HAMPTON WINS!!! HAMPTON WINS!!
Cy Young Quiz: [The award started in 1956 and there was one,
combined, thru 1966.] 1) Who is the only San Francisco Giant to
win the award? 2) Name the 3 Padres to win it? 3) Name the 5
Los Angeles Dodgers recipients? Answers below.
St. Patrick
Before you start slugging beer, you should at least be required to
know roughly when St. Patrick lived, at least that”s the view here
at the global headquarters of StocksandNews. Heck, I didn”t
know myself…and I”m Catholic.
While details are sketchy, we know that Patrick was born into a
British Christian family around A.D. 385. At the age of 16, he
was captured by Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland.
Then after about 6 years as a herdsman, Patrick managed to
make his escape and he returned to his family in Britain. [I
imagine his sandals were sprayed with disinfectant as a
precaution against hoof and mouth, though you won”t find
mention of this anywhere.]
Patrick was restless and, having received a vision, decided to go
to Gaul (France) where he would study for the priesthood. In
432, he became a bishop and at that time he returned to Ireland
for his 29-year evangelization tour. [Sponsored by Guinness.]
Much of what we know about Patrick is a result of his
autobiography, “Confession.” In it he writes of traveling across
Ireland, preaching the gospel, founding religious houses,
educating the young, and baptizing thousands. In bringing
Christianity to Ireland, the country became the only one in all of
Europe to do so peacefully.
One moment in Patrick”s life stands out. Around 440, he made a
climb up Cruachan Aigli in County Mayo (the west of the
country) for a Lenten vigil. For 40 days St. Patrick endured icy
winds and rain (normal Irish weather, actually) to pray for the
protection and salvation of the Irish people. He had no food and
his only shelter was a small cave. Croagh Patrick, or Patrick”s
Mountain, the site came to be called.
Patrick”s physical condition was such, however, that the angel
Victor was sent to assure him that as many Irish would be in
Paradise as could stand in all the space he could see from the
mountaintop, on land or sea. [This was the Lord”s way of
saying, all right…we get your point. Now climb down from
there and get some food and dry clothes!]
But Patrick continued his vigil and God sent the angel Victor
back. Patrick now asked that the Irish people keep the Catholic
faith until the end of time, and that they never submit to a
conqueror. Victor, probably tired from his travels, said, “Sure.”
[This last bit of dialogue can not be proved.]
Now, St. Patrick is on a roll, so he decides to press for more. He
asked that Ireland be buried beneath the sea seven years before
Judgment Day so the beautiful land would not be destroyed in
the final conflagration. Amazingly, this too he was granted.
“Wow,” thought Patrick, “either I”m very good or the Lord is
having an off day.” So he continued. Could he be the judge for
all the Irish people on the last day? Heaven even relented on this
request. “Well, that”s about everything,” he mused to himself
and St. Patrick finally hiked down the mountain.
Patrick died about 461 (on March 17, as tradition would have it)
and he was buried near Downpatrick in County Down (Northern
Ireland). In 1539 the English government was worried about the
popularity of his gravesite, which had become a shrine to the
faith, so they destroyed the place. So you could say the English
were the Taliban of that era.
*There is a helluva golf course, one of the best in the world,
nearby St. Patrick”s burial site…Royal County Down. You can
easily see a 20-stroke swing in your scores, depending on the
weather. For me, the difference between a 98 and a 118!
[Sources: “Who”s Who in Christianity,” Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok;
“Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages,” Norman Cantor;
Washington Post / Bill Broadway]
ELEPHANTS!!!
Thanks to David B. for passing along this AP story concerning
conservationist J. Michael Fay. It seems that about two years
ago, Fay was taking a walk in Africa when he must have missed
a turn or something because some 15-months and 1,200 miles
later, he and a companion had enough film and notes to sell to
the National Geographic Society for an upcoming special.
Most of the time he was in Congo, as well as Gabon. And it
turns out that the purpose of his trek was to help in the campaign
to save trees that the native elephant population depends upon in
this region. Loggers are doing a number on them.
The elephants depend on some of the trees for their fruit and set
up trails depending on the availability of same. Said the
cameraman on the trek, “If loggers cut those trees down, there”s
600 years of elephant social structure down the drain.”
Fay encountered some 100 pachyderms, often surprising them.
What he learned is that elephants that have been hunted will run
from humans, while those not familiar with people will
investigate or charge to chase off the stranger.
As the AP story notes, “On one film clip Fay can be seen fending
off a charge by waving his arms and yelling, even as the
cameraman retreats.” [He must have stayed at a Holiday Inn
Express the night before.]
Fay also claims that if you turn and run they will chase you, and
elephants are very fast. [Witness football”s Warren Sapp.]
Fay also warned, “You should never let elephants outflank you.
Their strategy often is for a few members of the group to stare
you down while a couple of others move quietly around to your
side. You have to change position accordingly or they will all
charge, and that will be the end of it.” Amen, brother.
[You”ll recall the story of the girl from Long Island who was
crushed by an elephant last fall in Tanzania. She and her
companion stupidly got out of their jeep to snap some photos but
they placed themselves in between two elephants. Never, ever
do that, folks.]
Our intrepid hiker also notes that while the elephants didn”t harm
him, he suffered some 5,000 fly bites (he must have asked a
lowland gorilla to count them for him) and he “had 32 foot
worms.” Man, I don”t know what the heck those are but
something tells me I don”t really want to find out.
Lastly, “Fay counted 40,000 piles of animal droppings.” I guess
someone has to.
Iona / Ole Miss
December 31, 1956…Iona is slated to play Ole Miss at a
tournament in Owensboro, Kentucky. But Mississippi Governor
James Coleman orders his coach, “Country” Graham, to forfeit
the game because Iona has a 20-year-old African American on
the squad, Stanley Hill. It is one of the most despicable acts in
college sports history. [Earlier, Mississippi State had also
forfeited a game at a different tournament for the same reason.]
As for Stanley Hill, a well-liked player and student around the
Iona campus, he handled the situation with class, later going on
to become head of one of the most powerful labor unions in New
York City. [Growing up in the New York area, I used to see him
all the time on television and never knew of his past.] Hill
described the scene afterwards on that December day.
“My teammates were embarrassed. Later on at the hotel, the
Mississippi players were (also) embarrassed and came in and
apologized.”
[Funny how kids are often far more understanding than their
parents. On Wednesday, President Bush was in Plainfield, NJ,
where I was born. The comments in the paper the next day were
quite telling. The African American children at the high school
loved him. The parents were outside picketing.]
For its part, Ole Miss has no reference of the game in its media
guide, other than to say that one was played on that date, but no
result is listed. This Friday night, Iona takes on Ole Miss in the
NCAA tournament. [Source: Mark Cannizzaro / New York
Post]
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/18/67: #1 “Penny Lane” (The
Beatles) #2 “Happy Together” (The Turtles) #3 “Baby I Need
Your Lovin”” (Johnny Rivers.now that”s a solid Top Three)
Cy Young Quiz Answers: 1) Mike McCormick is the only Giant
to win the award, 1967. 2) Padres: Randy Jones, ”76; Gaylord
Perry, ”78; Mark Davis, ”89. 3) L.A. Dodgers: Don Drysdale,
”62; Sandy Koufax, ”63, ”65, ”66; Mike Marshall, ”74; Fernando
Valenzuela, ”81; Orel Hershiser, ”88. [*If you got all of these,
pour yourself a cold one! That”s OK, your boss will understand.]
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
