Horse Racing / Triple Crown Quiz: 1) Who was the jockey for
Secretariat? 2) Who was up on Seattle Slew? 3) Who was the
jock for Affirmed? 4) What horse finished second to Secretariat
in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness? 5) What horse
finished second to Affirmed in all three races? 6) By how many
lengths, combined, did Secretariat win its three? Answers below.
Former Senator Robert Dole at the dedication of the World War
II Memorial on Saturday, 5/29/04.
In the first week of January 1945, a hungry and lonesome second
lieutenant from small-town Kansas dispatched a message to his
folks back home:
“You can send me something to eat whenever you’re ready,” he
wrote, “send candy, gum, cookies, cheese, grape jelly, popcorn,
nuts, peanut cluster, Vicks VapoRub, wool socks, wool scarf,
fudge cookies, ice cream, liver ‘n onions, fried chicken, banana
cake, milk, fruit cocktail, Swiss steak, crackers, more candy, Life
Savers, peanuts, the piano, the radio, the living room, the suite,
and the record player and Frank Sinatra.
“I guess you might as well send the whole house if you can get it
into a five-pound box. P.S. keep your fingers crossed.” In
authoring that only slightly exaggerated wish list I merely echoed
the longing of 16 million Americans whose greatest wish was for
an end to the fighting.
And 60 years on our ranks have dwindled to the thousands
assembled here on the Mall, to the millions more watching all
across America in living rooms and hospitals and wherever it
may be. And overseas, our men and women and our friends in
Great Britain and our allies all around the world. Our final
reunion cannot long be delayed.
If we gather in the twilight, it is brightened by the knowledge
that we have kept faith with our comrades from a distant youth.
Sustained by over 600,000 individual contributions, we have
raised this memorial to commemorate the service and sacrifice of
an entire generation.
What we dedicate today is not a memorial to war, rather it is a
tribute to the physical and moral courage that makes heroes out
of farm and city boys and inspires Americans in every generation
to lay down their lives for people they will never meet, for ideals
that make life itself worth living.
This is also a memorial to the American people, who in the
crucible of war forged a unity that became our ultimate weapon.
Just as we pulled together in the course of a common threat 60
years ago, so today’s Americans united to build this memorial.
Small children held their grandfather’s hand while dropping
pennies in a collection box. Entire families contributed in
memory of loved ones who could win every battle, except the
battle against time.
I think of my brother Kenny and my brothers-in-law Larry
Nelson and Alan Steele – just three among the millions of ghosts
in navy blue and olive drab we honor with this memorial.
And of course not every warrior wore a uniform. As it happens,
today is the 101st birthday of Bob Hope – the GIs’ favorite
entertainer who did more to boost our morale than anyone, next
to Betty Grable.
I can already hear Bob, “But I was next to Betty Grable!” And
it’s hard to believe today is also the 87th birthday of John F.
Kennedy. A hero of the South Pacific who, a generation after the
surrender documents were signed on board the USS Missouri,
spoke of a generation of Americans tempered by war that was
never less willing to pay any price, to bear any burden, to meet
any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the
survival and the success of liberty.
And we will always honor the memory of our great leader and
our American hero General Eisenhower who led us to victory all
across the world.
As we meet here today, young Americans are risking their lives
in liberty’s defense. They are the latest link in a chain of
sacrifice older than America itself. After all, if we meet the test
of our times, it is because we drew inspiration from those who
had gone before – including the giants of history who are
enshrined on this mall.
From Washington, who fathered America with his sword and
ennobled it with his character, from Jefferson whose pen gave
eloquent voice to our noblest aspirations, from Lincoln who
preserved the union and struck the chains from our countrymen
and from Franklin Roosevelt who presided over a global
coalition to rescue humanity from those who had put the soul
itself in bondage.
Each of these presidents was a soldier of freedom. In the
defining event of the 20th century, their cause became our cause.
On distant fields and fathomless oceans, the skies over half the
planet and in ten thousand communities on the home front, we
did far more than avenge Pearl Harbor. The citizen soldiers who
answered liberty’s call fought not for territory, but for justice.
Not for plunder, but to liberate enslaved peoples around the
world.
