This Date in History - April 15

 

It's April 15.   If you've done your taxes, feel free to read on.  If not, stop wasting time on this blog and get cracking.  

769:  THE LATERAN COUNCIL CONDEMNED THE COUNCIL OF HIERIA AND ANATHEMATIZED ITS ICONOCLASTIC RULINGS.

I have no idea what I just typed.

1450:  TOWARD THE END OF THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR, THE FRENCH ATTACK AND NEARLY ANNIHILATE ENGLISH FORCES, ENDING ENGLISH DOMINATION IN NORTHERN FRANCE.

Hard to believe that the French could put up a strong fight for anything.

1452:  PAINTER LEONARDO DA VINCI IS BORN.

Hey, Lenny, come on down from the ladder.  We've decided to wallpaper.

1638:  TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE FORCES PUT DOWN THE SHIMABARA REBELLION WHEN THEY RETAKE HARA CASTLE FROM THE REBELS.

What about the local White Castle?

1715:  THE POCOTALIGO MASSACRE TRIGGERS THE START OF THE YAMASEE WAR IN COLONIAL SOUTH CAROLINA.

Yamasee, Go Home.

1755:  SAMUEL JOHNSON'S DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS PUBLISHED IN LONDON.

When it was actually chic to speak English.

1783:  PRELIMINARY ARTICLES OF PEACE ENDING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ARE RATIFIED.

Also written in English.   The good old days.

1802:  WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AND HIS SISTER DOROTHY SEE A LONG BELT OF DAFFODILS, INSPIRING THE FORMER TO PEN "I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD."

In 2020, he could save all his poetry on the Cloud.

1861:  PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN CALLS FOR 75,000 VOLUNTEERS TO QUELL THE INSURRECTION THAT WOULD BECOME THE CIVIL WAR.

75,000....or essentially the paid attendance to one month's worth of Met games at Citi Field.

1865:  PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN DIES AFTER BEING SHOT THE PREVIOUS EVENING BY JOHN WILKES BOOTH.

That's the last time I'm going to order those box seats.

1892:  THE GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY IS FORMED.

That's a bright idea.

1896:  CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE GAMES OF THE FIRST OLYMPIAD IN GREECE.

Well, they had to start some time.

1912:  THE RMS TITANIC SINKS TWO HOURS AND FORTY MINUTES AFTER HITTING AN ICEBERG.  ONLY 710 ON BOARD SURVIVE.

What iceberg?

1917: ACTOR HANS CONRIED DIES

Uncle Tonoose!

1920:  TWO SECURITY GUARDS ARE MURDERED DURING A MASSACHUSETTS ROBBERY.  ANARCHISTS SACCO AND VANZETTI WOULD BE CONVICTED AND EXECUTED FOR THE CRIME.

If they lived today, they'd have a show on MSNBC.

1923:  INSULIN BECOMES GENERALLY AVAILABLE FOR USE BY PEOPLE WITH DIABETES.

Wow, that drug's been around a long time.

1924:  RAND MCNALLY PUBLISHES HIS FIRST ROAD ATLAS.

Way to go.   Or...maybe...there's another way to go.

1927:  THE GREAT MISSISSIPPI FLOOD, THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE RIVER FLOOD IN US HISTORY, BEGINS.

That's why my ankles are wet.

1936:  AER LINGUS IS FOUNDED BY THE IRISH GOVERNMENT AS THE NATIONAL AIRLINE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND.  

O'fly me.

1945:  THE BERGEN-BELSEN CONCENTRATION CAMP IS LIBERATED.

Whoa!  What happened here???!!!

1947:  JACKIE ROBINSON DEBUTS FOR THE BROOKLYN DODGERS, BREAKING BASEBALL'S COLOR LINE.

And all of MLB wears 42 today.

1955:  THE FIRST MCDONALD'S RESTAURANT OPENS IN DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS.

One Served.

1964:  THE FIRST FORD MUSTANG ROLLS OFF THE SHOW ROOM FLOOR, TWO DAYS BEFORE IT IS SET TO GO ON SALE.

And immediately depreciates in resale price.

1980:  ACTOR RAYMOND BAILEY DIES.

Milburn Drysdale!

1980:  WRITER JEAN-PAUL SARTRE DIES.

Existentialism kills.

1982:  ACTOR SETH ROGEN IS BORN.

You miserable, talentless piece of shit.

