge Ramos, or so we hear

Our friend Jorge Ramos just made an incredible statement, as I saw in this report:  

Nearly a year into the Trump presidency, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos says he’s experiencing “the worst moment I’ve had in the 34 years I’ve been living in the United States.”

“With Donald Trump there, I have never been treated so badly. I have never been insulted so much. We’ve never been attacked so much. They have never tried to run us out as much as now,” Ramos vented in an interview with the Spanish radio network Cadena SER.

Ramos, who proclaimed himself “if not an enemy, an opponent” of Trump in the interview, complained about the massive blowback he has received since deciding to use his media platforms to openly oppose the choice of over 62 million American voters in last year’s U.S. presidential election.  

It’s a free country and Jorge Ramos can choose to spend his “Navidad” any way he wants. However, Jorge should consider a couple of things:

First, if the Democrats had won, then he’d be angry writing articles about Democrats never keeping their promises. Let’s remember this one from a previous “Obama Navidad”:    

“When he had a hold on Congress, when he had 60 votes in the Senate, he could have done it,” Ramos says. “And he didn’t. He chose other issues. And that’s why Latinos are so frustrated.”

“Muy correcto Jorge.” The Democrats didn’t because they know that you, and most of your colleagues, will support the Democrats no matter how many promises they make and break. As I have said on Univision & Telemundo, Hispanics will never be powerful until they hold parties accountable for promises.

Second, you could be back in Mexico calling Trump names but earning “pesos.” That would be  really misery!

Cheer up. Trump’s presidency will mean more book sales, more appearances on “Hannity” and living the good life in the U.S.  Plus, Univision will pay lower taxes next year!

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

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1975: A big Christmas for major league baseball players

It was Christmas 1975, and Santa Claus dressed up as Peter Seitz, an arbitrator called into action to settle an argument between the players and the owners. Seitz came down the chimney and left baseball a decision that would change the game forever.

The decision involved a couple of veterans fighting to survive in the majors: Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith. McNally was one of the game’s premiere pitchers with the Orioles but was traded after the 1974 season. He retired after the decision. Messersmith had pitched for the Braves and felt underpaid, and he was probably right.   

Neither man benefited much from free agency, but they did challenge the rule and won in the courts.   

For almost a hundred years, baseball had operated under what they called “the reserve clause:”    

Until Peter Seitz came along, Major League Baseball interpreted the reserve clause to renew itself “for the period of one year” indefinitely, since even the renewed contract contained the clause.  

This effectively bound a player to a team until the front office decided otherwise. Once a player signed his first professional contract, he could not negotiate with another team until his original team let him go. This system gave teams little incentive to pay competitive wages, and so they didn’t. 

In 1930, Babe Ruth signed a two-year contract with the New York Yankees for $80,000 per season (adjusted for inflation, the contract would be worth $1.1 million today). 

Ruth’s salary was a record at the time and, in today’s dollars, would remain so for more than forty years. 

Yes, in today’s dollars, players like Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays were all paid less than Ruth in 1930.

The owners said that the “clause” provided payroll stability. The players said that it limited their ability to earn money and look out for their interests. 

Both sides were right. However, there is no question that major leaguers had zero negotiating options, other than sit out spring training like Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax used to do.   

The rules were so arbitrary. Tony Oliva had to win three batting titles to earn $100,000, what they used to call “superstar status.” Three batting titles to earn superstar money?

The real free agent class came after the 1976 season, when Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Don Baylor and others negotiated their own contracts. Over time, Nolan Ryan became the first $1 million player, Rickey Henderson the first $3 million, Albert Belle the first $10 million and so on.

Where are we now on the another anniversary of that fateful decision? The game is doing well and the players can’t complain. At the same time, big payrolls have not necessarily bought pennants, as the Astros proved in 2017 and the Cubs and Indians showed with player development in 2016.

On the other hand, big payrolls have made the game too dependent on TV revenues. Baseball is not a good TV game and there is too much time between pitches, dragging out games over three hours!

