Saturday, November 09, 2024
Memories of talking with my late father about the 1960 election
Memories of talking with my late father about the 1960 election - American Thinker https://t.co/ZNZZ8XjXl6
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) November 9, 2024
It happens every four years and we post about election results. For me, election day brings back memories of talking with my late father about one specific election that impacted our lives like no other.
Many years ago, Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard Nixon to win the 1960 election.
Down in Cuba, this election was followed closely by my father’s generation because of the communist radicalization of the Castro regime. I recall my father telling me stories of sitting around his Phillips short wave radio and listening to the debate. I can add that there was a lot of cigar smoke in our living room that night. Talking politics over my mother’s Cuban coffee and big Cuban cigar must have been a charm.
VP Nixon conceded the next day despite this election being very close. Wonder how many people know how close that JFK-Nixon election was? The two men were separated by about 113,000 votes, or 49.72% to 49.55%!
The Kennedy “mystique” is such that many people assume that he was elected by a landslide. On the contrary, it was a very close election and one wonders what would have happened if Nixon had insisted on a recount.
Down in Cuba, the election was followed with great interest, especially the second debate when they spoke about the situation in the island.
In less than six months, now-president Kennedy dropped the ball at the the Bay of Pigs. It changed Cuban history forever. Of course, it gave me a memory of talking to my father. He left us in 2015 and I remember him every election night as we catch results on TV. That election meant a lot to him.
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We remember Mary Travers (1936-2009)
They were the greatest folk music group of our generation. And Mary Travers was the beautiful voice in the trio.
November 1971: "Stairway to heaven" is a year older!
Led Zeppelin was one of the greatest British bands ever. They had a very unique sound and came along just as LP's were replacing 45's.
It is probably the most interesting song of the 1970's but it suffered from massive saturation on FM or "album rock" radio.
Yes, I got so tired of this song that I avoided it for years. I guess that's what happens when you play something so often that it makes you sick.
However, I like it again, specially when I'm working out and need an 8-minute song to help me pass the time.
Overall, it was a great song and a real rock classic, one of the best songs of the rock era. It came at # 31 in Rolling Stone's Top 500!
Last, but not least, I am still not sure what the lyrics mean! Perhaps I'll figure them out in the next 40 years!
Click here for the song below:
We remember Tom Fogerty (1941-90)
We remember Tom Fogerty, born in California on this day in 1941. He died in 1990.Along with brother John, they started CCR, one of the super groups of rock.
We remember Bob Gibson (1935-2020)
We remember Bob Gibson who was born on this day in Omaha, Nebraska in 1935. He died in 2020.
Gibson became one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history: 251 games with a 2.91 career ERA! He pitched 56 shutouts and 255 complete games.
In 1968, he won 22 with a 1.12 ERA and 13 shutouts! Almost perfect!
Gibson joined The Hall of Fame in 1981.
1989: East Germany opens The Berlin Wall
Thankfully, it came down on this day in 1989.
Unlike 1956 (Hungary) and 1968 (Czechoslovakia), Soviet tanks did not crush this event.
On the contrary, the whole world saw people crack the wall and celebrate its collapse.
It was quite a day!
1960: The US election that impacted Cuba
