Cinco de Mayo Quiz...
We live in a global world and this is one holiday that has become bigger 'north of the border than where it originated, 'south of the border, "down Mexico way" but few know why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, so here's a quiz which perhaps will prove that.
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that:
a) Started when a shipment of mayonnaise carried on the Titanic never arrived in Vera Cruz, Mexico causing panic among the people for such a great loss. Their anguish was so great that they declared a national day of mourning each May 5th for "sinko de mayo"...
b) Is a celebration of Mexican Independence...
c) Is celebrated because the Mexicans are quite fond of Ireland, especially county Mayo...
d) Is a celebration of Mexico's favorite U.S. actress, Virginia Mayo...
e) All of the above...
f) None of the above...
Okay, okay, so we had fun with it. We did, didn't we ? Now for the facts:
1) Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army (that's reason enough to celebrate right there) in the Battle of Puebla in 1862 (Mexico's Independence day is actually September 16 which is not celebrated anywhere but Mexico)...
2) (ch-ching) It has become a major revenue day for all restaurants and bars in this country...
3) In Mexico it's just a regional holiday, mostly in the vicinity surrounding the state of Puebla...
4) Many calendars have either "Cinco de Mayo" or "Battle of Puebla" (M) on May 5th (although my Red Sox and Patriots calendars do not. I'll bet the Mets calendars do)...
I'd like to thank my sister Ri for providing the joke that was answer a) in the quiz and Happy Cinco de Mayo. To paraphrase the Levy's Rye Bread advertising campaign of the 50s: Remember you don't have to be Mexican to enjoy Cinco de Mayo...
More Cinco de Mayo Memories...
1821] Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on the island of St. Helena...
1847] The American Medical Association (AMA) is organized in Philadelphia...
1862] Mexico defeats France in the battle of Puebla (feature story)...
1891] The Music Hall opens in Manhattan (it will be renamed Carnegie Hall)...
1900] "The Billboard" (later changed to "Billboard Magazine") begins weekly publication after 6 years of publication as a monthy...
1904] Pitching for the Boston Pilgrims, 37-year old hurler Cy Young completes the 1st perfect game in the modern era (when the pitching rubber was moved to 60 feet 6 inches) against the A's of Philadelphia...
1925] Dayton, Tennessee biology teacher John T. Scopes is arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution (little did Scopes know what a can of apes, uh, worms he was opening)...
1936] Edward Ravenscroft receives a patent for the "screw-on bottle cap with a pour lip" (sounds like a description of Mick Jagger)...
1955] On 5/5/55, Boston and Detroit combine for 5 runs (Tigers win 3-2) in the only scheduled American League game...
1955] "Damn Yankees" opens on Broadway (George Steinbrenner starts a petition to rename the musical "Damn Red Sox")...
1961] Alan Shepard becomes the 1st American in space when he makes a 15-minute suborbital flight (I saw that baby launched and did a news report on it looking out the back window of WKKO)...
1962] The Shirelles are #1 with "Soldier Boy"...
1968] The Buffalo Springfield bow out with a concert in Long Beach, CA...
1968] Creedence's "Bad Moon Rising" is released...
1969] Led by Bill Russell, the Celtics win their 11th NBA title (beating the Lakers) in 13 years (their 2nd in the last 3 seasons)...
1969] Stevie Wonder meets President Nixon at the White House (Nixon on the piano and Stevie on a keyboard, jam)...
1970] The Guess Who are #1 with "American Woman"...
1973] The great Secretariat wins the Kentucky Derby in a record 1 minute 59 and 2/5's seconds (a record that still stands). Secretariat would go on to win the Triple Crown...
1978] Pete Rose picks up his 3,000th hit as a member of the Reds...
1982] "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis is #1 (he will also win an Academy Award for the score to "Chariots of Fire")...
1986] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is approved for Cleveland, Ohio (read my commentary on this)...
1994] Singapore canes (4 lashes) American teenager Michael Fay for vandalism (I don't know if he was guilty or not but after seeing him interviewed, I figured he deserved it)...
1999] Garth Brooks is named "Artist of the Decade" at the 34th annual Academy of Country Music Awards (for those who live in Massachusetts, the Indian Ranch in Webster celebrates their 60th year with some great Country shows. For tickets and more info, call 508.943.3871 or go online at: www.indianranch.com )...
2004] At Shea Stadium Mike Piazza passes Carlton Fisk for most home runs as a catcher in a 8-2 Mets win...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Commentary...
On the 20th anniversary of Cleveland getting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Norm N. Nite: "I sat in Ahmet Ertegun's Atlantic Records offices when the announcement was made and took special pride when I heard it. One year earlier I sat in his office and convinced him to consider Cleveland as the Hall's sight, even though they planned it for New York. I guess if you believe in something and present your case, you can change people's minds. I am also proud of broadcasting daily from the Alan Freed studio at the Hall and even prouder that on January 23, 1986 I was able to induct Alan into the Hall by giving his award to his son Lance at the Waldorf that night. All the best and "Rock On!", Norm N. Nite...
I was with Norm that night and proud of him too. I don't know anyone and I mean anyone who put more effort into getting the Hall in Cleveland than Norm. Congratulations on 20 great years, Norm, thanks in great part to you...
Happy Birthday To...
1926] Ann B. Davis (Alice of the "Brady Bunch")...
1927] Great actress and comedienne Pat Carroll..
1943] Monty Python's Michael Palin...
1944] John Rhys-Davies...
1958] New York reporter and John Gotti (Sr.) buddy John Miller...
[Today is the 125 day of 2006 with 240 days remaining in the year and 24 days till Memorial Day]...
Saturday, May 6, 2006...
May 6 Memories...
1835] James Gordon Bennett publishes the New York Herald for the 1st time...
