San Diego Padres Quiz: [Hey, someone has to do it!]
1) Who is #2 in career hits behind Tony Gwynn? 2) Who has the
most HRs, career? 3) Most wins, career? 4) Longest hitting
streak? Answers below.
Giacomo Puccini
No, this isn”t a story on the life of the great opera composer. It”s
more a story of his end, one that I heard in church Easter Sunday.
I thank you in advance for indulging me in a retelling of the story.
Puccini, of course, was the composer of two of the most popular
operas of all time, La Boheme and Madame Butterfly. La
Boheme, by most accounts, may be #1.
Late in his life, Puccini was diagnosed with cancer and his
students (or disciples), led by Franco Alfano, encouraged Puccini
to relax and enjoy his last remaining days.
But Puccini had begun work on an opera based on the Gozzi play,
Turandot. Puccini told Alfano and the others that if he should die
before he finished Turandot, they should complete it for him.
They protested but Puccini assured them that they had the
knowledge to accomplish the task. And so in 1924, Puccini
passed on before Turandot was complete and the disciples set
about the job of making it whole. In 1926, under the leadership
of Alfano, it was ready to be heard.
Arturo Toscanini, the great Italian conductor and cellist, was the
chief conductor during this time at the world renowned La Scala
opera house in Milan. He had the privilege of introducing
Turandot.
As Toscanini conducted the work he stopped, suddenly, at the
very point where Puccini had composed his last, turned to the
crowd and told them that it was at this point in the music that
Puccini had died. He had a tear in his eye as he said this, his head
bowed. But then Toscanini raised his head and told the crowd
that this was also the beginning.and the skillful completion of
the work by Alfano was heard.
Lincoln and Grant
In 1864, even though the Union appeared to be winning the Civil
War, many in the north were upset at the tremendous casualties
that General Grant”s armies were taking. They were also
disturbed at the stories of Grant”s heavy imbibing. A committee
visited President Lincoln, urging the removal of the General.
“What for?” asked Lincoln.
“Why, he drinks too much whisky,” replied the committee.
“Ah,” rejoined the President, “can you inform me, gentlemen,
where General Grant procures his whisky?”
The committee confessed they could not.
“Because,” added Lincoln, with a twinkle in his eye, “If I can find
out, I”ll send a barrel of it to every General in the field!”
[Source: “The Civil War Reader” by Richard Harwell]
The Great Escape…the movie
In a piece from The Guardian newspaper in Britain last week,
according to just released British intelligence documents, Hitler
personally ordered the execution of 50 Allied prisoners of war –
immortalized by the film “The Great Escape”.
On March 24, 1944, 80 POWs crawled out of a prison camp
through a 366-foot tunnel. After the alarm was raised, 4 were
caught by the tunnel outlet. 73 were caught later and 3 made it to
freedom.
According to the documents, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel
summoned Maj. Gen. Adolf Westhoff, the German officer
responsible for POW welfare, including the Stalag Luft III camp
on the Polish-German border.
“Gentlemen, this is a bad business,” said Keitel. “These escapees
must be shot. We must set an example.”
Luftwaffe chief Hermann Georing and SS boss Heinrich Himmler
had blamed Keitel. When he was then told that execution would
violate the Geneva Convention, Keitel replied: “I don”t care a
damn. We discussed it in the Fuhrer”s presence and it cannot be
altered.”
Westhoff, who was interviewed by British intelligence after the
war, says that Keitel refused to put anything in writing.
However, there was enough evidence against him for the judges
at the Nuremberg war crimes trials to sentence him to death.
Twenty-one Gestapo members involved in the shooting were tried
and executed after the war.
The movie helped turn Steve McQueen into a superstar. I feel
like popping it in the old VCR again, don”t you?
John Cleese…on the English and Americans
[The following is twice removed…quoted in the London “Daily
Telegraph” and then “The Weekly Standard”.]
Q: What is the difference between the English and American
peoples?
Cleese: “Number one: We speak English and you don”t. Number
two: When we hold a world championship for a particular sport,
we invite teams from other countries. Number three: When you
meet the head of state in England, you only have to go down on
one knee.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/22/67: #1 “Somethin” Stupid”
(Nancy & Frank Sinatra) #2 “Happy Together” (The Turtles)
#3 “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” (The Monkees).
Padres Quiz Answers: 1) #2 behind Gwynn for hits – Garry
Templeton (1,135). Templeton is the fella who once said of his
selection to the All-Star team, “If I ain”t startin”, I ain”t
departin”.” 2) Nate Colbert (163) 3) Eric Show (100)
4) Benito Santiago (34).
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday…more songs that peaked at #4 and
the story of the fall of Saigon.