Merry Christmas, baseball. I hope that every player remembers Curt Flood (the man who sat out a season to protest free agency) and the veterans like McNally and Messersmith who fought for what they enjoy now.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

Remembering Maurice Gibb (1949-2003)

Maurice Gibb was born on this day in 1949.   His sudden death in 2003 was quite a shock, as we read in news reports:

"The 53-year old Gibb was rushed to Mount Sinai Medical Center on Wednesday after experiencing intense abdominal pain. Doctors discovered the pain was due to a twisted section in his small intestine. Before the operation Gibb reportedly went into cardiac arrest, which weakened his condition. After surgery to remove the damaged section of intestine, Gibb was listed in critical but stable condition. He passed away at 1AM Sunday morning."

His twin brother Robin died in 2012 but he battled cancer for over a year.  Robin's death was anticipated.  Maurice was sudden.

Maurice was the 3rd voice in all of the group's great harmonies. He also co-wrote most of the group's big hits, along with Barry & Robin.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

We remember Ellie Hendricks (1940-2005)

The wonderful Elrod Hendricks did not put up big numbers but was the kind of player that everyone wanted on his team.   

We remember that Hendricks was born in the US Virgin Islands on this day in 1940.  He died in 2005.

Hendricks joined the Orioles in the late 1960's and shared catching duties with Andy Etchebarren. 

Over time, Ellie enjoyed a long major league career because he was a first class professional with a very positive attitude.

On the field, he was remembered as Mike Cuellar's catcher. Off the field, he was one of the most popular players in Oriole history. Everybody loved Ellie Hendricks!

Between 1968-76, Hendricks caught 20-game winners Cuellar, McNally and Palmer.   He hit .273 in 9 post season series.   

In 1977, Ellie became a player/coach and a valuable piece in the development of young arms like Dennis Martinez, Scott McGregor and Mike Flannagan.   Later, he was the wise veteran in a clubhouse that included youngsters like Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken.

Ellie was a great PR ambassador for the team and active in various community organizations.    Super guy!

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

A word about the death of Vaclav Havel

We learned in 2011 that Vaclav Havel died in the Czech Republic.  He was one of my Eastern European heroes because he stood up to communism:

"Born in 1936, the son of a rich building contractor, Havel was denied a good education after the communists seized power in 1948 and stripped the family of its wealth.
Despite having no higher degree, he began writing literary criticism in 1955. The first of his absurdist plays, whose characters often struggled to communicate in the empty language of communist-era rhetoric, debuted in 1963 in a more liberal era that was crushed by tanks in the 1968 Soviet-led invasion.
Havel's plays then disappeared in censors' vaults, and the author was forced into menial jobs such as rolling beer barrels."

It takes a lot of courage to stand up to a repressive communist state.  Yet, he did it and we appreciate that.  He was also one of the few Europeans who criticized Castro.  He was a true friend of anti-Castro Cubans, as Jorge Ponce wrote today.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

 

A little early stuff from The Brothers Gibb

The Bee Gees celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2010.

Back in 1960, Barry (14) and his brothers (11 yr old twins) started singing around clubs in Australia. They eventually found their way to radio, TV and a recording studio.

Today, we recall some of those tunes.

Some of these songs were written and recorded when the brothers were teenagers.

These songs were early signs of big things to come.....specially the songwriting and tight harmonies.

Success came in the spring of '67.....they exploded with "New York Mining Disaster", their first international hit! It was followed by "To love somebody", "Holiday" and a Top 10 LP.

Today, we remember some of that early repertoire available in a couple of CD's released as LP's in 1968 and 1969.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

Bee Gees: Rare Precious & Beautiful Bee Gees/Reprise https://t.co/8gQe9rToyv via @amazon

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) October 20, 2016

Bee Gees: Rare Precious & Beautiful Volume 2..... https://t.co/9R4l9mzk7G via @amazon

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) October 20, 2016

Music from the very young Gibb brothers!

In early 1967, Barry (20 years old), Maurice and Robin (17 year old twins) walked around London looking for a recording contract.

They brought with them a collection of songs recorded in Australia.

The Gibb brothers finally aligned with Robert Stigwood.

By the end of 1967, The Bee Gees had 3 big international hits ("NY Mining Disaster", "To love somebody" and "Holiday") and a best selling album.

What caught Robert Stigwood's fancy about the singing brothers?

It had to be those songs that the guys recorded in Australia.

A few years ago, a CD of early Bee Gees' tunes was released. It was the CD version of a couple of LPs released years before.

