The Daily Dose/Monday, September 10, 2018
The Daily Dose/September 10, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
In The News
The NFL, almost in spite of itself, might be winning the Great National Anthem Protest battle against black players who have had the nerve to protest racial injustice in this country. Through Sunday, only two players, both on the Miami Dolphins, knelt for the anthem during the season’s first week. Some held fists up and a couple went into the tunnel and one wandered around aimlessly before taking a seat on the bench, but protests were rather muted for Week 1.
Barring everybody kneeling or taking crap at midfield during the Monday night games we may – or we may not – be witnessing the beginning of the end. Now, this issue will never go away as long as President Trump has a Twitter account, but the NFL may be winning this battle, just like they win all their other battles. Except for the one against declining youth and high school football participation. They can’t win this battle, and we are still not entirely sure there will be a Super 75.
Today at the Site
Sparrow actually has to tell a lady on the phone that no, the retailer does not sell whatever froo-froo wine she was looking for on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody. And a customer wants to know if Sparrow can identify an item on a receipt, but Sparrow cannot recognize either the vague description or the barcode number.
Chesty Puller, one of the more legendary men the Marine Corps has produced, has The Thought for the Day, a quote about being surrounded by the enemy really isn’t so bad after all.
On This Date
In 1776 – Captain Nathan Hale of the Continental Army’s 19th Regiment, volunteers for spy duty for General George Washington. The American Army is in New York City and Washington needs information on British troop locations and movements. Hale proves useful but is captured on September 21 and hanged the following day. His body was never found and there is no evidence he ever said he regretted only having one life to give for his country.
In 1964 – Abebe Bikila becomes the first athlete from sub-Saharan Africa to win an Olympic gold medal, winning the marathon at the Rome Summer Games. His time was a world record 2 hours, 15 minutes and 16 seconds. In 1968 in Mexico City, Bikila became the first athlete to successfully defend his Olympic marathon title.
In 1977 – Crystal Gayle is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart, then known as the Hot Country Singles chart, with Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue. The song spent three weeks at #1 and was the third of Gayle’s 16 #1 songs on the country chart. It was also her biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, spending three weeks at #2.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the most pardons of any US president, 3,687.
Today’s Stumper
What is the current world record for the men’s marathon? – Answer next time!
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The Thought for the Day/Chesty Puller
These poor bastards. They’ve got us right where we want ‘em. We can shoot in every direction now.
Chesty Puller
From Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller by Burke Davis
Lewis ‘Chesty’ Puller (1898-1971) was an American Marine, one of the most revered and the most decorated Marine in history. Puller earned America’s second highest award for valor six times: five Navy Crosses and one Army Distinguished Service Cross. He served America honorably in the Marine Corps for 37 years, retiring in 1955 as a lieutenant general and a common theme you hear from those who served under Puller was that he was tough but fair. Burke Davis (1913-2006) was an American writer and historian, who wrote extensively on the Civil War and those who prosecuted the war.
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The Diary of a Nobody/Sunday, September 9
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Sunday, September 9
Lots of exciting news from the retailer, considering it was only a four-hour shift.
First, there was this rather tedious guy and his girlfriend who wanted to return a lot of hardware stuff, some used, some not, and there were about ten items on three different receipts…All right, he had this testy voice and annoyed me – plus he had the general bearing of someone who knew he was annoying – so I drew this out as long as possible, which you can do without anyone catching on and there wasn’t a line so get comfortable…After taking longer than it should I refunded his money and then he waves one receipt in front of me, points out some items he’d put a star next to and asked if I knew what these items were…One was ID’d as ‘Cartridge’ and the other as something or other…I forget.
You Know What To Do
The Daily Dose/Sunday, September 9, 2018
Friends, all the treasured Daily Dose features – In The News, On This Date, Trivia – will return.
Please, enjoy today’s editions of The Diary of a Nobody and The Thought for the Day.
