U.S. Open Golf Quiz: Name the four golfers who have won 4
Opens? Answer below.
Flag Day…Betsy Ross
My friend GR, who claims to be related to the Betster, said I had
to write about Ross on Flag Day. Yes, it was on June 14, 1777
that Congress adopted what became known as the Stars and
Stripes, a flag of 13 red and white stripes with a blue field,
bearing 13 stars, one for each state. But, sorry to say, Ross fans,
my research shows that it wasn”t Ross who designed the flag.
She merely sewed the first one. No, credit for the design goes to
Judge Francis Hopkinson, a man with quite a resume.
Hopkinson was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a
member of the Continental Navy Board, a poet, painter,
pamphleteer, musician, organist of Christ Church in Philadelphia
and a designer. And now you know…the rest of the story.
Strange but True
Following are some real life tales. The first two come from
commentator Lawrence Hall of the Star-Ledger newspaper.
It seems that a couple in Howard, PA, the Becks, awoke to
strange noises in their home. The bathroom was the source of
the commotion. A deer was taking a bubble bath. You see, it
appears the deer burst through the front door, past the Becks”
bedroom, entering the bathroom. It somehow managed to turn
on the faucet and knocked over some bubble bath.
“You could hear the water running over the kicking,” said
Connie Beck. The Game Commission was called and the deer
was tranquilized and removed to a safe place, having suffered
only a small cut.
In Ethiopia, peasant farmers (well, actually, in Ethiopia they are
ALL peasant farmers) in the southern part of the country were
startled when the skies opened and they were pelted by fish.
[Sea Robins?] The Amharic newspaper reported:
“The unusual rain of fish which dropped in millions from the air
– some dead and others still struggling – created panic among
the mostly religious farmers.”
Hall reports that a fish expert in the region “attributed the
phenomenon to heavy storms in the Indian Ocean that swept up
the fish and rained them down on the terror-stricken farmers.”
Finally, the Financial Times had a story (thanks, George) about a
small village in the southeastern part of Spain. It seems a woman
was walking to the doctor”s when she felt a rush of air and a
glancing blow to her shoulder. It was a block of ice the size of a
loaf. That was last January. Since then block sightings began to
proliferate. Spanish media labeled them “aerolites.” One
crashed through a workshop roof, another wrecked a small car
(the owner was in a cafT).
The government”s Scientific Research Council has ruled the ice
blocks could be a byproduct of the greenhouse effect,
concluding, “The chunks are not mini comets and did not come
from aircraft.” NASA maps show that “a thin jet of ozone
depression” – or a hole in the ozone layer – passed over areas
where the falls took place.
Reporter David White writes that it could be that ice formed as a
result of extra cooling in the stratosphere, linked to the warming
of the earth”s surface. Crystallites may have built up on entering
the more humid troposphere, the bottom layer of the atmosphere,
“evidencing that the greenhouse effect is beginning to show.”
Many scientists dispute this explanation even though blocks have
been reported from England to Brazil.
Beaver College
I wrote about the plight of Beaver in my 3/10 Bar Chat.
Specifically, the president had sent out a letter to students and
alumni.
“There are alumni reports that our name presents an obstacle
when seeking employment and that some have chosen not to
display their diplomas to avoid unkind remarks from colleagues.”
Well, the Board of Trustees voted the other day, 23-1, to change
the name. A committee is being formed for this purpose. Said
one trustee, “Beaver College doesn”t really represent who we are
anymore.” I”m sure the committee would value the input of the
readers of this site. If you expect me to offer a witty name or
two, myself, well I ain”t gonna do it.wouldn”t be prudent.
Abduction in New Jersey
A few days ago, James Allan kidnapped Linda Gazda, a former
girlfriend, from a mall in New Jersey. They then went on a little
odyssey that took them to Buffalo, Chicago and onto Des
Moines. At the airport there, Allan spotted Johnnie Cochran and
a colleague. [Cochran was in town defending a murder suspect.]
So Allan approached Cochran. Said a local police officer, “He
told them he might have a problem with a little kidnapping
situation back in New Jersey.” Cochran”s colleague convinced
Allan to turn himself in.
Detroit Tigers Lawsuit
A 9-year-old, Joey Siket, was hit by a foul ball at the Tigers new
park on May 29, suffering a fractured skull. [At last word his
condition was listed as stable.] Joey”s parents then hired an
attorney and they are demanding that the Tigers surround their
field with a 3-foot-high Plexiglass wall. The Tigers laughed at
the idea. Said the Siket”s attorney (who has been involved in
previous suits of this kind), “It”s now evident to me that the
Detroit Tigers could care less, and even a death in their stands
will not alter their conduct toward the unsafe conditions.”
Ian Thomsen, writing in Sports Illustrated, comments, “For more
than a century anyone with a clue has understood that the closer
you sit to home plate, the greater the risk.(Joey”s parents) are
suing, in effect, to hold others responsible for their decision to let
Joey sit within 40 yards of the batter. But walls bring out worse
behavior (see European soccer experience of fencing). As one
official said, “If you put people in cages, they behave like
animals.”
Ray Lewis
So how does the Baltimore Ravens star feel now that his two co-
defendants in the Atlanta double-killings were acquitted of
murder while he received one-year probation? And as for the
prosecutors, doesn”t sound like they will be getting any
promotions soon (or running for political office). Way to screw
up, boys. 4 key witnesses to the whole incident were never
called to the stand; one of whom, Kwame King, was accused by
a defense attorney of being the actual killer.
Frank Patterson
The great Irish tenor died way too early the other day, 58. I was
wondering about him during Cardinal O”Connor”s funeral
because he was supposed to sing ”Ave Maria,” a personal request
of the Cardinal”s. It turns out that day he fell ill and was rushed
to the hospital where doctors diagnosed his illness, cancer. Born
in Tipperary County, Patterson cranked out 36 albums.
William Killgallon
The retired chairman of Ohio Arts passed away on Monday. He
is largely responsible for the success of the ”Etch A Sketch.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 6/14/75: #1 “Sister Golden Hair”
(America) #2 “Love Will Keep Us Together” (The Captain &
Tennille) #3 “When Will I Be Loved” (Linda Ronstadt)
Open Quiz Answer: Willie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904,1905),
Bobby Jones (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930), Ben Hogan (1948, 1950,
1951, 1953), Jack Nicklaus (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980).
Next Bar Chat, Friday…Bunker Hill.