In contending for democracy abroad, we learned painful lessons
about our own democracy. For us, the Second World War was in
effect a second American revolution. The war invited women
into the work force; it exposed the injustices to African-
Americans, Hispanics, Japanese-Americans and others who
demonstrated yet again that war is an equal opportunity
employer.
What we learned in foreign fields of battle we applied in post-
war America. As a result our democracy, though imperfect, is
more nearly perfect than in the days of Washington, Lincoln, and
Roosevelt.
That’s what makes America forever a work in progress: A land
that has never become, but is always in the act of becoming.
And that’s why the armies of democracy have earned a
permanent place on this sacred ground.
It is only fitting when this memorial was opened to the public
about a month ago the very first visitors were school children.
For them, our war is ancient history and those who fought it are
slightly ancient themselves, yet in the end they are the ones for
whom we built this shrine. And to whom we now hand the baton
in the unending relay of human possibility. Certainly the heroes
represented by the 4,000 gold stars on the freedom wall need no
monument to commemorate their sacrifice. They are known to
God and to their fellow soldiers who will mourn their passing
until the day of our own.
In their name we dedicate this place of meditation. And it is in
their memory that I ask you to stand, if possible, and join me in a
moment of silent tribute to remind us all that some time in our
life we have or may be called upon to make a sacrifice for our
country to preserve liberty and freedom.
God bless America.
—
D-Day, Part III
On General Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Military writers sometimes
portray Ike the General as a genial and soothing Alliance board
chairman at best, or at worst a gladhanding bumbler.
Eisenhower the Supreme Commander was none of those. He
was a driven, demanding man of terrific energy: up before dawn,
to bed after midnight, chain-smoking four packs of cigarettes and
drinking 15 cups of coffee a day. He was a military
perfectionist, impatient wit his subordinates and a peerless, lucid
briefer. He had a volcanic temper he struggled to control but
sometimes used as a tool. He was naturally friendly, with a
famous grin, and he inspired trust. But he was patient only when
he had to be: to keep peace among the Allies, since he believed
the war would be won only if the Americans and British worked
together.
“Ike held the team together; it was perhaps his finest
achievement.”
[“Time: D-Day: 24 Hours That Saved the World”]
Here is what 20-year-old Ralph K. Manley, a private in the 101st
Airborne, carried as he jumped into Normandy outside Carenton
in the early hours of June 6.
-50 lbs. of 2.5-lb. explosives in two 25-lb. bags fastened to his
legs
-Fuses, primer cord, blasting caps and a detonator for the
explosives
-Three 10-lb. antitank mines
-An 85-lb. flamethrower and gelatinized gasoline
-A folding-stock carbine weapon and 100 rounds of ammunition
-Six hand grenades, a .45-cal. Pistol and 50 rounds of
ammunition
-Three knives: one on his leg, one in his collar, a smaller one on
his ankle
-A cricket clicker for identification
-Main parachute on his back, reserve parachute on his front
-Three boxes of K rations
-Rope, shovel, helmet, flashlight, field glasses, canteen of water,
Halizone pills to purify water, “Mae West” life preserver
–Musette bag with socks, personal items, three condoms (useful
for keeping mud and sand out of rifle barrels)
-French francs printed in America (about $25 worth)
-First-aid packets, including one containing morphine
When Manley’s unit began its drop, the plane was hit; it caught
fire and started going down. Manley was the third one to jump
from the burning craft. Two more followed, but the sixth soldier
was hit in the doorway, blocking the other troopers; all 13 died
when the plane crashed. [Time]
Manley survived the war but his brother was killed in Africa.
Today, at 80, he is a city councilman in Springfield, Mo. God
love him.
—
Stuff
–According to a study at the Agricultural Research Service’s
Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California,
Bing cherries, eaten fresh, may help people who suffer from gout
or other forms of arthritis. Yes, it appears that Bing cherries
have anti-inflammatory properties. Granted, the participants ate
a special breakfast of 45 fresh, pitted Bing cherries each day for
several weeks, but that doesn’t sound so bad now, does it? [High
Plains Journal]
–I just need to acknowledge that the Detroit Tigers had 27 hits
last Thursday evening versus the Kansas City Royals in a 17-7
ass-whooping. The hit total tied a team mark set way back on
September 29, 1928. Carlos Pena went 6-for-6 with two home
runs. But overall the Tigers are fading fast, after their
respectable start, and are now 22-27 thru Sunday.
