This Day in History:
Birthdays - 1475 Michelangelo (de Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) (Renaissance artist), 1906 Lou Costello (Cristillo) (comedian, actor), 1923 Ed McMahon (radio/tv announcer, pitchman), 1926 Alan Greenspan (economist), 1927 Leroy Gordon 'Gordo' Cooper (U.S. astronaut), 1942 Ben Murphy (actor), 1945 Rob Reiner (actor), 1959 Tom Arnold (actor)
1899 - Bayer patents the aspirin
1930 - Bird's Eye introduces frozen foods to the freezers of America.
1951 - The Rosenberg trial begins - Famous Atomic Bomb Spy Case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
1981 - Walter Cronkite retires with his trademark sign off "and that's the way it is"
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Taking a look at today in history I see a lot of names that were a big part of my life. Of course, Michelangelo's birthday is a cause for celebration for any artist, but I also see a few people who were household names in my youth.
Ed McMahon - Johnny Carson's sidekick for so many years on the Tonight Show. It makes me wonder who's Jay Leno's sidekick? I don't even think he has one - unless you count the band!
Gordon Cooper - a particular hero of mine as he was one of the original Mercury Astronauts and I'm a big fan of the Space Program. Along with John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton, Gordon was one of the Mercury Seven - the first American astronauts. These were the boys with the "Right Stuff" - the courage to ride a rocket of steel and fire into the unknown and we loved them all - although I always had an extra little soft spot for John Glenn.
Walter Cronkite - the man who's face I saw on every important event of my childhood and my youth. From the assasination of J.F.K., the moon landing, Viet Nam and Watergate this was the man we turned to for our news and who shared so much of our sorrows and joys with us. I will never forget the tears in Mr. Cronkite's eyes as he told the nation about the death of President Kennedy. I remember this scene so well - the glasses coming off, the blinking eyes and the clearing of his throat as he stuggles to keep his emotions in check - watch that exact moment here (from around 1:40 minutes into the video until about 2:10 minutes). That moment is almost as memorable as watching little John-John salute his father's casket as it rolls down Pennsylvania Avenue during the funeral procession.
And, of course, Bird's Eye - Thank you, Clarence Birdseye for the TV dinner!! I don't know if many of you remember them, but I had some of those first frozen tv dinners because my mother was a working mother and they must have seemed like a miracle to her some days. It's hard to believe how that little tin of food has become such a huge industry in today's world!
And now, since it's well past lunch, I'm heading off to my freezer for a wee nosh and some nostalgia!