What's significant about these tunes? The answer is that you can hear the wonderful Gibb harmonies and songwriting skills.

"Spicks And Specks"...Bee Gees.... https://t.co/rhSErgtaWD via @amazon

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 20, 2017

Did you know that the Brothers Gibb wrote these tunes?

Over the years, we've followed the amazing career of The Bee Gees. 

The brothers started performing at a very young age and eventually became international superstars in the late 1960's.

Today, we recall some of their songs recorded by other artists.   It's a long list and this is just a sample:

1)  "Sweetheart" by Engelbert Humperdinck, one of the big male vocalists of our generation.

2)  "Come on over" by Olivia Newton-John.

3)  "Islands in the stream", a huge hit for Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton.

4)  "Heartbreaker" by Dionne Warwick. 

The great Brothers Gibb and their songs.    You can hear a medley of some of these songs on the "One night only" concert CD.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

December 2010: What will we talk about in 2011?

A post from December 2010:

It's always tough to predict in politics.  Nevertheless, I think that 2011 will be a very dangerous year here and abroad.

Bottom line:  It won't be a very easy year for Pres BO.

Let's look at some potential challenges.

First, we face serious "state budget" problems. 

California may have to enter into some kind of bankruptcy or rearrangement of contracts with public sector unions.

California's problems are not new but the stuff will probably hit the fan in 2011.

The once great Golden State has very high sales and income taxes, lavish entitlements, bad public schools based on federal test scores, and an out of control illegal immigration problem.

It also  has over regulated private sector, a shrinking manufacturing base, and public sector unions that turn out in huge numbers to protect the Dems who feed them.

My guess is that reality will finally hit California in 2011!

Who is going to bail out California?  Nobody!

I can't wait for Gov Brown and Sen Boxer to tell the unions that the fantasy is finally over!

On the foreign policy side, I am concerned with Iran, Venezuela and Mexico.

Iran, as the Wikileaks cables, confirm has everyone in the region scared to death. 

When do you think that Iran's neighbors will call for a US "preemptive" attack without a UN resolution or their public support?

Down in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez has turned that democracy into a farce.  He is ruling now by decree and expropriating private property in an alarming fashion.

Last, but not least, I am very concerned with the deterioration of Mexico.

We learned in the Wikileaks cables that there is a huge pessimism in Mexico about Pres Calderon's war.

Beyond that,  how much longer can the US tolerate a border with a lawless nation?

The cartels are now dangerously close to running huge portions of the border.

When will we have to defend our borders and place troops there? 

My guess is that we are closer to having US troops on the border than anyone would have believed months ago.

Overall, 2011 will be very tough.  Let's hope that Pres BO surrounds himself with people concerned about country rather than those who pander to ethnic groups.

P.S. We looked ahead to 2011 with Bill Katz of Urgent Agenda.

Click here for the interview!

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

A word about Ron Santo (1940-2010)

Ron Santo died on this day in 2010.    Sadly, he was not around to enjoy that Cubs' win the 2016 World Series.

As a teen, I remember Ron Santo playing third for the Cubs.  He was a great defensive player (5 Gold Gloves) and put up some good numbers: a .277 average plus 342 HRs & 1,331 RBIs.

Remember that he hit 342 HRs when only a handful of hitters hit 500 HRs!

RIP Ron Santo and thanks for all of those wonderful seasons with the Cubs!

It's a shame that he never got to see his induction into The Hall of Fame!    He was finally selected in 2012!

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.

1839: Young Abraham Lincoln became a lawyer

We know him as The Great Emancipator, perhaps the greatest president and the man who delivered The Gettysburg Address in the middle of the Civil War.   

Before any of that, he was a young lawyer in Illinois:

"On this day in 1839, future President Abraham Lincoln advances to another stage in his legal career when he is admitted to practice law in the U.S. Circuit Court. It was during his years practicing law that Lincoln honed his now famous oratorical skills."

Lincoln was elected to the US House later and then president in 1860.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.  If you like our posts, drop a dime here.

We remember Alexander Haig (1924-2010) and how he tried to deal with Castro

We remember former Secretary of State Alexander Haig who was born on this in 1924 and died in 2010.   He lived a very consequential life in the military and later in government.

Mr Haig was a soldier, a diplomat and dedicated public servant. He was also a "straight shooter" by all accounts.

