Good morning GaylonNation and thanks for stopping by. Here is what’s on tap for you today:

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow does the lawn! He also sprays for weeds, in contravention of The Wife’s edict they keep the yard as organic as possible, but The Wife is still out of town. Sparrow also continues preparation for this weekend’s Legion state convention.

The Thought for the Day –  We did not produce a Thought for the Day either one or two years ago, so today we feature one from January of this year from John Wooden. We grew up in Los Angeles and can remember Coach’s last couple of national titles and we went to his basketball camp a couple of times, too. Coach’s influence on us remains profound because long after we have had to pass and pick away or block out, the lessons about patience and effort still serve us well. Today Coach talks about doing what you can instead of worrying about what you can’t do.

On This Date: 
In 1756 – 64 British prisoners of war are imprisoned in a 14’x18′ cell at Fort William in Calcutta overnight, resulting in the death of 43 prisoners. There were so many prisoners in the cell the Bengali jailers had trouble closing the door, and prisoners started dying within three hours. The survivors were released the following morning. History refers to the cell as the Black Hole of Calcutta.

In 1936 – Jesse Owens of Ohio State sets a world record of 10.2 seconds in the 100-meters at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Chicago. Owens would also win the 200-meters, the 220-yard low hurdles, and the long jump, then known as the broad jump. Owen’s 100-meter record would be tied ten times by seven people, but would not be broken for 20 years.

In 1981 – Medley by Stars On ascends the #1 position on Billboard’s Hot 100, up from the runner-up spot. The full title of the song includes all ten songs included in the medley and at 41 words it remains the longest song title to hit #1 on the Hot 100. The Stars on 45 Medley was both preceded and succeeded at #1 by Kim Carnes’ Bette Davis Eyes.

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A good day at The Shire on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody…First, Sparrow verifies the robins have left eggs in the nest, and finds out there are three of them…The nest is right next to the kitchen door, and earlier this spring the eggs simply disappeared. Then his old friend Chris shows up with his wife and daughter as their summer road trip takes them to The Shire…Dinner, of course, is at the small town diner.

There wasn’t The Thought for the Day one or two years ago, so we present one from January of this year, Gore Vidal talking about various kinds of knowledge and how we should be careful about calling others ignorant because we might be ignorant to others. Regular readers of The Thought for the Day know Gore Vidal is a regular contributor to the feature, unsurpassed at doing what you pay us writers to do, providing insights into our human experience.

On This Date:
In 1953 – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed in New York’s electric chair, two years after their conviction of conspiracy to commit espionage by giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. Their two orphaned sons, abandoned by other family members, would be adopted by a high school teacher. While they acknowledge the guilt of their father, the continue to campaign for the exoneration of their mother.

In 1927 – Jack Scott of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches complete games in both ends of a doubleheader, the last time this has been accomplished in the major leagues. Scott won the opener vs the Cincinnati Reds 3-1, but loses Game 2 3-0. Scott would finish the season leading the National League in both games (48) and losses (21).

In 1971 – Carole King’s double-sided hit It’s Too Late/I Feel The Earth Move moves into the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. Despite King’s preeminence as a songwriter in the second half of the 20th century, this would be her only #1 song as a singer. It would remain at #1 for five weeks and was Billboard’s third biggest song of 1971.

Have a good. Thank you for reading,
Gaylon

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More drivel from Sparrow’s hotel gigs on today’s The Diary of a Nobody as both hotels are very shorthanded, so shorthanded Kathy relieved Sparrow in the morning at Hotel A and Sparrow will relieve Kathy 16 hours later at Hotel B. Not too surprisingly, perhaps, Kathy has said eff this noise and has given notice, which should lead to even more excitement.

One of the pleasures of reading is discovering new writers. We don’t recall how we got introduced to Robertson Davies, but we are in someone’s debt because Davies writes thoughtful and entertaining books, doing a good job of doing what you pay us writers to do: providing insights into our human experience. In today’s edition of The Thought for the Day, Davies talks about how zero equals power.

On This Date:
In 1815 -Great Britain and Prussia defeat France in the Battle of Waterloo. The loss obliges Napoleon to abdicate the French throne for the second and final time. His attempt to flee France was prevented by the British, who exiled him to St Helena, an island in the south Atlantic, about a third of the way between Africa and South America. Napoleon would die there in 1821.

