Archive for August, 2009

On this day in history, Walter Cronkite started showing up in our living rooms.

Walter Cronkite started showing up in living rooms during the dinner hour, starting this night in 1963 as anchor of the CBS Evening News (a job he took over from Douglas Edwards on April 16, 1962). Previous to this night, CBS Evening News had been shown from 7:30-7:45 p.m. and 7:15-7:30 p.m.

A familiar face to TV audiences, Walter Cronkite had been the host of You Are There, a CBS Sunday night program that ran from 1953 through 1957. A CBS news correspondent, Walter Cronkite served as reporter, host, and anchorman as major events in history were reenacted. Those who were viewers of You Are There can probably still recite Walter’s closing lines: “What sort of a day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times … and you were there.”

Ah yes, that was the golden age of news reporting. Ever since he left, even the strongest wind deflectors cannot deter many news anchors from bloviating nightly when they should be reporting the news.

Thank you Walter.

On this day in 1974 the largest fountain in America was dedicated. Although my fountain never reached this magnatude, I did have a nice fountain shooting all over the second bathroom while I was attempting to install a Grohe faucet.

Yes, I do know I am supposed to turn off the water supply first. Yes, I thought I had. No, I hadn’t. It took longer to clean up the mess than it did to install the faucet. Just my luck.

The largest fountain in America, the visual symbol of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was dedicated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania this day. The fountain takes up one-fifth of 36-acre Point State Park at the convergence of the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. 90 percent of the fountain is unseen. That’s the part that pumps water from an underground river (a fourth, unnamed river that runs under the city and flows south, unlike the other three rivers), stores it and feeds it into the fountain. Designed by Charles Stotz and Louis Fosner and built by Robert R. Busse, the fountain is controlled by computers and operates automatically. Wind velocity specifies the height of the water column (2 feet in diameter by up to 200 ft. high. 24 white and gold quartz-iodine lights present a dramatic display of shifting colors by night. That’s how you can see the fountain in all its glory whenever the Pittsburgh Steelers play on Monday Night Football. The most interesting structural fact and a very complicated procedure — this fountain was built to withstand water pressure from beneath, so the pressure would not push it up and cause it to float.

Many of us cannot even fathom the thought of living in an area where a disaster like this could happen.

On this day in 0079,

The residents of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae woke up this morning in 0079 and went about their normal chores. There was no reason for them to fear the mountain whose slopes they farmed. They lived in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, overlooking the Bay of Naples, Italy. But, about noon, without any warning, Mt. Vesuvius exploded. Vesuvius, the volcano, erupted, spewing stones and lava, burying Pompeii under 13 feet of ash, and covering Herculaneum and Stabiae with mud and debris.

I am so isolated from natural events across the gloe that the most ash I have seen is sitting in the ashtray when I finish a nice Drew Estate cigar.

I know I am an exception to the rule, but I don’t think my situation is much different than many other people.

On this day in 1981, Charlie’s Angels was seen for the last time on ABC. It was almost the end of an era, but not really.

Three women, the Angels (originally Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, and Jaclyn Smith), graduated from the Los Angeles police academy only to be assigned such duties as handling switchboards and directing traffic. They quit and were hired to work for the Charles Townsend Agency as private investigators. Their boss, Charlie (voiced by John Forsythe), is never seen full face — in some episodes the viewer gets to see the back of his head and his arms, talking through a phone while surrounded by beautiful women — assigning cases to the Angels and his liaison, Bosley (played by David Doyle), via a speaker phone.

Although it’s never been duplicated, Charlie’s Angels set the stage for many different type of detective shows, and of course set the stage for the other beautiful women of the world to get in shape. I bet diet pill reviews went through the roof when women saw the Angels take to the screen.

No matter how hard I try, I never receive any cool Halloween invitations. Each year I celebrate Halloween by dressing up as something different and each year it seems to get better and better, but yet, I never get invited anywhere.

On Hallows’ eve, the ancient Celts would place a skeleton on their window sill to represent the departed. Originating in Europe, these lanterns were first carved from a turnip or rutabaga. Believing that the head was the most powerful part of the body, containing the spirit and the knowledge, the Celts used the “head” of the vegetable to frighten off any superstitions.

This year I am thinking of going as a skeletal Mr. Potato Head. Maybe then I’ll get some recognition.

On this day in 1952, the original version of Hound Dog was recorded by Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton. It was the first hit for the song-writing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. (Among their other famous hits: Kansas City [Wilbert Harrison], On Broadway [The Drifters], and Stand By Me.

Can you imagine how the face of music in America would have changed if they had access to a weight loss pill that works back then? Holy Smoke. They could really belt them out back then.

On this day in 1984, Johnny Bench’s uniform was retired. I was a huge Reds fan when I was little, but I always thought Johnny looked like someone who would be selling me something, like car insurance. I don’t know why, but I still think of that when I see his name in the news.

John Lee “Johnny” Bench (born December 7, 1947) is a former American Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Bench, a 14-time All-Star selection and the National League’s Most Valuable Player in the 1970 and 1972 seasons, was a key member of the “The Big Red Machine”, the Reds teams of the 1970s which won six division titles and World Series championships in 1975 and 1976.

On this day in 1974, Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States. After his resignation he wrote numerous books and traveled. I remember the day he resigned. I was sitting in school in some discount classroom furniture when we heard the news.

Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States (1969–1974) and the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961).

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He was reelected by a landslide in 1972. In his second term, the nation was afflicted with economic difficulties. In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal,[1] Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. Nixon was later pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office.