The sky was so blue

 On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.

Each team of hijackers included a trained pilot. The hijackers crashed two of the airliners into the World Trade Center in New York City, resulting in the collapse of both buildings soon afterward.

A third airliner was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. Passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth aircraft attempted to retake control of their plane from the hijackers; that plane crashed into a field near the town of Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. In addition to the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died; another 23 are missing and presumed dead.

As always, your friends at ACME remind you to hug your friends and family, call or write an old friend you haven't spoken to in awhile, say, "hello" to your neighbors or at least, say "Good Morning" to a stranger on the street.


Let's lighten the mood just a bit:

Other things to occupy your mind with other than COVID-19  -  There is a spacecraft graveyard in the South Pacific Ocean.



Known as “Point Nemo”, it is the furthest place on the Earth from land. It is home to over 300 spacecraft and associated space debris, including the MIR space station, the first ever object assembled in planetary orbit by Russian cosmonauts.


September 11, 1932 -
MGM released the Edmund Goulding classic Grand Hotel, starring  Greta Garbo, John Barrymore and Joan Crawford, on this date.


In addition to her reservations about appearing youthful enough to portray a prima ballerina, Greta Garbo was also reluctant to act in a film which included a cast with so many additional stars. Irving Thalberg was able to convince her to take the part by offering to bill her by her last name only in the credits, an honor which was reserved for only the most esteemed actors at the time.


September 11, 1966 -
The Rolling Stones made their fourth appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on this date.



The audience in the studio really loved the Stones performance and even Ed told the crowd, “You’re yelling much better this year.”  There is no word on whether or not Ed Sullivan was drunk at the time.


September 11, 1967 -
The Carol Burnett Show premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



Vicki Lawrence wrote a fan letter to Carol Burnett while still in High School, Carol received the letter on the day that Vicki was going to be in a Miss Fireball contest, having a feeling about her. Carol found her dad's number, called Vicki, and attended the contest. They talked for 5 minutes when Carol told her that she will keep in touch and they will discuss Vicki's career. Vicki auditioned and got the part of Carol's kid sister and became Carol's protégée.


September 11, 1971 -
The Jackson 5 cartoon series, called The Jackson 5ive, premiered on ABC on this date.



Each episode shows various adventures with animated versions of the group, along with Michael's pet mice Ray and Charles, and his snake Rosie. The cartoon runs from 1971-1973.


September 11, 1982 -
Frank Zappa's song Valley Girl (featuring his daughter Moon Unit Zappa,) reaches its chart peak of #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, on this date.



Frank Zappa released 62 albums in his lifetime (many more appeared after his death), but Valley Girl is his only song to crack the US Top 40. Hearing him on playlists alongside Rick Springfield and Journey was shocking to Zappa fans, who were accustomed to his subversive tunes and caustic attitude toward mainstream music.


Take a brief moment today to reflect


Today in History:
September 11, 1792 -
During a week-long looting of the crown jewels in September of 1792, The French Blue Diamond, was stolen in Paris on this date. The 45.5-carat Hope diamond is thought to have been cut from the famous French Blue diamond that disappeared after this robbery.



The French Blue never resurfaced, but the Hope Diamond, which is likely one-half of the French Blue, did. It is now displayed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.


September 11, 1789 -
Alexander Hamilton became the first US Secretary of the Treasury on this date.



President George Washington initially appointed Robert Morris, a senator and Superintendent of Finance, but he refused the appointment.


September 11, 1903 -
The world's oldest automobile race track, The Milwaukee Mile, held its first race on this date.

The Milwaukee Mile opened in West Allis, Wisconsin in 1903; it continues to host auto races every year there since then (except during U.S. involvement in World War II.)


September 11, 1936 -
Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) by pressing a key in Washington to signal the startup of the dam's first hydroelectric generator in Nevada.



Hoover Dam is 726 feet tall and 660 feet thick at its base. Enough rock is excavated in its construction to build the Great Wall of China. Contrary to urban myths, no workers are buried in the dam's concrete.


September 11, 1951 -     
Florence Chadwick, American endurance swimmer, swam English Channel from England to France in 16 hours and 22 minutes, on this date.



This made her the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, and set a record for the England-France journey. All told, she swam the English Channel four times.


September 11, 1971 -
Former Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev suffered a fatal heart attack in his provincial exile on this date.



He was the first Soviet leader to die a natural death (Lenin was possibly poisoned by Stalin. Stalin was probably poisoned by Georgy Malenkov, Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Krushchev. Georgy Malenkov and Nikolai Bulganin were premiers before Krushchev but died after him.)


September 11, 1980 -
The famous 45-carat diamond, the Marlborough diamond, worth about $640,000, was taken from a jewelry store window display on this date. The robbers, Arthur "The Brain" Rachel and Joseph "The Monk" Scalise, mobsters from Chicago, Illinois staged a daring daytime theft of the jewelry.

They were caught just a few hours later, but the diamond, once one of the Crown jewels, has never been found. Both men were convicted and began serving 15-year prison terms in 1984 and were released in 1993.

In 2010, the duo, both in their 70s were arrested again for yet another jewel heist.


September 11, 1987 -
CBS-TV went dark for six minutes as news anchor Dan Rather walked off the set of The CBS Evening News on this date.



Rather left the set when the network continued showing a tennis tournament that had played into overtime. He walked off because he was angry that the news was cut short to report on sports news.



And so it goes


Before you go - I really want you to leave here in a good mood today, I want to share with you an NPR Tiny Desk Home Concert, featuring Daniel Tashian and the incomparable Burt Bacharach -



Bunkies, remember to have a good day today (an enjoy your sandwich!)



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