I feel bad that some of my TV shows will be delayed or not seen because of the writers strike now into its sixth week. I also feel bad that some of the writer's will have to cancel their winter vacations and that life will be bleak for a lot of families during this holiday season. But there are strikes and then there are strikes...
You want to talk strike? Early this morning 1,500 members of the Amalgamated Transport Union Local 1181 walked out. And what do these fine folks do? They drive wheelchair vans for four different transportation companies in New York. Despite a recommendation from union leaders, they walked. Now let's talk numbers. The striking writer's number 12,000 members but not all are on picket lines. About 2,000 news writers and others are covered under a separate contract. Up to 9,000 passengers a day are affected by the wheelchair van drivers strike. Apples, oranges? I don't think so...
So what's being done to settle this fine mess? The MTA which hires the van companies, will use nonstriking companies, ambulettes and taxi vouchers. The first priority would be for those with medical appointments. No one is answering the phone at union headquarters - not a good sign. With a background of division within the union, the drivers are determined to make a strong statement with this strike. Collective bargaining should not a reason stopping Mayor Mike from intervening. As for the writer's strike? Get your old movie tapes out...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1896] The man and the awards: Swedish chemist Alfred Bernhard Nobel, who invented dynamite, dies in Italy. Some famous Nobel Prize winners over the years: 1906] Theodore Roosevelt (the first American president to win the award)...1931] Jane Addams (first woman to win)...1950] Ralph J. Bunche (first black American)...1964] Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (youngest person)...1984] South African Bishop Desmond Tutu...1994] Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin...2002] former president Jimmy Carter...
- 1939] Hitting the million mark: The NFL's attendance exceeds 1 million in a season for the first time...
- 1953] Published on this date: Hugh Hefner publishes the first Playboy (featuring a photo of Marilyn Monroe) with an initial investment of $7,600...
- 1958] The first commercial jet: 111 passengers fly from New York to Miami on a National Airlines Boeing 707...
- 1962] Cover boy: Frank Gifford of the New York Giants is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated...
- 1967] "Happy Trails": 26-year old Otis Redding is killed along with most of the Bar-Kays in a small plane crash in Wisconsin. No one sang "Try A Little Tenderness" better than Otis: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3UlQVhMAbwg&feature=related ...1996] Country music star Faron Young dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 64...1999] Rick Danko of The Band dies in his sleep at 56...2005] Richard Pryor dies from cardiac arrest at 65...2005] Former Senator Eugene McCarthy passes away from natural causes at 89...
- 1971] Worst baseball trade: That's what Joseph (N.Y.Times) Durso calls it. The Mets send Nolan Ryan to the Angels for Jim Fregosi. Ryan pitches his way into the Baseball Hall of Fame with 7 no-hitters and the strikeout record while Fregosi hits .232 in his brief career with Mets...
- 1983] Jetting away: The Steelers beat the Jets 34-7 in the last NFL game played at Shea Stadium. The final baseball game will be played by the Mets at the end of the 2008 season...
- 1991] The end of a radio era: WNEW-AM signs off at 1130 on the dial, becoming Bloomberg business radio WBBR. Knowing this is coming, WQXR earlier adapts a similar WNEW style format as WQEW on December 2, 1991. Here is the famous WNEW jingle: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9J8FAUHW6qY ...
- 1998] Up, Up and Away: Six astronauts open the doors to the new international space station 250 miles above the Earth's surface...
Music Memories:
- 1949] Recorded on this date: "The Fat Man" - Fats Domino, who does the song live in recent years: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ICq9lEqj4cI ...
- 1963] Debuted on this date: At the age of 6, Donny Osmond makes his debut with the Osmonds on "The Andy Williams Show". Here are Osmond memories from Andy: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2WGCMtxzhAU&feature=related ...1965] The Grateful Dead play their first concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco..
- 1976] Released on this date: "Wings Over America" LP - Paul McCartney & Wings...1984] "Do They Know It's Christmas" - Band-Aid. A benefit song (famine relief) still being played almost a quarter of a century later...
Commentary:
Thanks to Paul Power for letting us know that Fred B. Cole, legendary big-band music personality from WHDH who gained fame in the 60s, passed away last Thursday (December 6) at 92. Paul worked with Fred B., a frequent attendee of Len Zola's 'Media Gang' lunches in Randolph (MA). The Boston Globe has a guest book that you may sign at: http://www.legacy.com/BostonGlobe/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=99214715 ...On a happier note, the Patriots are 13-0 with the Jets, Miami & the Giants remaining on their schedule. The Pats are at home against the Jets and Dolphins (who are 0-13)...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Bobby Flay (43), Nia Peeples (46), Kenneth Branagh (47), Sportswriter/reporter Tim Kurkjian (51), Susan Dey (55), Ralph Tavares (59) seen here with his brothers: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_ZnWRiDavqo&feature=related and Chad (Chad & Jeremy) Stuart (66)...
Timeline Countdown: Happy Chanukah (7th night), 13 days until winter, 14 days until Festivus, 15 shopping days until Christmas, 21 nights until New Year's Eve and 26 days until the NFL Wild Card Playoffs...