1989:  A HUMAN CRASH OCCURS AT A SOCCER MATCH IN LIVERPOOL.  96 FANS WERE KILLED.

What's the over/under on how many of them were drunk?

1990:  ACTRESS GRETA GARBO DIES.

You want to be alone?   Wish granted.

2001:  SINGER JOEY RAMONE DIES.

You're more than sedated now.

2018:  ACTOR R. LEE ERMEY DIES.

That creepy sergeant from "Full Metal Jacket."

2019:  THE CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME IN PARIS IS SEVERELY DAMAGED BY FIRE.

Is there such a thing as "Catholic lightning?"

2025:  TV GAME SHOW HOST WINK MARTINDALE DIES.

And the lovely consolation prize is...

Dinner last night:   The pre-game buffet at the Dodger Stadium Club.

Len's Recipe of the Month - April 2026

 

Well, not so much a recipe but a cooking epiphany.   I am here to discuss the great and sundried uses of an air fryer.  Look at the fingerprint marks on the touch screen.   Obviously, it's getting a lot of use.

It was, at the time, an emotional purchase tied into one of those Amazon Prime days.   Did I need another gadget taking up counter space in the kitchen?  No.   But I heard it cooked up some dynamite frozen onion rings so I was in.

And, for the longest time, it did collect dust.  Yes, the onion rings were amazing but could it do anything else?  A little on-line research and I was suddenly an air frying fool.

Ninety percent of the recipes for anything are the same.  Air fry for 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees.   So what did I try with great success?

A medium rare burger.   Delish.

Searing Italian sausages for use in a SPO recipe.  Perfect.

A medium rare ribeye steak.   Amazing.

Chicken tenders in orange sauce.   Ideal.

Korean chicken thighs.   On point.

The standard French fries and onion rings.   Crispy.

Grilled cheese sandwich with bacon.   Gooey but good.

BBQ Baby Back ribs.   See the photo below.

Actually any frozen meal entree.   You're lazy but eating within ten minutes.

Do the research.   You can make almost anything in this damn thing in a fraction of the usual time.

Try it.  You'll like it.

Dinner last night:  Leftover ribs.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - April 13, 2026

 There's nothing like live TV.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Weekend Tubing It

 

Yeah, this is one of those crazy quirks of life.  A Sunday blog piece devoted to Saturday.

Back when I was a kid, Saturday morning television was a big deal.   One cartoon show morphing into the next.  From Crusader Rabbit to Bugs and Daffy to the Beatles.  You might have topped it off around noon time with a rerun episode of Sky King, which was wisely sponsored by Nabisco---the cookie maker that thrived on the moppets that were watching.

The only problem is that I was usually occupied on Saturday mornings.  Accompanying my dad on the weekend morning errands.  From dry cleaner to delicatessen to bakery to gas station.  If I was lucky, I was home for Sky King and his plane, the Songbird.  But, most of the time, all that TV was a washout for me.

I really didn't care.

For me, the really, really good stuff was on Saturday afternoons.

This is back in the New York day when you didn't have a lot of choices.  Three network channels plus three independent stations that pretty much existed on buying ancient sitcom reruns and old movies from the 30s and 40s.  

As it turns out, it was the latter that intrigued me most.

After lunch and my chores upstairs were done, I'd race downstairs because this was quality TV time with my grandmother.  The independent stations like Channel 11 WPIX, Channel 9 WOR, and Channel 5 WNEW Metromedia dusted off some junk that was gold to Grandma and me.  They umbrella-ed it all under themes and we loved it all.  From October to March, that's where you would find me.  With her in front of her Philco TV.  If it was cold and rainy outside, it was even warmer with that black-and-white glow.

Of course, there was one particular snack I needed for this every Saturday.  I'd first dash around the corner to Charlie's Delicatessen and pick up my Saturday afternoon TV accompaniment.

Two Slim Jims.  I'd savor them bite-by-bite.  Slowly so they would last through one or two of the old movies that would hold me captive.

Obviously, WJBK-TV in Detroit did the same thing that WNEW-TV in New York did.  Charlie Chan Theater and we loved it.  The opening slide for it was totally inappropriate.   Chinese music with a caricature of Chan drawn with slanted lines.  We'd try to solve the mystery along with Charlie and Number One Son. 

