"Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December..but the days grow short when you reach September..." from "September Song" (K. Weill, M. Anderson)...
We're headed for my favorite season. There's nothing like Autumn in New York. Yes the days grow shorter, the summer is over and school starts again but there's never a better time of the year for sports. This year The Mets will join the Yankees in the playoffs, both College and NFL football starts, basketball and hockey aren't far behind if those are sports you follow. Forget sports, there's already a hint of Fall in the air and that clear, fresh air is coming as soon as we dispense of a storm or two. Hello Ernesto. No more sweat stained, wimpy looking clothes - get ready for sweaters and jackets. Hello September...
Labor Day Weekend wouldn't be complete without the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. This is the 41st annual edition which will air, live from Las Vegas September 3rd and 4th. Last year the telethon raised $54.9 million for MDA and for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. This year they'll try to top that. The tough part of the telethon is watching Jerry Lewis. Just keep in mind what he's raised over the years for MDA...
Monday we celebrate Labor Day which really should be called Non-Labor Day as nobody labors that day. The 1st LD was observed in 1881 in New York City and in 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday. The price of gas has been coming down in the Northeast and people here and all across the USA will flock to the roads. Be advised that more car accidents occur on Labor Day Weekend than any other weekend of the year. Make it a happy holiday but make it a safe one...
Happy September...Happy Labor Day Weekend...
Ten Timeline Memories for September 1...
(01) [1799] The Bank of Manhattan Company opens in New York City (it's the forerunner of Chase Manhattan)...
(02) [1897] The 1st subway system in the U.S. opens in Boston in 1897 (over 95% of the original subway tunnels remain in use today, part of the 4 lines that form the core of the Boston transit system)...
(03) [1956] Elvis Presley shares his early success with his family, buying his mom a pink Cadillac (Elvis was generous to a fault with gifts for family and friends)...
(04) [1969] A coup in Libya brings Muammar Khadafy to power as the current government is overthrown...
(05) [1970] The last episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" airs (the show premiered September 18, 1965 and who didn't dream of Jeannie ?)...
(06) [1972] Brooklyn's Bobby Fischer (now in a federal protection program of his own doing) wins the International chess championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, defeating Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union...
(07) [1976] The Meadowlands racetrack opens (rumors that Jimmy Hoffa was buried under the finish line prove to be false)...
(08) [1985] The Titanic is found by a joint U.S. and French expedition. The wreck site is located 963 miles northeast of New York and 453 miles southeast of the Newfoundland coast...
(09) [1986] Jerry Lewis raises a record $34 million for Muscular Dystrophy during his annual telethon for "Jerry's kids" over the Labor Day Weekend...
(10) [1989] Baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti suffers a fatal, massive heart attack on Martha's Vineyard (Giamatti was 51)...
#1 on this date: 1975] "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Glen Campbell...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...
Gloria Estefan (49), Dr. Phil (McGraw) (56), Archie Bell (62), Lily Tomlin (67), Alan Dershowitz (68), George Maharis (78) and Yvonne De Carlo (84)...
Timeline Countdown: 3 days until Labor Day, 6 days until NFL kickoff (Go Patriots), 33 days until MLB playoffs (Go Mets), 121 days remain in 2006 and The Mets Magic #: 15...
...
Saturday, September 2, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
(01) [1901] Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offers this advice: "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair...
(02) [1945] Japan formally surrenders in ceremonies aboard the U.S. Missouri, ending World War II...
(03) [1963] CBS and NBC expand network news from 15 minutes to 30 minutes...
(04) [1963] The Angels become the 1st white female group to have a #1 record ("My Boyfriend's Back")...
(05) [1965] The Rolling Stones mock Sonny & Cher on Britain's "Ready, Steady, Go" as Mick Jagger and producer Andrew Loog Oldham parody the duo doing "I Got You Babe" (I'll give you one guess as to who played Cher. Times up. You can bet it was Mick Jagger)...
(06) [1969] North Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh dies from multiple health problems at 79...
(07) [1983] Tom Brokaw becomes sole anchor of NBC's "Nightly News" (his final broadcast came on Dec. 1, 2004 when he was succeeded by Brian Williams)...
(08) [1987] The Amnesty International Tour starts in London, starring Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Tracy Chapman (Amnesty International was formed to protect human rights)...
(09) [1995] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame holds a 7-hour concert starring Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan (all part of the Hall's official opening)...
(10) [1997] U2 pays tribute to the late Princess Diana before starting their show in Scotland...
#1 on this date: 1980] "Upside Down" - Diana Ross...
"Gold Standard": 1965] "Help!" - The Beatles...
Released on this date: 1965] "Yesterday" - The Beatles...
"Wedding Bells": 1978] George Harison and his secretary Olivia Trinidad Arias...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...