1851] Linus Yale patents the clock type lock (and had the good sense of naming it after himself)...
1889] The Universal Exposition opens in Paris and marks the dedication of the Eiffel Tower. Also at the exposition: the 1st automobile to be seen in Paris, the Mercedes-Benz...
1915] Babe Ruth hits his 1st home run (as a pitcher) against the Yankees (3 years later in 1918, same date, he will hit a home run against the Yankees and for the 1st time play a position other than pitcher, as a 1st baseman)...
1937] "Oh, the humanities"...The hydrogen filled German dirigible Hindenburg crashes and burns in Lakehurst, NJ. killing 36 of the 97 people aboard in one of the most vivid scenes ever captured on film...
1941] Josef Stalin assumes the Soviet premiership (and another reign of terror begins)...
1946] The Yankees become the 1st team in baseball to travel by plane...
1954] Roger Bannister becomes the 1st runner to finish a mile under 4 minutes at 3 minutes 59.4 seconds...
1957] JFK wins a Pulitzer Prize for his book "Profiles in Courage"...
1960] Britain's Princess Margaret marries commoner Anthony Armstrong Jones (they divorce in 1978)...
1972] Elton John releases "Rocket Man"...
1973] After 18 singles and 7 albums together as Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Simon goes solo in Boston at the Music Hall (one of my favorite theaters in Boston. Great accoustics !)...
1978] Affirmed captures the Kentucky Derby on his way to winning the Triple Crown (the last Triple Crown winner, so far)...
1982] Gaylord Perry becomes the 15th MLB pitcher to win 300 games by beating the Yankees for Seattle, 7-3 (he will finish his career with 314)...
1992] Marlene Dietrich dies at 90...
1994] Paula Jones files a sexual harassment suit against President Bill Clinton (part of the right-wing conspiracy, perhaps ?)...
1994] The Chunnel linking England and France opens for traffic...
1995] James Taylor and Natalie Cole receive honorary degrees at Berklee College of Music's 50th Anniversary Commencement...
1996] Former CIA director William E. Colby's body is found washed up on a river bank in Maryland, 8 days after he disappeared...
1998] Cub rookie pitcher Kerry Wood ties Roger Clemens record of 20 strikeouts as he one-hits Houston...
1999] A parole board in New York votes to release Long Island Lolita, Amy Fisher after 7 years for shooting her lover's wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the face...
2001] Chandra Levy's parents report her missing to the police in Washington, D.C. (Levy's body will be found on May 22, 2002 in a park)...
2004] An estimated 51.1 million watch the final 1st-run episode of "Friends" on NBC-TV...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1931] Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays...
1945] Bob Seger...
1953] Tony Blair...
1955] Tom ("Dancing with The Stars') Bergeron (born in Haverhill, MA)...
1961] George Clooney...
1963] Roma ("Touched by An Angel") Downey...
1972] Devils goalie Martin Brodeur...
[Today is the 126th day of 2006 with 239 days remaining in the year and 23 days until Memorial Day]...
Sunday, May 7, 2006...
May 7 Memories...
1789] The 1st inaugural ball is held in New York in honor of President George Washington and his wife Martha...
1903] It all started with this game: Boston faces off against New York for the 1st time as the Pilgrims beat the Highlanders 6-2 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston (Bill Dinneen is the winning pitcher for Boston and Hobe Ferris homers)...
1945] Germany signs an unconditional surrender that takes effect the next day, ending WWII...
1946] The Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp. is founded. The company will later be renamed SONY...
1957] A line-drive off the bat of Yankee Gil McDougald severly damages pitcher Herb Score's right eye, effectively ruining his career (2 years later he will retire)...
1959] The largest crowd (93,103) in baseball history jams the Los Angeles Coliseum for a game dedicated to the recently (1/28/58) paralyzed star catcher of the Dodgers, Roy Campanella who will receive $75,000 of the gate...
1966] After only winning 4 games out of his 1st 20 as Yankee manager, Johnny Keane is fired and replaced by Ralph Houk (and this is before George Steinbrenner)...
1968] Dancer's Image, winner of the Kentucky Derby 3 days earlier is disqualified after it's discovered that the horse was injected by a painkiller known as "bute" to alleviate inflammation of joints. Forward Pass who finished 2nd is declared winner of the race...
1968] British singer Reginald Dwight changes his name to Elton John...
1984] A $180 million out-of-court settlement is announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans serving in the armed forces...
1987] Shelly Long (Diane Chambers) makes her last appearance as a regular on "Cheers"...
1998] Daimler-Benz buys Chrysler Corp. for close to $40 (b)illion (it's the largest industrial merger on record)...
1999] A jury in Pontiac, Michigan orders "The Jenny Jones Show" to pay $25 million to the family of a gay man who was shot to death after revealing a crush on a male guest on the show (the award will be overturned on appeal)...
2000] President Vladimir Putin takes office in Russia's 1st democratic tranfer of power...
2003] Pete Townshend of the Who is cleared of possessing pornographic images of children but is placed on a national register of sex offenders for 5 years for being guilty of accessing a child pornography internet site in 1999...
2003] A man wanted by police for drug and parole violations is seen on camera at a Reds game in Cincinnati killing his girlfriend during "Kiss Cam". The 24-year old is busted by his parole officer who was watching...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Happy Birthday To...
1927] Former WNEW DJ and singer (narrator ?) of "Green Door" Jim Lowe...
1931] Teresa Brewer...
1939] Johnny Maestro...
1939] Jimmy ("What Becomes of the Brokenhearted") Ruffin...
1950] Tim ("Meet The Press") Russert...
1951] Robert (Epstein on "Welcome Back, Kotter") Hegyes...
[Today is the 127th day of 2006 with 238 days remaining in the year and 22 days remaining until Memorial Day]...
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