Saying goodbye is never easy...
After seeing the ovation and heroes welcome given Mike Piazza last night in his first return to Shea Stadium after signing with San Diego, if you flash back 32 years to August 9th, 1974 you'll remember seeing nothing of the kind for the departing President of the United States, Richard Milhous Nixon. It was sad to watch Nixon leave as a disgraced leader despite the circumstances that put him in this position...
After saying goodbye to his staff, Nixon and wife Pat walked to a waiting helicopter on the lawn of the White House along with new President Gerald Ford and his wife Betty. Our 37th president saluted and waved goodbye to the White House forever...
Many historians believe Nixon had one of the best foreign policies of any president in recent history but there's always Watergate, the blank tape, the cover-up and all that followed, that led to this date. Whatever you felt about the job Nixon did as president or the man himself, it was still a sad day for America...
Ten Timeline Memories...
1678] Native Americans sell the Bronx to Jonas Bronck for 400 beads and box seats to Yankee Stadium. The least Bronck could have thrown in were a dozen "everything" bagels...
1854] Henry David Thoreau publishes "Walden" which describes his experiences of living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts...
1930] Betty Boop flashes those peepers for the 1st time in "Dizzy Dishes", created by Max Fleischer...
1945] The U.S. drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, 3 days after Hiroshima. About 74,000 are killed. Japan will surrender on August 14th...
1969] Sharon Tate and 4 others are found murdered at Tate's residence in Los Angeles. Charles Manson and several members of his cult are later convicted of the horrific murders...
1975] The New Orleans Superdome opens with an NFL pre-season game. 72,000 root for the home team Saints but watch their team lose to Houston 13-7...
1985] Arthur J. Walker, a retired Navy officer is found guilty on seven counts of spying for Russia...
1997] Haitian immigrant Abner Louima is brutalized by New York City police officers when he's arrested after a brawl outside a Brooklyn nightclub (eventually the city settles with Louima for $8.75 million in the largest police brutality settlement in New York City history)...
2002] Barry Bonds hits his 600th homer, becoming the 4th major leaguer to reach that mark...
2004] Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to life without parole by a local judge (he had already been sentenced to life without parole on federal charges)...
People we lost too soon: 1995] Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, of a heart attack at 53...2003] Gregory Hines, of liver cancer at 57...
#1 on this date: 1965] "I Got You Babe" - Sonny & Cher...1978] "Three Times A Lady" - Lionel Richie...
Released on this date: 1969] "Hot Fun In The Summertime" - Sly and the Family Stone..."Easy To Be Hard" - Three Dog Night...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday"...
Gillian ("The X Files") Anderson (38), Whitney Houston (43), Melanie Griffith (49), Barbara Mason (59), Ken Norton (63), David Steinberg (64), Billy (The Spinners) Henderson (67), Rod Laver (68), Bob Cousy (78) and Ralph Houk (87)...
[Timeline Countdown: 27 days until Labor Day, 31 days until NFL Kickoff, 56 days until MLB playoffs and 144 days remaining in 2006]
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