Salma Hayek (40), Lennox Lewis (41), Keanu Reeves (42), Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (46), Tennis Hall of Famer Jimmy Conners (54), Mark Harmon (55), Football Hall of Famer/Actor Terry Bradshaw (58), Joe Simon (63), Hall of Fame basketball coach John Thompson (65), Jimmy Clanton (66) and Former Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth (69)...
Timeline Countdown: 2 days until Labor Day, 5 days until NFL kickoff, 32 days until MLB playoffs and 120 days left in 2006...
...
Sunday, September 3, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
(01) [1833] The 1st successful penny newspaper in the U.S., "The New York Sun" is launched by Benjamin H. Day (too bad his name wasn't "Brown", then he could say "I'm Brown from The Sun")...
(02) [1895] (Arguably) The 1st professional football game was played in Latrobe (PA) as the Latrobe YMCA beat pants off of the Jeannette (a city name not a girl) Athletic Club 12-0...
(03) [1942] Frank Sinatra starts his solo career...
(04) [1954] "The Lone Ranger" airs on radio for the last time after 2,956 episodes (that covers a period of 21 years)...
(05) [1966] "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" ends after 14 years (it ran on radio for 10 years, some of those years it ran on both mediums)...
(06) [1967] After 17 years, "What's My Line ?" airs for the last time (early panelists were: Arlene Francis, Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf with others like Steve Allen and Fred Allen). John Daly was the host of the show...
(07) [1971] After a visit to England, John Lennon returns to New York City, never to return to England, where he was born (in Liverpool)...
(08) [1976] Viking 2 lands on Mars to take the 1st close-up photos of the red planet...
(09) [1977] "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" bows out (the 1st episode was title "Love Is All Around" which was the theme song of the sitcom. It was written and performed by Sonny Curtis. And of course that last show featured the famous group hug by all the cast members)...
(10) [1999] Mario Lemieux's ownership group officially takes control of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux becomes the 1st player in the modern era of sports to buy the team he once played for...
"Happy Trails": 1970] Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi (cancer) at 57...1991] Movie Director Frank Capra (heart attack in his sleep) at 94...2001] Movie Critic Pauline Kael (Parkinson's disease) at 82...
Released on this date: 1973] "Angie" - Rolling Stones...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...
Charlie Sheen (41), Valerie Perrine (63), Al Jardine (64), Eileen Brennan (71), Anne Jackson (80), Country singer Hank Thompson (81), "Beetle Bailey" cartoonist Mort Walker (83) and Kitty Carlisle Hart (92)...
Timeline Countdown: 1 day until Labor Day, 4 days until NFL kickoff, 31 days until MLB playoffs and 119 days left in 2006...
...
Monday, Labor Day, September 4, 2006...
Ten Timeline Memories...
(01) [1781] Los Angeles (CA) is founded by Spanish settlers as "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula". For you gringos, that's "The Town of the Queen of Angels" (ah, those 2 years of Spanish I took. Okay so I cheated)...
(02) [1888] George Eastman receives a patent for his roll-film camera and registers his trademark: Kodak (chuh-ching) By the way the camera has 100 exposures...
(03) [1951] In the 1st live coast-to-coast television broadcast, President Harry S. Truman addresses the nation from the Japanese peace treaty conference in San Francisco...
(04) [1952] Gladys Knight & the Pips are formed after a birthday party for Bubba Knight or was it a bar mitzvah ?, I forget...
(05) [1957] The Arkansas National Guard is ordered by Governor Orval Faubus to keep 9 black students from entering Little Rock's Central High School (Thank the lord those days are over)...
(06) [1962] The Beatles begin recording at Abbey Road Studio for the 1st time as "Love Me Do" is recorded...
(07) [1967] "Gilligan's Island" airs for the last time on CBS-TV after running for 98 episodes (my favorite recurring line was when the captain used to call Gilligan, "my little bitty buddy")...
(08) [1971] "The Lawrence Welk Show" runs live for the last time although syndication will keep it on the air until 1982 and somewhere, I guarantee you, it's still running...
(09) [1972] U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz wins a record 7th Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter relay in Munich...
(10) [2002] Singer Kelly Clarkson is voted the 1st winner of "American Idol"...
Debut in America: 1964] The Animals at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater...
Released on this date: 1968] "Street Fighting Man" - Rolling Stones (no other station would touch it but we played the edited version on WRKO)...1970] "My Sweet Lord" - George Harrison (gee George, where'd ya get the idea for the song ?)...1976] "Beth" - Kiss (a better title would have been "Kith" by Bess)...
A "No-no" on this date: 1993] Left-handed pitcher Yankee pitcher Jim Abbott tosses a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium against Cleveland (the remarkable thing about this feat is that Abbott was born with one arm)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...
Beyonce (Knowles) (25), Mike Piazza (38), Damon Wayans (46), Khandi (CSI Miami) Alexander (46), Golfer Tom Watson (57) and the legendary Paul Harvey (88)...
Timeline Countdown: Labor Day is today, 3 days until NFL kickoff, 30 days until MLB playoffs and 118 days left in 2006...
...
