Humberto Fontova and "The Bay of Pigs"

Humberto Fontova & the 50th anniversary of The Bay of Pigs by Silvio Canto Jr http://t.co/BLzqKga803
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1944: Maureen O'Hara in the movie "Buffalo Bill"

Not long ago, I watched "Buffalo Bill", a western movie with Maureen O'Hara, who died in 2015.  

The movie is about William F Cody, also known as Buffalo Bill, and his early days as an Army Scout to his ownership of a Wild West saloon.   

To say the least, Maureen is beautiful in the role of Louisa Frederici.   She was a US Senator's daughter who became Mrs. Cody.

It is a very nice movie.  It's amazing all of the new stuff that you learn with these old movies.

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We remember President Washington (1732-1799)

We remember another of George Washington's birthdays.

He was so vital to the success of the new American nation.

Our friends at Power Line call him the indispensable man and they are right.  

Washington led an army of colonists and then held together the new constitution by serving as the first president.

He could have been "president for life" or reelected to a 3rd term.  However, he respected the constitution and set the example by walking away from power.

He was indeed the indispensable man to the new nation.  Where would we be today without the work of George Washington?

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We remember Dom DiMaggio (1917-2009)

We remember Dominic Paul DiMaggio, who was born in San Francisco on this day in 1917. 

Dom, as he was known by his brothers, actually wanted to be a chemical engineer.   Eventually, baseball caught up with engineering, and Dom played in the majors with his famous brother Joe and other brother Vince.

How do you get any attention when your brother Joe is the best paid player in the game and your teammate (Ted Williams) playing right field is arguably the best hitter ever?

Well, Dom did and made the All Star team several times.

Dom had big seasons after his military service. He hit .328 average in 1950 with 193 hits and led the A.L. with 131 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. 

He kept it up in 1951 with a 27-game hitting streak, .296 batting average with 189 hits, and again leading the A.L. with 113 runs. 

Who knows what his career numbers would have looked like without those three full seasons of military service? He was between 26 and 28 years old, or normally the prime years to win a batting title or score a few more runs – a Dom specialty! 

Dom retired in 1953 after playing in seven All Star games and hitting .298 over 1,399 games.

Dom died in 2009 after a successful business career..

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The Cubans: The music of Ernesto Lecuona

The Cubans: The music of Ernesto Lecuona .........https://t.co/A04TgmataW

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) December 12, 2016

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Happy New Year

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We remember Davy Jones (1945-2012)

We remember Davy Jones who was born in Manchester, England, on this day in 1945.  He died in 2012.

Here is Davy Jones and The Monkees.

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2011: We lost a very famous chimp!

As far as I can recall, we have never written a post about a chimp before.  

At the same time, there have not been too many chimps like the one and only "Cheetah":

"A Florida animal sanctuary says Cheetah the chimpanzee sidekick in the Tarzan movies of the early 1930s has died at age 80.  The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor announced that Cheetah died Dec. 24 of kidney failure."

Cheetah was Tarzan's only jungle friend until he met Jane and the rest is history.   Tarzan & Jane had a son in the story.   The chimp was always in the middle of every episode.

Some of us are old enough to remember these movies, specially when we were kids and fascinated with stuff like that.

Of course, my dad's generation actually watched these movies at the theatres and enjoyed Cheetah's comic relief. 

Johnny Weissmuller, or Tarzan, died in the 1980's.   He won swimming gold medals in the 1924 Olympics and became Tarzan in the 1930's.  He made movies until the 1950's.

Jane was primarily played by Maureen O'Sullivan who died in the late 1990s.    In retrospect, Jane always looked so nice and feminine.  Wonder if they had a beauty parlor near Tarzan's home in the jungle? 

So long Cheetah and thanks for those laughs.

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December 1957: Pat Boone's "April Love" was # 1

In 1957, Elvis Presley and Pat Boone were the two most popular vocalists.   Elvis was the king of rock and Pat was the king of romantic tunes.    

On this day in 1957, it was Pat's turn to sit in the # 1 spot with "April Love".   He displaced Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" from the top of the charts.

You can get it here!      It was based on a movie of the same name, although the song was more memorable than the film!

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The midnight mass, one of the great traditions

Over the years, our family went to the 5:30 pm mass and went to bed early to wait for Santa Claus. However, we have been attending the midnight mass now that our boys are older.

It is one of the most beautiful Catholic traditions. My favorite part of the mass is the Gospel Reading from Luke 2:1-14:

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustusthat all the world should be registered.
This was the first registrationand was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galileeto Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem,because he was descended from the house and family of David.
He went to be registered with Mary,to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
While they were there,the time came for her to deliver her child.
And she gave birth to her firstborn sonand wrapped him in bands of cloth,and laid him in a manger,because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields,keeping watch over their flock by night.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them,and the glory of the Lord shone around them,and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them,Do not be afraid; for seeI am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you:you will find a child wrapped in bands of clothand lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angela multitude of the heavenly host,praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace among those whom he favours!

Merry Christmas to all. Let's remember to keep Christ in Christmas.

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