–An article in Business Week discusses the plethora of injuries
among young athletes due to overuse. Many of the kids are
playing year round in these travel leagues (ridiculous, in my
opinion) and doctors are seeing cases such as 7th graders with hip
fractures. A ton of high school pitchers are also having Tommy
John surgery.
–Johnny Mac and I are keeping a close eye on Fred McGriff,
who with 492 home runs has been given a shot by Tampa Bay to
DH and get to the 500 mark. Of course McGriff does not
deserve to be in the Hall and if he clouts #500, he’d be the first
not to make it who was also a member of the homer club.
–Juliet Macur had a piece in the New York Times on the impact
of Title IX on the women’s sport of rowing. 85 Division I
schools have women’s rowing programs. [I would have thought
there’d be about 10.] The big reason is because it requires large
numbers, say 20 participants per program, at least, and that helps
balance out the numbers differential between male and female
athletes resulting from football. Many of the girls, who never
heard about the sport until they got to school and were recruited,
receive full scholarships. There’s something wrong with this
picture regarding this last bit.
–Another story on bedbugs, this one in the Daily News of New
York as it appears the Big Apple has a serious problem on its
hands. Bed bugs are proliferating in Europe and the Middle East,
and then probably hitch rides on clothing and in bags because
pest control experts say that whereas they used to have two cases
a week, and in mostly poor neighborhoods, now it’s 20 and
covers all economic classes. Nationwide, there has been a 20%
increase in bedbug complaints. But remember, sports fans, you
can prevent bedbugs from becoming an issue at your own home
by buying only new mattresses. Never buy a used one, like from
an auction held at a flea-bag motel.
–Why didn’t you guys tell me this? I’m reading my High Plains
Journal and discovered 2004 is the 100th anniversary of the
hamburger. [Perhaps I should have known this already.] It
seems that Fletcher Davis, a k a “Old Dave,” is credited with
inventing the hamburger at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904,
where Davis served fried ground beef patties that he had made
famous at his lunch counter in Athens, Texas. The first ones
were accompanied by hot mustard and sliced onions and placed
between two slices of his homemade bread.
[Mmmmmm. It’s time for a White Castle Microwavable
Cheeseburger break.]
–I had no idea that the Houston Astros’ Craig Biggio is sneaking
up on the all-time hit by pitch list. Don Baylor has the career
mark with 267 and Biggio was at 249 thru Friday’s games.
–If you are thinking of climbing Mount Everest, a good guide
will set you back $65,000. Climbing suits are an additional
$1,000 and unless you want to carry your own gear, pup tent and
flat-panel television, you’ll need to hire a Sherpa. These guys
run $3,000 plus tips and bonuses. This is great work for the
Sherpas because in their native Nepal, the annual income is about
$230. [New York Times]
–Kind of weird that both Sam Dash and Archibald Cox died on
the same day, Saturday. Dash was Chief Watergate Counsel for
the Senate and it was under Dash’s questioning that White House
aide Alexander Butterfield acknowledged there was a secret
audiotaping system in the Oval Office and that the president
knew about it. Archibald Cox was the special Watergate
prosecutor who insisted the president turn over the tapes. Instead
Nixon fired him and others in the “Saturday Night Massacre” of
May 18, 1973.
–Johnny Mac passed me a list containing the following names.
Guillermo Coria, Rainer Schuttler, David Nalbandian, Sebastian
Grosjean, Nicolas Massu, Paradorn Srichaphan, Jiri Novak,
Fernando Gonzalez, Tommy Robredo, Juan Ignacio Chela,
Anastasia Myskina, Nadia Petrova, Verz Zyonareya, Paola
Suarez.
I can’t be the only one who didn’t realize they were all seeded
men and women at the French Open. As Johnny mused, “no
wonder the sport is in the toilet.”
