Glorieta Pass

New Mexico’s very own “important” Civil War battle began on this date in 1862. As they do so often, The Edge of the American West has good background.

Best bracket lines of the day, so far

Courtesy of Sideline Chatter (where my “sports movies” got mentioned, too):

• Memphis coach John Calipari, to FSN, on star freshman Derrick Rose and the lure of the NBA: “If he wants to do what’s right for him and his family, he’ll go pro … If he wants to do what’s right for me and my family, he’ll stay.”

• Larry Stewart of the Los Angeles Times, on why TV Land executives are pulling for a North Carolina-West Virginia title game: “Andy Griffith’s alma mater versus Don Knotts’ alma mater.”

• Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on predicting Georgetown would be in the Final Four: “Like I said: North Carolina-Memphis-UCLA-Davidson.”

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost was born on this date in 1874.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

March 26th

Today is the birthday

… of Sandra Day O’Connor. She’s 78.

… of Leonard Nimoy. Mr. Spock is 77.

… of Oscar-winner Alan Arkin. He’s 74. Arkin was twice nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role — for The Russians are Coming, the Russians Are Coming and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. He won the supporting actor Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine.

… of James Caan and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. They’re 68 today.

… of Erica Jong, 66.

… of former journalist Bob Woodward, 65.

… of Diana Ross, once Supreme. She’s 64.

… of Johnny Crawford. He was the kid on The Rifleman and he’s now 62.

… of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, 60.

Aerosmith were America’s feisty retort to hard-rocking British groups like the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Who, Cream, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Almost alone among American bands, Aerosmith matched those British legends in power, intensity, and notoriety. Moreover, they’ve long since surpassed many of their influences in terms of longevity and popularity. In the words of vocalist Steven Tyler, “We weren’t too ambitious when we started out. We just wanted to be the biggest thing that ever walked the planet, the greatest rock band that ever was.”

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

… of Martin Short, 58.

… of Marcus Allen and the person who used to look like Jennifer Grey. They’re 48.

… of Michael Imperioli. Tony’s nephew Christopher is 42.

… of Kenny Chesney. He’s 40.

… of Keira Knightley, 23.

Condé Montrose Nast was born on this date in 1873. His earliest magazines were Vogue, Vanity Fair and House and Garden. Nast died in 1942, but the company that bears his name now publishes more than two dozen magazines.

Robert Frost, long thought of as the New England poet, was born in San Francisco on this date in 1874.

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”

Quote found at The Writer’s Almanac from American Public Media, which has more about Frost.

Tennessee Williams was born on this date in 1911.

He was brilliant and prolific, breathing life and passion into such memorable characters as Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski in his critically acclaimed A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. And like them, he was troubled and self-destructive, an abuser of alcohol and drugs. He was awarded four Drama Critic Circle Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was derided by critics and blacklisted by Roman Catholic Cardinal Spellman, who condemned one of his scripts as “revolting, deplorable, morally repellent, offensive to Christian standards of decency.” He was Tennessee Williams, one of the greatest playwrights in American history.

American Masters

Beethoven died on this date in 1827. He was 56.

Edith Wheeler

… was born in New York City on this date in 1900. On her father’s side Edith was descended from John Wheeler and Agnes Yeoman who emigrated from England in 1634 on the ship Mary & John and settled in Massachusetts. Edith’s mother’s father, Andrew Jackson Hutchinson, served with the Union Army during the War of the Rebellion.

Edith Wheeler had four children and sixteen grandchildren of whom NewMexiKen is the oldest.

Hello, anyone home?

First posted here two years ago thanks to Amy.

The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers, dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whisper.

“Hello.”

“Is your daddy home?” he asked.

“Yes,” whispered the small voice.

“May I talk with him?”

The child whispered, “No.”

Surprised, and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your mommy there?”

“Yes.”

“May I talk with her?”

Again the small voice whispered, “No.”

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, “Is anybody else there?”

“Yes, “whispered the child, “a policeman.”

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”

“No, he’s busy”, whispered the child.

“Busy doing what?”

“Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the fireman,” came the whispered answer.

Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the earpiece on the phone the boss asked, “What is that noise?”

“A hello-copper” answered the whispering voice.

“What is going on there?” asked the boss, now truly alarmed.

In an awed whispering voice the child answered, “The search team just landed the hello-copper.”

Alarmed, concerned, and even more then just a little frustrated the boss asked, “What are they searching for?”

Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle:

“ME.”