PGA Quiz: 1) How many majors did the following win,
including U.S. Amateurs. Ben Hogan? Gary Player? Arnold
Palmer? Tom Watson? 2) Who are the top five all time in PGA
tour victories? Answers below.
It’s a Great Time to be an American
Recognizing there are still many dangers ahead, and Iraq is but
one step in making our world a safer place, nonetheless, the
scenes from Baghdad are stirring.
The following are excerpts from Ronald Reagan’s first Inaugural
Address, January 20, 1981. We deserve to feel good today, for
who we are and what we stand for. And these days, the heroes
that Reagan talks about below were never more apparent than in
the U.S. military.
Reagan:
We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say
that we are in a time when there are no heroes – they just don’t
know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and
out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce
enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You
meet heroes across a counter – and they are on both sides of that
counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and
faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and
opportunity. There are individuals and families whose taxes
support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support
church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is
quiet but deep. Their values sustain our national life.
I have used the words “they” and “their” in speaking of these
heroes, I could say “you” and “your” because I am addressing
the heroes of whom I speak – you, the citizens of this blessed
land. Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the
dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help
me God.
We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your
makeup. How can we love our country and not love our
countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall,
heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make
them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in
theory?
Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is
an unequivocal and emphatic “yes.” To paraphrase Winston
Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the
intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world’s
strongest economy ..
On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might
have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr.
Joseph Warren said to his fellow Americans, “Our country is in
danger, but not to be despaired of .On you depend the fortunes
of America. You are to decide the important questions upon
which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn.
Act worthy of yourselves.”
Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act
worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure
happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children and our
children’s children.
And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen
as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again
be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who
do not now have freedom.
To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will
strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and
firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty. We will
strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our
friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for our own
sovereignty is not for sale.
As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential
adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest
aspiration of the America people. We will negotiate for it,
sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it – now or ever.
Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance
for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When
action is required to preserve our national security, we will act.
We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be,
knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never
having to use that strength.
Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the
arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral
courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries
in today’s world do not have. It is a weapon that we as
Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who
practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors .
Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this
city’s special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall
are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.
Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man:
George Washington, Father of our country. A man of humility
who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of
revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the
stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of
Independence flames with his eloquence.
And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of
the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart
the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham
Lincoln.
Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and
on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery
with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or
Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price
that has been paid for our freedom.
Each one of those markers is a monument to the kinds of hero I
spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau
Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around
the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin
Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place
called Vietnam.
Under one such marker lies a young man – Martin Treptow –
who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to
France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western
front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions
under heavy artillery fire.
We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf
under the heading, “My Pledge,” he had written these words:
“America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save,
I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my
utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me
alone.”
The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of
sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others
were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best
effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe
in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together,
with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems which
now confront us.
And, after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are
Americans. God bless you, and thank you.
—
1964
April 4, 1964 marked an historic anniversary for rock ‘n’ roll
music, as the Beatles occupied the top five slots on the Billboard
chart, the first and only time that has ever happened.
1. Can’t Buy Me Love
2. Twist And Shout
3. She Loves You
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand
5. Please Please Me
So what were the top ten albums this same particular week?
1. Meet the Beatles
2. Introducing The Beatles
3. Honey in the Horn (Al Hirt)
4. Hello, Dolly! (Original Cast)
5. The Third Album (Barbra Streisand)
6. In The Wind (Peter, Paul & Mary)
7. Yesterday’s Love Songs / Today’s Blues (Nancy Wilson)
8. There! I’ve Said It Again (Bobby Vinton)
9. Peter, Paul and Mary
10. Charade (Henry Mancini / Soundtrack)
What else was going on before the Beatles swept the top five slots?
Jan. 11, 1964 – The Surgeon General’s report on cigarette
smoking noted that cigarettes “contribute substantially to
mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death
rate.”
Jan. 16 – Hello, Dolly! opened with Carol Channing.
Feb. 25 – Cassius Clay gained the heavyweight title from Sonny
Liston.
April 22 – The New York World’s Fair opened. Your editor won
some kind of contest as a six-year-old where I had to shout
louder than other folks. I received a model of a Ford Torino… if
I remember correctly.
