Thursday, January 09, 2025
The man who spotted Castro
The man who spotted Castro - American Thinker https://t.co/IqvFKjaM4e
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) January 9, 2025
We remember President Richard M. Nixon, who was born on this day in 1913 in California and died in 1994.
Our family was on the way to a baseball game when we heard the news of his death on the radio. You may remember that President Nixon suffered a stroke earlier in the week, and Mrs. Nixon died the year before. He was never the same after she died, or so I hear from those around him.
Cuba, the Castro brothers, and Nixon will always be a part of my childhood, from leaving Cuba to growing up in the U.S. In 1959, then VP Nixon met the recently appointed Prime Minister Fidel Castro in Washington, D.C. It did not take VP Nixon long to figure out the Cuban visitor.
This is an account of the visit from Andrew Glass:
During his stay, Castro placed a wreath on George Washington’s grave, toured the Bronx Zoo, ate hot dogs and hamburgers at Yankee Stadium and generally made a big media splash. Wherever he went, the 33-year-old bearded Cuban leader invariably wore his trademark rumpled green fatigues.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower snubbed him, although the Cuban leader did meet with Vice President Richard Nixon and acting Secretary of State Christian Herter. Nixon later said he came away from the meeting with the conclusion that Castro was “either incredibly naive about communism or under communist discipline — my guess is the former.” On the other hand, after meeting with Castro, former Secretary of State Dean Acheson called him “the first democrat of Latin America.”
With all due respect to late Secretary Acheson, it was VP Nixon who got it right that day.
In 1968, Nixon was elected president and then re-elected in 1972. As we know, he resigned in 1974 over the Watergate scandal. On the subject of Cuba, Nixon was right. I think that the Bay of Pigs would have turned out differently with Nixon in the Oval Office.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.
January 1970: "Winter world of love"
On the radio, we had a great song from Englebert Humperdinck........
“Mr Ed” and those early days in the US
One of our favorites was “Mr. Ed”, or “Que cosa mas grande, un caballo que habla” as my mother used to say!
The Amazing “Mr. Ed” made its debut on this day in 1961.
It was first on syndication and then became a part of the CBS lineup in the fall or October 1961. Our family picked it up in 1964-65.
One of my favorite shows was when Mr. Ed went to Dodger Stadium.
By the way, Mr. Young (or Wilbur as Mr. Ed called him) died in May 1996.
I loved this show!
January 1972: Don McLean's "American Pie" was # 1 this week
Back in January 1972, Don McLean's "American Pie" was the # 1 song in the country and probably most of the world.
As I recall, many people enjoyed the catchy chorus ("bye bye Miss American pie") but struggled with the meaning of the lyrics and the story behind the song.
'American Pie" did have one wonderful benefit for me and many others. It introduced us to the story of Buddy Holly of Lubbock, Texas, Richie Valens ("La bamba") and the Big Bopper ("Chantilly Lace"). They were the three musicians who were killed in that winter storm over Iowa in 1959, or "the day that the music died".
"American Pie" may have also opened the door to "American Grafitti", "Grease", "Happy Days" and all of that 1950's music revival of the mid-70's.
We remember President Richard Nixon (1913-94)
We remember President Richard Nixon (1913-94)
We remember Bart Starr (1934-2019)
Our family landed in "Packer crazy" Wisconsin in the fall of 1964.
My brother and I had never seen a football game. We were raised playing and thinking baseball 24/7.
Greatest game? Probably the so called "Ice Bowl".
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.
1913: We remember that President Nixon was born on this day
Nixon was one of the most consequential presidents of our youth, from his election in 1968, massive reelection in 1972 and then his resignation in 1974. The word "Nixon" is all over our lives, from footnotes to speeches to front page stories.
After leaving the presidency, President Nixon wrote some rather good books. His memoirs were very good and the ones about foreign policy were brilliant. He became a national security statesman, a role that he was uniquely qualified for and that he enjoyed. My guess is that he always wanted to be a foreign policy president and he was.
We remember # 37 today. Let me recommend his book "Leaders".
January 1965: "Beatles' 65" was released in the US
In January '65, The Beatles released their 5th US album: Beatles '65. By the way, many of the songs in this LP were in the UK LP "Beatles for sale".
It included some wonderful Lennon-McCartney songs, such as:
"I'll be back", John lead with Paul;
"I'll follow the sun", Paul lead, and;
"No reply", John lead with Paul.
It also included the single: "I feel fine", a # 1 song, and the strong B-side, "She's a woman".
January 1964: "I want to hold your hand" charted in the US
Years ago, The Beatles were very popular in the UK and some of Europe.
They had recorded big UK hits like "She loves you" and "Please please me". The Beatles even had a best selling album.
However, The Beatles had struck out in the US. None of their songs had charted over here.
Everything changed with "I want to hold your hand", the first song released in the US on Capitol Records.
It was so popular that it was even recorded in German!
In early February, The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, the most popular Sunday night show of its time. They toured the US before sold out crowds. They dominated the charts for months.
By the way, the B-side in the US was "I saw her standing her there". In the UK, it was "This boy".
And let's not forget "Meet The Beatles", the LP that we grew up listening to.
We remember President Nixon (1913-94)
We remember President Richard M. Nixon, who was born on this day in 1913 and died in 1994. Our family was on the way to a baseball game when we heard the news of his death on the radio. You may remember that Mr. Nixon suffered a stroke earlier in the week, and Mrs. Nixon died the year before. He was never the same after she died, or so I hear from those around him.
Cuba, the Castro brothers and Nixon will always be a part of my childhood, from leaving Cuba to growing up in the U.S. In 1959, then VP Nixon met the recently appointed Prime Minister Fidel Castro in Washington, DC. It did not take VP Nixon long to figure out the Cuban visitor.
This is an account of the visit from Andrew Glass:
During his stay, Castro placed a wreath on George Washington’s grave, toured the Bronx Zoo, ate hot dogs and hamburgers at Yankee Stadium and generally made a big media splash. Wherever he went, the 33-year-old bearded Cuban leader invariably wore his trademark rumpled green fatigues.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower snubbed him, although the Cuban leader did meet with Vice President Richard Nixon and acting Secretary of State Christian Herter. Nixon later said he came away from the meeting with the conclusion that Castro was “either incredibly naive about communism or under communist discipline — my guess is the former.” On the other hand, after meeting with Castro, former Secretary of State Dean Acheson called him “the first democrat of Latin America.”
With all due respect to late Secretary Acheson, it was VP Nixon who got it right that day.
In 1968, Mr. Nixon was elected president and then re-elected in 1972. As we know, he resigned in 1974 over the Watergate scandal. On the subject of Cuba, Nixon was right. I think that The Bay of Pigs would have turned out differently with Mr. Nixon in The Oval Office.
Happy # 84 Joan Baez
Did you know that Joan has a connection to Mexico? Her father was born in Puebla, Mexico.
It's hard to pick a song but "The night they drove Old Dixie down" and anything from "Any day now" or the album of songs by Bob Dylan.
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 President Nixon (1913-1994)
We remember President Nixon, the 37th president of the US.....born on this day in 1913 in California.....one of my favorite books about this very complex man was "The Memoirs of Richard Nixon by Richard Milhous Nixon".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.