Paul McCartney after The Beatles!

In the 1960's, it was Paul and the Beatles. It's hard to think of the 1960's without whistling a Lennon-McCartney tune.

Paul left the Beatles in 1970. He recorded a bunch of great songs by himself or with Wings. They were good songs and the common denominator was Linda.

From 1969 til her death from cancer in 1998, Paul and Linda had a great marriage.  It shows in all of their videos and recordings from that period!

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1955: Harmon Killebrew hit the first of 573 HR

On this day in 1955, a young Harmon Killebrew hit # 1 as a member of the Washington Senators who became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.   

Harmon Killebrew was one of the great power hitters that I grew up watching and following.    

He finished his career with 573 HR & 1,559 RBI.

Killebrew won 6 HR titles and led the AL in RBI 4 times.   He was the AL MVP in 1969.

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We remember Ken Johnson (1933-2015)

We remember Ken Johnson who was born in Florida on this day in 1933.   He died in 2015.

Ken Johnson went down in baseball history for something that happened on April 23, 1964 or the day that he pitched a no-hitter but lost 1-0.  

Ken broke with the A's in 1958 but became a starter with the expansion Astros in 1962.   He pitched well and won 32 games over 4 seasons.

In 1965, Johnson was traded to the Braves winning 45 games in 4 seasons.

Johnson retired in 1970 with 97 wins and a good 3.46 ERA.

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Tony Snow died much too young!

We remember Tony Snow who was born in Kentucky on this day in 1955.  

Back on July 12,  2008, we heard that Tony Snow died of cancer.

Tony was a journalist, a speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush and the first host of FOX News Sunday.

After that, he became President George W. Bush’s press secretary until his resignation for health reasons.

One of my memories of Tony Snow’s career was his responses after Fidel Castro resigned in 2006:

Q: With Castro sidelined, has the United States reached out to his brother, Raul, to try to turn the page, look for anything new?

MR. SNOW: No. Look, the one thing that this President has talked about from the very beginning is his hope for the Cuban people finally to enjoy the fruits of freedom and democracy. And for the dictator, Fidel Castro, to hand off power to his brother, who has been the prison keeper, is not a change in that status. So Raul Castro’s attempt to impose himself on the Cuban people is much the same as what his brother did. So, no, there are no plans to reach out.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration reached out and we know how that turned out.

We miss Tony Snow. Our best to his wife and children.

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We remember the great Sam Johnson (1930-2020)

Back in 1994, I had the chance to catch a speech by then Representative Sam Johnson.  He was fascinating, specially when he related his amazing military story.

Former US Representative Sam Johnson died in Texas on May 27.  He had a wonderful life, as you can see in this obituary:  

Former U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, a Texas congressman for more than 25 years and Vietnam War hero, died Wednesday in Plano, a family spokesperson said. He was 89.

First elected to Congress in 1991, Johnson gained a reputation as a strong conservative voice in the Texas delegation. In 2010, he was tied for the most conservative member of Congress, according to the National Journal’s rankings.

Johnson flew combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars as a fighter pilot. While flying over North Vietnam in 1966, his plane was struck down. He was held as a prisoner of war for nearly seven years, including a stint at the Hoa Lo Prison known as the Hanoi Hilton.

Along the way, he flew fighter jets in Korea, Vietnam, shared a cell with the late Senator John McCain and became a prominent member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Best of all, he was always happy to talk to a constituent even when they disagreed.  He was a first-class gentleman and true patriot.

Rest in Peace, Congressman Johnson.

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2006: Does anyone remember Barry Bonds passing the Babe?

Does anyone remember?  I recall a lot of controversy surrounding this.  On this day in 2006, Barry Bonds became the third man to hit 715 home runs.  

Some of us are old enough to remember Mantle's last home run in '68. Or, Mays and Aaron hitting their 500th, 600th and so on.

Of course, I remember Aaron tying and breaking Ruth's record. It was a Monday Night Game early in '74. The pitcher was Al Downing of the LA Dodgers. I can remember Aaron rounding the bases and getting a handshake from Bill Russell, the Dodgers' shortstop.

He was greeted at the plate by a young Dusty Baker. Tom House, who later served as the Rangers' pitching coach caught the ball in the bullpen.

It was very exciting. Like many fans, I was invested in Aaron's achievements.

Sorry but I was not excited about this achievement.  I don't know if it had something to do with steroids'  or just loyalty to the others.  Bonds just did not have the same positive impact on me that Aaron or Mays did.

Maybe it's because I grew up loving Mantle, Aaron and Mays. Maybe it's all the stuff about steroids.

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1897: "Dracula" for sale in London

“Dracula” by Bram Stoker tells the story of a Transylvanian vampire.  It was published on this day in 1897 and was an instant success.    Frankly, I learned of “Dracula” by watching the movies.   My guess is that most of you had the same experience.   

A few years ago, Dr Ileana Johnson wrote a great account of Dracula.   She went to the castle in her native Romania and wrote a great summary of the famous character.

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May 2006: Barry hit # 715th

In one generation, we have seen two men pass Babe Ruth's fabled 714 home runs. To be honest, I did not think that it would be possible to catch the Babe. How can some average 35 homers over 20 years?

Aaron did it. And now Bonds has done it.

We also saw Pete Rose pass Ty Cobb's 4191 hits. Again, how can some average 200 hits over 20 years. Rose did it from 1963-85. I did not think that anyone would ever come close to Cobb either.

We also saw Nolan Ryan throw 7 no-hitters. He passed Sandy Koufax who had 4. Ryan had his 5th in 1981 and then his 6th in 1990, or 9 years later!   His 7th was in 1991.

So what's the next record to fall?

Let me say for sure that no one will break DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak.  Pete Rose had 44 and Paul Molitor had 39.

So congratulations to Barry Bonds.

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The story of World War II, part 4, Germany 1939-41..with Barry Jacobsen..

 

The story of World War II, part 4, Germany 1939-41..with Barry Jacobsen........Listen in now at https://t.co/uaNrwVaqvY. #BlogTalkRadio

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 17, 2016

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Pre-Castro Cuba: The years of real independence in Cuba

(My new AT post.  See the post for links and references)

It was 119 years ago today that the Cuban flag went up in the island after the four-year U.S. occupation and 400 years of Spanish rule.   By the way, both of my paternal grandparents were born in 1892, and their birth certificates showed that they were citizens of the Spanish Crown, or whatever was left of it by that time.  Let's just say that the late 19th century was not the highlight of Spain's history.  They lost most of Latin America to independence and hung on to Cuba by a bit.

This is also a good day to remember what my late parents told me about Cuba.  

They recalled the elegance of Havana and how nice the country was. 

They never said that it was perfect, but certainly not "the underdeveloped country" narrative that Castro & the left have been preaching for years.  

That was pre-Castro Cuba, as Mark Milke wrote:   

Of the many myths that some offer up about Fidel Castro's Cuba, one tale is that despite Mr. Castro's repression, he improved a few social programs.

Thus, in his statement on Mr. Castro's death, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asserted "significant improvements" in Cuban health care and education under the totalitarian tutelage of Fidel Castro.

An inconvenient fact: Pre-Castro, Cuba was already better off than most Latin American countries on such indicators. 

Also, Mr. Castro's rule knocked Cubans to the near-economic bottom of all Latin American countries, with subsequent negative effects on Cuba's much-vaunted social model.

In other words, pre-Castro Cuba was a much better place to live than post-1959.

On behalf of the many who have died in political prisons or were executed by the Castro regime, let me say that we are looking forward to another independence day.   

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