Of course, there were several different actors playing Charlie Chan and none of them were Asian.  The best was this Swedish actor named Warner Oland.  He was our favorite.  Of course, just as she would do while watching her beloved wrestling, Grandma would shout warnings to the TV when Charlie or Number One Son got too close to some danger.

"Watch out, Charlie.  Somebody is hiding in that closet."

They must have heard her because the killer always got caught in the nick of time.  

Another big favorite for us on Saturday afternoons was the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller.  Indeed, as I have recently re-watched all of them, every single film has the same plot as the last.

White hunters come on safari looking for ivory in the elephant burial grounds.  They are led by a pack of good natives.

They meet Tarzan, Jane, and Boy.

One of the hunters plays with a lion cub.  The mother attacks him.  Tarzan comes to the rescue.

Invariably, there's a moment where Olympic champion Weissmuller needed to show off his talents.

"Jane, swim."

And they would cavort for a couple of minutes in the MGM water tank that later housed Esther Williams.

At another point, everybody is on a jungle river raft which capsizes.  Alligators and crocodiles attack.  Tarzan wrestles one underwater.

Jane and Boy are captured, along with the rest of the safari team, by a pack of bad natives.  Cheetah the chimp runs to get Tarzan, who does his yell.  Dozens of elephants show up to trample the bad natives.

The end.

None of them ever differed from this cinematic template.   We didn't care.  I munched on my second Slim Jim.  And Grandma coached from her chair.

"Hurry up, Cheetah.  Go get Tarzan."

Seriously.  

Cheetah, of course, was the scene stealer and, as the series moved on, the chimp became more and more human until it was laughing at people like your drunken father-in-law at the Thanksgiving table.

We could never get enough of Laurel and Hardy.  While I loved every single two-reeler that got unspooled on Saturday afternoons, my grandmother was waiting patiently for one particular short.

She had told me for years of an experience she had back in the Bronx of the 20s.  There was what she called an open air movie theater.  Indeed, she often called this as the very last time she had actually gone out to the movies.  Well, it was a Laurel and Hardy adventure running that time.  Grandma talked about it on numerous occasions.  

"It was a silent picture.  Laurel and Hardy were selling Christmas trees.  And it was the funniest thing I ever saw."

I heard that quotation over and over for years.  And, every Saturday afternoon when it was time for Stan and Ollie, Grandma would hope that they would show the short she remembered from decades before.

Because it was a silent film, they never did.  And, every Saturday afternoon, my grandmother would be disappointed.

I have since done my research and seen the short that she so anxiously waited for.   It's called "Big Business" and it is a laugh riot.  It's too bad I never got to watch it with her.

As the Saturday afternoon moved on, Grandma would leave the living room to start her dinner, which she would, of course, enjoy at no later than 4:30PM.  It was just as well because that's usually when one of the many Andy Hardy chapters would air.  They all started with the portrait you see above.   The very sight of it propelled my grandmother to her stove.

"Mickey Rooney.  Shrimp."

I, however, loved them all.  It was this idyllic life that nobody enjoyed any more.  When a kid could get into some sort of trouble and it would all be solved by your father taking you into the den for a heart-to-heart talk.

This never happened in my house.  For starters, we didn't have a den.

Nevertheless, the plots of all these Andy Hardy movies were as predictable and innocuous as the last.  

Andy gets into trouble.  

He falls for a girl. 

He ignores the one next door, usually played by Judy Garland.

Judy would moon over Andy with one or two songs.

The other girl dumps Andy.

Judge Hardy, in the aforementioned den, tells Andy all about life's travails.

Andy goes off to the malt shop to join neighbor Judy for an egg cream.

The end.

Maybe that was the attraction I had for all this Saturday afternoon TV.  It was film history, yes.  But, it was all as comfortable as macaroni and cheese and your favorite slippers.  Indeed, I probably only followed this routine for two or three years.   But the memories linger to this day.

Luckily, you can still watch all of the above on Turner Classic Movies.   And, almost mystically, they frequently air them on Saturday afternoons.  Guess who tunes in?   Or, perhaps, loads up a DVD on his Blu-Ray.

The only thing missing is Grandma yelling at the TV set.  But, I can still hear her.   And, miraculously, sometimes even with me holding a Slim Jim in my hand.

Dinner last night:  BBQ baby back ribs in the air fryer.

Classic Newsreel of the Month - April 2026

 The news from April 1964.   With that plush stadium opening in Flushing, NY.