Please, have a good day,
Gaylon
The Thought for the Day/Alex Haley
He decided, as usual, that it was wisest that he mind his own business…
Alex Haley
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family remains one of the finest books we have ever read. Some, not us, might quibble over its historical accuracy and we would have preferred Alex Haley (1921-92) not have paid Harold Courlander $650,00 for stealing passages from his novel The African. We’re novelists ourselves here and it is beyond comprehension that someone would use other people’s material without attribution, but us humans can be interesting creatures sometimes. Maddeningly, we only jotted down the quote and not which character the quote referred to.
More! More! More!
The Diary of a Nobody/Saturday, September 8
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, September 8
Slow at Hotel A this morning, at least until breakfast started…There were a couple of hunters, dressed as shrubbery, of course, looking for a room at around 0100 or so, and some drunk at 0330 looking for a place to sleep it off, but we were sold out and otherwise I wasn’t bothered.
More Sparrow Here
The Daily Dose/Saturday, September 8, 2018
The Daily Dose/September 8, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
In The News
The NFL regular season started Thursday without players kneeling for the national anthem. Every Atlanta Falcon stood and all but two Philadelphia Eagles did. Michael Bennet and Jay Ajayi both took seats on the end of the bench towards the end of the anthem. Bennet had started by standing with his teammates, but got restless and wandered around the bench area before taking a seat.
For some reason, this bothered us a lot more than the kneeling for the anthem does.
The protests have never bothered us frankly. There is a lot to protest in this country by both blacks and whites and we’re doing our part by protesting a variety of things by running for Congress. You want to kneel during the anthem before a game you are playing, more power to you. One of the reasons we served in the Navy was so you can do things like this.
But for Pete’s sake, if you are not going to protest, and we served to protect this right, too, don’t make an ass of yourself by wandering around. Show some respect, both for the anthem and your protest by either kneeling or standing still.
Today at the Site
Sparrow has a busy day at the retailer on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody, including two annoying sorts who both lay claim to a Customer of the Day award. Also, he reports for duty at Hotel A, where Puja worked the entire five days Sparrow was gone by herself.
Excerpt: Then I took a phone call from this dolt who whined that he’d left a bag that had some socks in it at a register because – and I am not making this up – the “checker wouldn’t give it to me”…He made it sound like we deliberately keep customers from their purchases…
Joseph Wambaugh has The Thought for the Day, a rather humorous quote about tension headaches, though there is some thoughtful commentary included, as well.
Excerpt: Sometimes they are caused by the life we lead. A life spent out of step with the natural order will produce stress that affects the body. This is our mind’s autopilot telling us we are going against our grain.
On This Date
In 1974 – President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for crimes he committed or may have committed during his presidency. The pardon was heavily criticized at the time and while history has generally been kind to Ford in this matter the immediate aftermath was not. The GOP lost 43 seats in the 1974 midterms and the move likely cost Ford election to the presidency in 1976.
In 1957 – The New York Giants defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers 3-2 at the Polo Grounds. Both teams are safely out of the National League pennant race, and this was the last game between these two teams in New York City, as both teams will move to the west coast next season. The teams had first met on May 3, 1890, when the Brooklyn Bridegrooms defeated the New York Gothams 7-3 and the Giants end the New York era leading the series 656-606.
In 1978 – A Taste of Honey is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with their first Top 40 hit Boogie Oogie Oogie. The song would spend three consecutive weeks at #1 and also went to #1 on Billboard’s Soul and Disco charts as well. The group would manage only one more Top 40 hit, 1981’s Sukiyaki, which hit #3.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Once in a While by Tommy Dorsey spent eight weeks at #1 in 1937, the most weeks of any song on Your Hit Parade.
Today’s Stumper
Which president of the United States has granted the most pardons? – Answer next time!
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The Thought for the Day/Joseph Wambaugh
…(he) started getting a tension headache, like the one on television.
Joseph Wambaugh
Lines and Shadows
Joseph Wambaugh is an American writer specializing in books, both fictional and non-fictional, about police work in the United States. He is originally from Pennsylvania, served America honorably in the Marine Corps and was a member of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1960-74 when he turned to full-time writing. Today’s Thought is one of the earliest in our quotebook, the seventh, in fact, meaning we read Lines and Shadows in late 1988 or in 1989.
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