The Daily Dose/September 11, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
TIME MACHINE: Today is the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, one of those seminal moments where you can still remember exactly where you were at when it happened.
A Warm, Personal Remembrance: We slept through it. The first news we had of it was on a message board we hung out at and, as surprised as we were incredulous, we scooted down to the weight room at the apartment complex in Las Vegas we were living in at the time because we can’t be bothered to keep a TV. We got there about ten minutes after the Twin Towers had finished collapsing.
Surprise, Surprise: Later that night we found ourselves umpiring our regular scheduled baseball games.
Dry, Technical Matter: 9/11 happened for a couple of reasons. One, those who executed the mission were peeved at US intervention in their countries. Had America not been meddling in Middle Eastern affairs 9/11 would not have happened.
Two, as the official 9/11 report made clear, America knew enough to have prevented the attacks. I mean, there were foreigners taking flying lessons who were showing some zero interest in their landing lessons for Pete’s sake. But, to quote an old saying, America didn’t know what she knew. Despite having a Central Intelligence Agency, there wasn’t a central agency or person who knew everything and would be able to put two and two together.
The Bottom Line: The lessons of 9/11, just like the lessons of Prohibition, continue to escape our country. The US continues to meddle, at war every day for over 30 years. And despite the money spent and the lives lost, America and the planet are not any safer now than they were on September 10, 2001. The only dividend war provides is more war.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow, of all people, gives some fashion advice.
I paid attention to some details on both the blazers and the trousers…The sleeve of a blazer or suit coat should not cover any portion of the palm if you ask me and Mike feels the same way…He asked if I wanted it longer – some, inexplicably, do – and I said no, it was perfect…(Mark, the gentleman who sold me the blazers, was enjoying a day off.)
I wanted the pants with no break while standing straight up, too…Actually, I wanted them flare legged, like something out of the 1970s, but pants aren’t cut that wide nowadays…I also got the pants cuffed, but this is merely a personal preference, and hardly a hard-and-fast rule, like sleeve length.
Backstairs at the Monte Carlo: Gaylon has been saying “bring it” a lot in dispatch recently.
Jim and I were laughing pretty hard now. I shrugged as if it was common knowledge I was a hot piece of ass, especially with my new Sonata, and got laid as a matter of course.
“You know what else?” I asked.
“Bring it!” Brianna commanded.
“I furnished my bachelor pad for less than a hundred bucks. Well, not the bed. But the bed frame, kitchen table, chairs, couch, the whole nine yards.”
So ‘bring it’ has found its way into my own personal lexicon the past couple of nights.
Free Stuff
The same trick the drug dealers use.
Backstairs at the Monte Carlo
Clock in with the graveyard crew of the Monte Carlo Security Department on the glamorous Las Vegas Strip.
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Criminals, Courtesans and Constables
Gaylon’s latest novel takes place everywhere from throne rooms to death row.
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On This Date
The long march to today.
Editor’s Note: the staff here at On This Date works hard to have different events every year, but due to time constraints today, the following entries are from 2019.
In 1941 – Construction begins on the Pentagon, outside of Washington, D.C. Construtcion was completed in January 1943 with seven levels, five above ground and a basement and mezzanine level below ground. Among the specifications for the original building was a requirement floors be able to handle loads of 150 lbs per square foot, in case the facility ever became a records storing facility. The building’s facade is Indiana limestone and from 1998 through 2011 various portions of the Pentagon were gutted and rebuilt.
In 1985 – Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds establishes a new major league record with his 4,192nd career hit in a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres. The hit came in the first inning off of Eric Show and Rose broke the record that had been established by Ty Cobb. Rose’s first hit came in 1963, a triple off of Bob Friend of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Rose would retire in 1986 with 4,256 hits, still the major league record.
In 1954 – Ruth Brown is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Rhythm & Blues chart – for the second of eight non-consecutive weeks with Oh What a Dream. It was the fourth and final soul chart #1 song for Brown and her tenth consecutive Top 10 hit since she began charting in 1949. Brown had ten of her songs cross-over to the pop chart, the highest (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean peaking at #23 in 1953.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…sorrow can only overwhelm weakness; it flees before strength. – Gore Vidal, Julian
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know.
The Troy Trojans were in the National League from 1879-82. The Worcester Ruby Legs were in the National League from 1880-82.
Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
Whose major league hit record did Ty Cobb break? – Answer next time!