He served the country as a soldier in Korea and rose to become a 4-star general.

Later, he was a key player in managing the White House during President Nixon's resignation and the transition to President Ford.

In 1981, he was named Secretary of State by President Reagan.    I remember being very happy about the selection.

In the summer of 1981, the US and Cuba had talks in Mexico City, as James Chace wrote in a review of Secretary Haig's memoirs.     

President Reagan was hoping to persuade the Castro regime to take back some of the criminals that sailed into Florida during the Mariel Boatlift in the spring of 1980.    

This is the account of those meetings:    

At one point in early 1981 the National Security Council even tried to arrange a meeting with Fidel Castro through the good offices of the columnist Jack Anderson. 
Naturally when Mr. Haig got word of this, he was upset at seeing such a maneuver undermine his military efforts to put ''fear into the hearts of the Cubans.'' 
Though he was reluctant to ease the pressure at so early a date, Mr. Haig felt it necessary to follow up on a suggestion from the Mexican President to mediate between Havana and Washington. 
It is hard to see what Mr. Haig hoped to gain by this, since ''there could be no talk about normalization, no relief of the pressure, no conversations on any subject except the return to Havana of the Cuban criminals (in the United States) and the termination of Cuba's interventionism.'' 
Indeed, he may well have gone ahead because of the President's desire to see if Cuba would receive the some 4,000 criminals who had left Cuba along with 120,000 other refugees in the 1980 Mariel boatlift who were now in American prisons. 
Deciding to test the waters, as he puts it, he met in November 1981 in Mexico City with Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, the vice premier and the man who, after Fidel Castro, is the most authoritative spokesman of Cuban foreign policy. 
The conversations were amiable. The Cuban denied that Havana was sending arms to El Salvador but did not want a confrontation with the United States.
Mr. Haig did not appear eager for another meeting, but, at the President's request, he dispatched Gen. Vernon Walters to meet with Mr. Castro and Mr. Rodriguez in March 1982. 
At this meeting, Mr. Castro said that the return of the Cuban criminals was ''a solvable problem''; nor did he deny Cuban involvement in Central America. 
Although the President continued to press for a solution to the criminal question, Mr. Haig recommended that Mr. Castro be given an ultimatum to receive the criminals or ''we would simply load them aboard an expendable ship, sail it into a Cuban anchorage under escort of the U.S. Navy and inform Castro that we had returned his citizens to him.'' 
At this point, Mr. Haig's report over possible negotiations with Havana breaks off.   

And so another round of talks with Cuba failed.    My guess is that Secretary Haig never put a lot of faith on these talks, specially after the Cubans gave confusing signals about their involvement in Central America.

Unfortunately, Secretary Haig will always be associated with the day that President Reagan was shot.

Secretary Haig said that "I'm in charge here" during a press conference.

He also said that he was in touch with VP Bush and in contact with him. (VP Bush was out of town and on his way back to Washington DC)

Sec Haig did not mean to say that he was the "acting president". However, a lot of people read it that way, specially in the Reagan team.

It clearly hurt his image with a lot of Americans and led to his removal as Secretary of State in June 1982.

We remember Alexander Haig as a great American!

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

 

 

2015 post: Let’s ice skate on the Thames like we did in 1715!

(My new American Thinker post)

The climate change conversation took a chilly turn this weekend. In other words, we are going get cold, really cold in the near future. This is from London:

A team of European researchers have unveiled a scientific model showing that the Earth is likely to experience a “mini ice age” from 2030 to 2040 as a result of decreased solar activity.

Their findings will infuriate environmental campaigners who argue by 2030 we could be facing increased sea levels and flooding due to glacial melt at the poles.

However, at the National Astronomy Meeting in Wales, Northumbria University professor Valentina Zharkova said fluctuations an 11-year cycle of solar activity the sun goes through would be responsible for a freeze, the like of which has not been experienced since the 1600s.

From 1645 to 1715 global temperatures dropped due to low solar activity so much that the planet experienced a 70-year ice age known as Maunder Minimum which saw the River Thames in London completely frozen. 

So let’s party like it’s 1715?     

it amazes me that people can be so certain about this and that in 20 years. I say this because I remember when we were warned about another ice age in our lifetime. I should have saved that Time issue!