–Boy, Ernie Els is all over this long putter issue. Here I thought
Els was a pretty mild-mannered guy who steered clear of
controversy, but he seems to be leading the charge to have the
long putter banned from the professional game. Ernie was
particularly irked a week ago when South African Trevor
Immelman, employing the putter, defeated Els in winning the
Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Germany.
“I think nerves and the skill of putting is part of the game,” Ernie
said. “Take a tablet if you can’t handle it.”
The newest belly putters are anchored into the body. Els
continued.
“I think it’s becoming an easier way to putt. You actually push it
into your body, and then you can make a perfect stroke, whereas
with your hands, you’re not always going to be in the perfect
position.”
The most obvious proponent of the belly putter these days is
Vijay Singh.
–We note the passing of football’s Gary Ballman, who died the
other day while mowing his lawn. Ballman caught 323 passes in
his career, 37 for touchdowns, playing mostly for Philadelphia
and Pittsburgh. He had a great football card. Ballman was just
63.
–I have to admit I watched a fair amount of both Indy and the
Coca-Cola 600. Buddy Rice won the former in a car co-owned
by David Letterman, while Jimmie Johnson won in Charlotte for
the second year in a row.
–Channel 2 in New York fired long-time sportscaster Warner
Wolf. He wasn’t one of my favorites, I have to admit.
–If you like to swim in Bangkok’s polluted waterways, you
should probably be aware that exotic fish dealers may be
dumping piranha into the city’s rivers and canals to avoid being
arrested by police cracking down on unregistered exotic animal
sales. [South China Morning Post]
–The other day I commented on Joe Paterno’s 4-year contract
extension at Penn State. At first I thought it was some kind of
formality, that there was no way Paterno would stay through
2008, at which point he’d be 82. But Friday’s USA Today had a
quote from university President Graham Spanier.
“At Penn State, winning isn’t everything…People are so proud
of the academic achievements of our athletes and the integrity
that our coaches bring to the program, there’s more tolerance
here for having a bad season than you would find in most any
other school.”
Oh, for chrissakes, whaddya mean winning isn’t everything?!
You think I’m going to be happy if my Wake Forest Demon
Deacons don’t win the NCAA Basketball title in 2005? Heck no.
Penn State was 3-9 last season, the third losing one in the last
four, and I don’t know one fan who doesn’t think it’s time for
Papa Joe to leave. Hey, the guy has been super for the sport and
the school, but by sticking around his legacy is getting tarnished
big time. That’s just my opinion, time for a beer.
–Speaking of beer, I’m perusing my June / July issue of
American Thunder and there is a piece on grilling up the perfect
barbecued chicken. Don’t spread sauce on the pieces until they
are completely cooked, for starters…doing so is a formula for
disaster.
But one way to avoid the problem of burning the outside of the
chicken, while failing to properly cook the inside, is to use a beer
can.
After applying salt and pepper to the whole chicken, inside and
out, open one can of beer and prop the bird vertically on it, neck
to the top, legs down. Place the bird on a grill, lower the lid and
let it bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. As the bird
roasts, it bathes in the steam of the beer. “The result is as moist
and tender a roasted bird as you’ll find this side of heaven.”
Unfortunately, yours truly gave his grill to his neighbor when I
purchased my George Foreman appliance. [If I want real
barbecue, I ask my friends to invite me over…. “Hey, where’s
my invitation this year?!”]
Top 3 songs for the week of 5/31/69: #1 “Get Back” (The
Beatles) #2 “Love (Can Make You Happy)” (Mercy) #3
“Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In” (The 5th Dimension)… you
know, Mercy’s tune was as schmaltzy as they come. Kind of
amazing it snuck in there during this tumultuous time.
Triple Crown Quiz Anwers: 1) Ron Turcotte rode Secretariat.
2) Jean Cruguet was on Seattle Slew. 3) Steve Cauthen rode
Affirmed. 4) Sham finished second to Secretariat in the Derby
and Preakness. 5) Alydar finished second to Affirmed in all
three Triple Crown races, losing by a neck and a head,
respectively, in the last two. 6) Secretariat won by a combined
36 lengths…2 ½ in each of the Derby and Preakness, 31 in the
Belmont. Incidentally, I checked the history of the Belmont and
no other horse has won by more than 15.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday…D-Day.