Dinner last night:  Cheese and crackers.

Springtime for Awkwardness

 

Obviously, the photographer had told them this would be nothing but a head shot.

If this is a familyu portrait, I have some questions.

Little Petunia is being blocked by, well, a little petunia.

The way Dad is sitting behind Mom, you would think she would have a bigger smile on her face. 

This time, the dog is giving Mom a bath.

Future pole dancer.

Trying to fit a size 6 baby into a size 4 wagon.

"Mommy, this uncle is drunk now, too."

I need her phone number.

Surprisingly, the most awkward thing in this picture is the sofa.

Dinner last night:  Salisbury steak.

Morons of the Month - May 2026

A year plus after the devastating fires of the Pacific Palisades, I have found myself of late having to venture to that neighborhood as my dentist's office was relatively unscathed on a block now otherwise filled with vacant lots and charred fireplaces.

Indeed, here's how horrible those fires were.   I personally and directly know eight people who lost their homes.   That would include my eye doctor, my dentist, two dental hygienists, three people I used to work with, and two folks in my gym.

As I drove to get my new nightguard, I noted that there is some construction and signs of life where close to 7,000 homes were destroyed.  But, along with some trucks containing wood slat and the occasional Port-O-San, you can't miss the most frequent reminders of what happened here.   Lots of American flags.  And this sign...

And, of course, pleas for resignations from the inept Governor Newsom and...the Mayor.

Newsom's failures in this state have been known for a while.   But he gets a hall pass because he loves to poke at Trump.  

And I've long known about the ineptitude of Karen Bass who used to be my Congressperson.  I've written about her years ago for ignoring my e-mails regarding health care costs.    I never got the courtesy of a response, but that may be largely due to some profiling.   I have been told that "Black" sounding names are the ones who get the callbacks.  

So, Len, you may ask...this is old news.   Well, not really.  You see, Bass as in Ass is up for re-election and is currently leading in the polls.   

Now think about the name of this monthly blog entry.  Morons of the Month.  If you live in Los Angeles and can drive over to see what happened to some of its neighborhoods, how could you possibly vote for these shitheads?  I've often said that there are some Democrats who would vote for Adolf Hitler if he had a D after his name.

I can hear the nisguided rationale now.

"Well, he was misunderstood."

"He suffered harassment and abuse from that art teacher."

"His hair style is better than Trump's."

This is all too much for me to comprehend.

Dinner last night:  Prosciutto, provolone, and cantaloupe.

This Date in History - April 8

 

Henry Aaron's historic home run happened on this date.   And not a speck of steroids was used.

217:  ROMAN EMPEROR CARACALLA IS ASSASSINATED.  

Back in the day when, if you didn't like a ruler...well...there were ways...

1093:  THE NEW WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL IS DEDICATED BY WALKELIN.

You're bringing me down.

1139:  ROGER II OF SICILY IS EXCOMMUNICATED.

Roger and out.

1149:  POPE EUGENE III TAKES REFUGE IN THE CASTLE OF PTOLEMY II OF TUSCULUM.

Tusculum?   I was prescribed that for a cough.

1665:  ENGLISH COLONIAL PATENTS ARE GRANTED FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MONMOUTH TRACT FOR WHAT WOULD BECOME MONMOUTH COUNTY IN NEW JERSEY.

And, later on, Monmouth Racetrack.

1730:  SHEARITH ISRAEL, THE FIRST SYNAGOGUE IN NEW YORK CITY, IS DEDICATED.

There would be one or two more.

1808:  THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BALTIMORE IS PROMOTED TO AN ARCHDIOCESE BY POPE PIUS VII.

So, a diocese is sort of like a Triple A minor league team?

1820:  THE VENUS DE MILO IS DISCOVERED ON THE AEGEAN ISLAND OF MELOS.

She was found unarmed.

1864:  DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, UNION FORCES ARE THWARTED BY THE CONFEDERATE ARMY AT MANSFIELD, LOUISIANA.

Well, somehow, in the next 12 months, the Union fortunes would change for the better.

1892:  ACTRESS MARY PICKFORD IS BORN.

Did she come out with the curls?

1895:  THE SUPREME COURT OF THE US DECLARES UNAPPORTIONED INCOME TAX TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

How about all of income tax?

1904:  LONGACRE SQUARE IN MANHATTAN IS RENAMED TIMES SQUARE AFTER THE NEW YORK TIMES.