Stuff
–I was hoping that I had uttered my last word on the men’s
basketball coaching situation at Pitt, but out of nowhere, it
appears that my own Wake Forest Demon Deacons are about to
lose their coach Skip Prosser to the Panthers. Now this is
depressing, as well as ironic. On the issue of departing Pitt
coach Ben Howland (who left for UCLA), Allen H. wrote to tell
me that the Pittsburgh sports radio talk shows have been far more
complimentary and understanding concerning Howland’s desire
to go “home” than I have been. And now it’s Prosser who wants
to return home himself to the Pittsburgh area. Crap. He was
doing a great job at Wake.
–Golf Digest’s Latest List of America’s “100 Greatest”
1. Pine Valley
2. Augusta National
3. Cypress Point
4. Oakmont
5. Pebble Beach
6. Shinnecock love this place
7. Merion (East)
8. Oakland Hills (South)
9. Winged Foot (West)
10. Oak Hill (East)
–Congratulations to Syracuse. And for the archives, it was
unbelievable, pitiful, and pathetic that Kansas missed 17 of 21
free throws in the second half, 18 of 30 for the game. The only
other time a loser in the Finals approached such futility was
Houston, which in 1983 hit only 10 of 19 in its 54-52 loss to
N.C. State.
Also, congrats to the Lady Huskies! UConn’s Diana Taurasi
tickled the twine for 28 in their victory over Tennessee, the 4th
NCAA title for Connecticut.
–Follow-up: Over the last month or so I have noted the ongoing
trial over Britain’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”
Contestant Charles Ingram, who won the 1 million pound top
prize, was accused of cheating, as an accomplice, and fellow
contestant, coughed at key times before Ingram gave his answers.
Well, Major Ingram, his wife and the accomplice were all found
guilty and handed suspended sentences, as the judge said it was
enough that they were already humiliated. The Times of London
reported, “That humiliation began the moment the three left
court. A large crowd gathered around the court steps started a
chorus of coughing, punctuated with shouts of ‘cheat.’”
–The New York Post reported that at least 10 of 30 NHL teams
are up for sale. As noted in previous columns, the league faces
severe problems, mostly because of a collective bargaining
agreement with the players whereby salaries take up a far greater
percentage of revenues than other major sports. The NHL also
expanded way too quickly, adding 9 teams in the 90s, many of
which are now among those up for sale. The players’ contract is
up following the ’04 season and it’s going to get ugly.
Additionally, ESPN’s television contract, which currently pays
the league $120 million a year, is also up for renewal in ’04.
–This just in from Johnny Mac and the Daily Telegraph. A
group of elephants approached an enclosure at a private game
reserve in South Africa. Inside were some antelopes that had
been captured by rangers as part of a relocation program.
The conservationists thought the elephants were going after the
food inside the pen, but nooooo .
“The herd circled the fence and then the matriarch moved to the
gate and very carefully and deliberately undid all the gate’s metal
latches with her trunk and pushed it open .The antelope took
their chance and dashed back into the bush followed by the
elephants, who did not give the food a second glance.”
Now how cool is that? But as J. Mac warned me, “They’re
organizing.”
–And this note from the AP: “A judge dismissed a lawsuit by a
man who said he gave Allen Iverson the nickname ‘The Answer’
and sought royalties for its use on merchandise.” Jamil
Blackmon, claiming he had a deal with Iverson, sought 25% of
the proceeds from use of the name, which is on a line of Reebok
shoes and other products.
–Hugh Hefner turned 77 on Wednesday. You can honor him by
wearing your pajamas to work. Then again, in light of the
economy wear what you normally do.
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/13/68: #1 “Honey” (Bobby
Goldsboro) #2 “Young Girl” (The Union Gap) #3 “(Sittin’ On)
The Dock Of The Bay” (Otis Redding)
PGA Quiz Answers: 1) Majors: Ben Hogan, 9 [2 Masters, 4 US
Open, 1 British Open, 2 PGA], Gary Player, 9 [3 Masters, 1 US
Open, 3 British Open, 2 PGA], Arnold Palmer, 8 [4 Masters, 1
US Open, 1 US Am, 2 British Open], Tom Watson, 8 [2 Masters,
1 US Open, 5 British Open]. 2) PGA Tour victories: Sam
Snead, 81; Jack Nicklaus, 70; Ben Hogan, 63; Arnold Palmer,
60; Byron Nelson, 52.
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday.
*Quaff a British or Aussie brew this weekend to show your
support for our allies, just as we’ll do here in the home office.