In 1953 – The Boston Red Sox score 17 runs in the seventh inning of their 23-3 win over the Detroit Tigers, a new American League (AL) record. During the inning, Sammy White becomes the third player ever to score three runs in an inning and Gene Stephenson becomes the fourth to have three hits in an inning. Both marks are firsts for the AL. The major league record for most runs in an inning is held by the Chicago Cubs, 18, in 1883, when they were known as the White Stockings.

In 1955 – Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White) by Perez Prado and His Orchestra is #1  on the Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart – a predecessor of the Hot 100 – for the eighth of ten weeks. Prado (1916-1989) was a Cuban bandleader and composer known as King of the Mambo and he became a naturalized Mexican citizen in 1980. Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White) was the last #1 song before the Rock Era began in July when Bill Haley & His Comets hit #1 with Rock Around The Clock.

Have a good day. Many thanks for reading.
Gaylon

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The Sunday Bottom Ten returns to action this week. Recall last week we were too tired to be bothered to produce it, and this week’s thriller is a combination of items from the past fortnight.

The Sunday Bottom Ten is one of those things in life that leave you wondering what took you so long? We have, of course, been producing the football Bottom Ten columns for most of this century, and why a general interest Bottom Ten took so long to produce is not clear, except for the fact us writers write what inspires us because if we don’t we’re not writers we are typists. We had thought about one occasionally over the years, but the inspiration never really hit until earlier this year.

Things are generally pretty low key at Sparrow’s two overnight hotel jobs, but Hotel A takes center stage in today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody, from a guy who simply cannot get enough vanilla creamer in his coffee to there not being any eggs or bacon for breakfast.

One year ago today The Thought for the Day featured a quote from President John F Kennedy, who talked about aiming for the top and not for second best.

On This Date: 
In 1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor. Made of copper and designed by French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, it was present from France to the United States. After some fundraising, construction of the pedestal and assembly, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in October of 1886.

In 1915 – George ‘Zip’ Zabel of the Chicago Cubs establishes the major league record for the longest relief appearance, pitching 18 1/3 innings as the Cubs beat the Brooklyn Robins – now known as the Dodgers – 4-3. Zabel had relieved starter Bert Humphries in the first inning when Humphries was unable to continue after taking a line drive off the hand.

In 1972 – Sammy Davis Jr’s The Candy Man, remains at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second of three weeks. Despite a prolific recording career, the charts were never particularly kind to the supremely talented Davis. The Candy Man was his only #1 hit, one of just two Top 10 hits and one of his eight Top 40 hits.

Many thanks for reading. Have a good day.
Gaylon

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Despite double and triple checking that it wouldn’t happen, Sparrow’s $25 oil change ended up costing him over $50 on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody. The post office haul was pretty good, though, and there was some quality time with the cat before he headed in for his shift at the retailer.

Another day off for The Thought for the Day, so we pulled one from Sonny Bono for you. This was inspired by yesterday’s quote from J.C. Watts, a quote we were present at when uttered and we were present for Sonny’s quote, too. It was in December 1997, Sonny was a Congressman and speaking at a fundraiser in Holtville, California and I was newspaper reporter covering his appearance. Sonny’s quote talks about humility and honesty.  He died a month later.

On This Date:
In 1944 – George Stinney, Jr is executed for two murders in South Carolina. At 14, Stinney is the youngest person executed in the US in the 20th century. His conviction was vacated in 2014, not that it did him a lot of good.

In 1951 – Ben Hogan becomes the fifth person to win consecutive US Opens, defeating Clayton Heafner by two strokes at Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit. It was the third of four US Open wins for Hogan, who earned $4,000, about $39,000 in today’s money.

In 1979 – Hot Stuff by Donna Summer returns to the #1 position on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, the second of three weeks the song would spend at #1. It had been knocked out of the #1 position the previous week the Bee Gees Love You Inside and Out. Hot Stuff was written by Peter Bellotte, Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey and produced by Bellotte and Giorgio Moroder.

Have a great day, and many thanks for reading.
Gaylon

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