So let’s protect ourselves against global cooling and warming. No matter what, we should all build domed stadia so that fans can watch games when it’s too hot or too cold!

And let’s buy some new ice skates just in case that the Thames freezes again!

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

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A 2015 Thanksgiving message for our friends and listeners

A 2015 Thanksgiving message for our friends and listeners......Listen in now at https://t.co/mRVnog4aKq. #BlogTalkRadio

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) November 26, 2015

A president, a turkey pardon, and talk of amnesty?

For the record, I like the "turkey pardon" tradition.  It's a fun moment in a much too darn serious town.

This year, President Obama tried to make a connection between the "turkey pardon" and the executive order that he signed.  It went like this:

"I know some will call this amnesty," Obama said, "but don't worry, there's plenty of turkey to go around."

Frankly, it was not funny.

First, President Obama has the authority to pardon.  It's in black and white in the U.S. Constitution.  Every president has done it going back to President Washington.  It's not an issue, unless President Clinton pardons a man like Marc Rich and people scream a little.  The other controversial pardon was the Nixon pardon from 1974 but most historians credit President Ford for making the right callafter Watergate.

Second, the executive order to stop deportations is not a presidential power.  It is an overreach, even if some of us agree that "DREAMers," or others who've worked here for many years, should be provided a path to legalization after meeting certain conditions.   

The difference is rather clear.  He has the authority to pardon – even a turkey.  He does not have the authority to change or make law, as he told us for several years when he addressed Hispanic audiences on immigration.

Finally, why would he use a "turkey pardon" moment to take a shot at his critics?   The answer is that President Obama is very thin-skinned and does not take criticism well.  He seems unable to understand that some people have honest differences of opinion.

The other answer is that he is angry and bitter that the next two years will not be any fun.  After all, even Dana Milbank now writes that "Obama is turning into Bush."  It won't be any fun sending ground troops back to Iraq or watching Obamacare implode.

P.S. You can hear CANTO TALK here.

Happy Thanksgiving: Go Cowboys & thanks to all of the mothers for making the turkey!

We take a day off from the politics to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving holiday.

As we've posted, Thanksgiving is a unique US holiday. 

I can still recall our first Thanksgiving in the US in 1964.  It was a wonderful moment.  It was a treat to read about it in school and to enjoy the meaning of the holiday with everyone.

Of course, our first Thanksgiving was truly a moment to say "thanks" for the opportunity to leave communist Cuba and live in the US.

So enjoy the day.  We will do the same.

Of course, it will be a perfect day if Dallas wins today.

So go Cowboys!

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

Why all of the turkey posters? My first Thanksgiving in the U.S.

Back in 1941, President Roosevelt made it official:

Thanksgiving became an annual custom throughout New England in the 17th century, and in 1777 the Continental Congress declared the first national American Thanksgiving following the Patriot victory at Saratoga.

In 1789, President George Washington became the first president to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday, when, at the request of Congress, he proclaimed November 26, a Tuesday, as a day of national thanksgiving for the U.S. Constitution.

However, it was not until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to fall on the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated nationally. 

With a few deviations, Lincoln's precedent was followed annually by every subsequent president--until 1939. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. Considerable controversy surrounded this deviation, and some Americans refused to honor Roosevelt's declaration.

For the next two years, Roosevelt repeated the unpopular proclamation, but on November 26, 1941, he admitted his mistake and signed a bill into law officially making the fourth Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day.

In my case, I did not know a thing about Thanksgiving when our family settled in Wisconsin in the fall of 1964.  I began to detect that something was coming when the kids in school started putting "turkey posters" about the upcoming holiday.  

Finally, Miss Jones, that wonderful 6th-grade teacher I was blessed with, sat me down and explained the story, from the ship crossing the ocean, to the landing at Plymouth Rock, to the terrible first winter and eventually a day to say thanks for everything.

It did not take long for me to get into the Thanksgiving mood.  

Today, it's my favorite American holiday for two reasons:

1) It demonstrates the role of faith in the early days of what would become the United States.

2) It confirms that this land was settled by self-reliant people who faced adversity and grew stronger.

As I told a friend years ago, you cannot understand American exceptionalism unless you get familiar with the Thanksgiving story. 

P.S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.