I did not know this and, sometimes with this weekly history entry, I even astound myself.

1906:  AUGUSTE DETER, THE FIRST PERSON TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, DIES.

I'm glad historians remembered this.  Auguste Deter sure didn't.

1908:  HARVARD UNIVERSITY VOTES TO ESTABLISH THE HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL.

Because all those smart graduates are going to need good accountants.

1913:  THE 17TH AMENDMENT TO THE US CONSTITUTION, REQUIRING DIRECT ELECTION OF SENATORS, BECOMES LAW.

I look at folks like Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid and suddenly this is not such a good thing.

1918:  FORMER FIRST LADY BETTY FORD IS BORN.

She died at 93, so drinking does have its merits.

1918:  ACTOR DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS AND CHARLIE CHAPLIN SELL WAR BONDS ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY.

I guess neither of them were good at Three Card Monte.

1923:  ACTOR EDWARD MULHARE IS BORN.

Years before he was a ghost on TV.

1933:  COMPOSER FRED EBB IS BORN.

Life begins...and it's a cabaret.

1935:  THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION IS FORMED WHEN THE EMERGENCY RELIEF APPROPRIATION ACT OF 1935 BECOMES LAW.

Shovel Ready, the 1935 Version.

1943:  US PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, IN AN ATTEMPT TO CHECK INFLATION, FREEZES WAGES AND PRICES, PROHIBITS WORKERS FROM CHANGING JOBS UNLESS THE WAR EFFORT IS AIDED, AND BARS RATE INCREASES FROM PUBLIC UTILITIES.

A busy day.  His mistress must have been out of town.

1943:  BROADWAY DIRECTOR MICHAEL BENNETT IS BORN.

A Chorus Life.

1952:  US PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN CALLS FOR THE SEIZURE OF ALL DOMESTIC STEEL MILLS TO PREVENT A NATIONWIDE STRIKE.

I wonder how Dewey would have handled this.

1954:  BASEBALL STAR GARY CARTER IS BORN.

This should be a national holiday.

1964:  UNMANNED GEMINI I IS LAUNCHED.

So who was steering it?

1974:  IN ATLANTA, HANK AARON HITS HIS 715TH CAREER HOME RUN TO SURPASS BABE RUTH'S RECORD.

And I don't care why anybody says.  Barry Bonds did not break Aaron's record.

1975:  FRANK ROBINSON MANAGES THE CLEVELAND INDIANS IN HIS FIRST GAME AS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S FIRST BLACK MANAGER.

And, regardless of color, I hear the guy's a real shithead.

1978:  FORMER BASEBALL COMMISSIONER FORD FRICK DIES.

Frick him.

1987:  LA DODGERS EXECUTIVE AL CAMPANIS RESIGNS AMID CONTROVERSY OVER RACIAL COMMENTS HE MADE ON TV'S NIGHTLINE.

He said Black men can't swim.  How come nobody get into an uproar when somebody says White men can't jump?

1990:  ACTIVIST RYAN WHITE DIES.

That little kid with AIDs.

1992:  RETIRED TENNIS GREAT ARTHUR ASHE ANNOUNCES THAT HE HAS AIDs, ACQUIRED FROM BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS DURING HEART SURGERIES.

It's still amazing how slow hospitals were to react to this crisis.

1996:  ACTOR BEN JOHNSON DIES.

The real Last Picture Show.

2005: CHOREOGRAPHER ONNA WHITE DIES.

She created the "I've Got a Lot of Living" dance in Bye Bye Birdie.  For this alone, I want the day off.

2005:  OVER FOUR MILLION PEOPLE ATTEND THE FUNERAL OF POPE JOHN PAUL II.

Or, in translation, four years of Mets attendance at Citi Field.

2013:  ACTRESS ANNETTE FUNICELLO DIES.

M-i-c...d-e-a-d.

2018:  COMIC CHUCK MCCANN DIES.

Hi, guy.

Dinner last night:   Leftover rigatoni.

A Different Kind of Love Story

 

You hear about a 2 and a half hour movie set in outer space with lots of special effects and you expect it to be a complicated mess.  But, not "Project Hail Mary" starring the always reliable and super engaging Ryan Gosling.   This flick is as simple as you get.   Indeed, there's only about ten people in the cast.   And yes, there is a lot of confusing SFX.   But, at its heart and gore, this movie is a...

