Grand Slam Quiz: Name the five players who hit 17 or more in
their career? Answer below.
Alice Sheets Marriott
Alice was the wife and cofounder of the Marriott Hotel chain.
She died this week at 92. Along with husband J.W., the two
worked at a 9-stool root beer stand in Washington, D.C. that
J.W. started in 1927. When the weather cooled that first year,
Alice got recipes from the chef at the Mexican Embassy and
began cooking spicy food. The stand was renamed The Hot
Shoppe and became a chain. Soon after, they opened the first
Marriott Hotel. And because of Alice, clean sheets became the
rule for all guests.
Rachel Carson
Any celebration of Earth Day wouldn”t be complete without
acknowledging Rachel Carson. Her book, “Silent Spring”, ranks
as one of the most influential of the 20th century.
By the late 1950s in America, the daily flushings from industries
and cities were turning the nation”s waterways into sewers.
Carson, a marine biologist, took a broad look at the impact of
new technologies on earth”s life-support system in 1958. The
main subject of her 4-year study was the effect on wildlife of the
potent new poisons being produced by the chemical industry.
The resulting work thrust the concept of environmentalism into
the mainstream of human thought.
Friends of Carson from Massachusetts and Long Island asked her
to write a protest article on the widespread use of DDT to control
mosquitoes. “Silent Spring” was the result, a book she
purposefully wrote in two sections because she had to address
two different constituencies.
The first part was an ecology primer that millions of ordinary
readers could understand and the second was an argument against
the chemical industry”s scientists. The book connected the new
“age of poisons” and “nature”s web on interwoven lives” to the
everyday existence of her readers.
Knowing she would face fierce counterattacks, Carson concluded
with a huge 55-page appendix of “principal sources.” The
invitation was to “tear it apart if you can.” The chemical industry
blasted her, the conclusions were “baloney.” Ezra Benson,
Eisenhower”s former Secretary of Agriculture said Carson was
“probably a Communist.”
In 1963, President Kennedy had his Science Advisory Committee
evaluate Carson”s findings. The prestigious group validated her
thesis.
Throughout the process of writing “Silent Spring”, Rachel was
undergoing her own battle with cancer which she lost in the
spring of 1964, too soon for her to know the import of her work.
But at least in 1963, the American Academy of Arts and Letters
gave her an award:
“A scientist in the grand literary style of Galileo and Buffon, she
had used her scientific knowledge and moral feeling to deepen our
consciousness of living nature and to alert us to the calamitous
possibility that our short-sighted technological conquests might
destroy the very sources of our being.”
[Source: “American Heritage”]
Richard Nixon – Environmentalist
After “Silent Spring”, the cause of environmentalism was
advanced in a giant way. Proposals like the one to build power
dams in the Grand Canyon were defeated. And seminal events
like the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969 and rivers that caught fire
(like in Kansas City 1967, and Cleveland 1969) certainly caught
the nation”s attention.
But even back in 1964, LBJ had included in his Great Society
speech that, “Our parks are overcrowded, our seashores
overburdened. Green fields and dense forests are
disappearing.Once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can
never be recaptured.”
However, during the 1968 presidential campaign, both Richard
Nixon and Hubert Humphrey failed to address environmental
concerns. While the environment was more of a topic on the
minds of many Americans, it was still low on the list of priorities
with others.
In 1969, after President Nixon told him of a White House meeting
with groups including the Sierra Club, Henry Kissinger asked,
“What is the Sierra Club?”
But on April 22, 1970, this all changed forever. The first Earth
Day was huge. 10,000 schools participated; 2,000 universities;
nearly every community in America took part in some way. All
three television networks had Earth Day events.
After the Earth Day demonstrations, Nixon, “ever the pragmatist,
moved to seize upon the environmental consensus.” [Tom
Wicker] At the time the environmental responsibility was
scattered among various government agencies. The Department
of the Interior looked after water problems; air quality was largely
the province of HEW, for reasons of health; and the Department
of Agriculture regulated the use of pesticides.
Nixon proposed, just two months after Earth Day, to create the
Environmental Protection Agency to take over scattered
environmental functions and with greater regulatory authority.
Congress quickly approved. And as the first EPA administrator,
Nixon named an assistant attorney general, William Ruckelshaus,
a strong leader who stood up against industry pressures.
In his 1970 State of the Union address, Nixon declared:
“Clean air, clean water, open spaces – these should once again be
the birthright of every American.” He proposed a $10 billion
clean water plan and soon the Clean Air Act of 1970 became law,
the most controversial and far-reaching effort to control air
pollution. The auto industry was forced to meet emission
standards for the first time.
Nixon did veto the Clean Water Act of 1972 but, as he expected,
the veto was overriden. He hadn”t approved of the price tag
because he didn”t think the funds were there.
Eventually in 1973, a strengthened Endangered Species Act was
signed into law by Nixon. And he also had a keen interest in our
national parks, many said because he remembered as a youth
growing up in California how expensive it was for low-income
families to go on long trips to places like Yosemite and
Yellowstone. “We have to bring the parks to the people,” he
remarked. And when controversies arose over the divestment of
federal land, Nixon”s stated policy was: “When in doubt, make it
a park.” [Source: “One of Us,” by Tom Wicker]
Miscellaneous
–Amount of waste recycled:
1970 – 8 million tons
1997 – 49 million tons
–Lead emissions
1970 – 221 million tons
1997 – 4 million tons
–Protected wilderness
1970 – 10 million acres
1997 – 104 million acres
Barry Bonds vs. Ken Griffey Jr.
An ESPN.com poll asked who was the player of the 90s? 34.7%
said Griffey, Greg Maddux garnered 28.9% and Barry Bonds was
third with 26.9% (after initial balloting). But since some good
friends of mine constantly argue about who is the more complete,
valuable player, from time to time this season we”ll update the
stats.
Through Wednesday”s games.
Barry Bonds .260 6 HR 12 RBI
Ken Griffey .185 3 HR 14 RBI
There you have it…Bonds in a landslide!!!
[Update: This column was posted Thurs. p.m., before your editor
was aware that Griffey was blasting two, 2-run homers. So he now
has 5 HR and 18 RBI. Sorry, Paul.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/17/65: #1 “I”m Telling You Now”
(Freddie & The Dreamers) #2 “Stop! In The Name Of Love”
(The Supremes) #3 “Game Of Love” (Wayne Fontana & The
Mindbenders).
NASCAR: Last week at Talladega, Jeff Gordon captured his 50th
career Winston Cup Race, becoming the 10th driver in NASCAR
history to do so. He joins Rusty Wallace who also reached the 50
Club earlier this year. [see Bar Chat, 4/10, for complete list of
drivers with 50 or more.]
Quiz Answer: Career grand slams – Lou Gehrig (23), Eddie
Murray (19), Willie McCovey (18), Jimmie Foxx (17), Ted
Williams (17). Among active players, Robin Ventura hit his 14th
on Tuesday night. Mark McGwire and Harold Baines have 13.
Ken Griffey Jr. has 12.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