...story of love and friendship.  It doesn't get any more basic than that.

Okay, first for the crazy plot.   Gosling plays a middle school science teacher who suddenly wakes up from a coma in outer space.   You see the sun is dimming and will kill 2/3 of the Earth's population and it's all hands on deck to stop that.  And that includes Gosling and his middle school science lessons.

The teacher starts applying simple school experiments to solve the problem.  Naturally, this is all over my head and the heads of the rest of the audience.  But Gosling's winning manner makes it all unbelievably sensible.

And then he is visited by an alien who looks like a boulder with arms.  He is suitably named Rocky.  The bulk of the movie now moves into a two man...okay, one man and one rock...relationship of education, respect, and friendship.   It is truly the core of the movie and it sells it perfectly.  Never has am end-of-the-world cinema epic been so comfortable to watch.  Plus there are some callouts to other movies.   You hear the musical chords from "Close Encounters."  And, naturally, Rocky talks about his girlfriend...Adrian.  Duh.   

Finally something decent to see in this genre.  

LEN'S RATING:  Three-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Leftover lasagna.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - April 6, 2026

 The now monthly visit with Oliver the Beagle.

Dinner last night:  Baby back ribs at the Smoke House.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Easter Redux Again

 

It's a weird holiday on our calendar.  The first problem with Easter Sunday is that it's not consistent.  Sometimes it's in April.   Or, in other years, March.  It can be hotter than blazes.   Or you have six inches of snow on your doorstep.

Meanwhile, there is the day itself.  Unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas, when family gatherings were a requirement, there was less of a focus on the big holiday meal for Easter.  Sometimes we did.   Or, in other years, we didn't. 

There were one or two Easters when we got all dressed up and took a bunch of silly pictures out in a park or at City Island in the Bronx.  You see evidence of that as my mom poses for one of Dad's Technicolor slides with Bing Crosby Jr.    At the same time, there were several Easters where we never left the front of the television set.  Let's Go, Mets!   Let's Go, Mets!

There were gifts for Easter sometimes.  And then, sometimes, there weren't.   There was always a chocolate bunny and a basket full of candy.  Which my dad would eat most of since my parents were worried about cavities. 

A holiday celebration that was sometimes sweet and very frequently sour.

Yep, I could never get a handle on Easter Sunday.

Okay, there is the religious celebration and that was always stressed when I was a kid.  My grandparents didn't go to church all that much anymore, but they never missed Good Friday services.  Meanwhile, while we were a Protestant home with nary a religion-provoked dietary restriction, my own parents really pushed the "no meat" rule on Good Friday.  It was always grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. 

Part of my confusion about this Easter stuff naturally came from an innocent child's questioning of what I learned in Sunday school.  On Good Friday, you're told that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross and took three hours to die.  There was one kid in my neighborhood who was a religious nut.  He told me that the nuns in his school told him that the skies get dark every Good Friday from the hours of 12 noon to 3PM. 

Yeah, right.

Naturally, that very year, it happened just like he said.  Day turned into night due to an impending storm.  I peered out the window of my grandmother's living room at the doom and gloom.  Maybe there was something to this all.   Ever the skeptic, Grandma injected her usual logic.

"Oh, don't believe everything those crazy Catholics tell you."

Oh.

My inward struggle also got contributions from my mother, who wasn't particularly religious but had dragged me to every Biblical epic that played at the RKO Proctor's Theater on Gramatan Avenue in Mount Vernon, New York.   We saw them all either first-run or in revival.

"The Story of Ruth."

"Spartacus."

"The Ten Commandments."

"King of Kings."

"Barabbas."

"El Cid."

"The Robe."

Whatever the film, most ended with Jesus dying on the cross and the subsequent resurrection.  The latter was another concept that had me raising my hand in question a time or two.

They put Jesus Christ in a tomb.   They blocked it with a stone.  But, by the third day, he was gone.   Risen to heaven.   His body was gone.

Okay, this happens to all people, right, Mom?

When my dad's brother, Uncle Fritz, died and was buried at Ferncliff, I had a novel idea.   Let's go up there and see if we can watch this happen.  I mean, you must be able to see these people coming out of their graves and going skyward.  I presented this idea to both my parents.   And got the vague response.

"It doesn't work like that."

But they told us that in Sunday school.  The pastor told us that.  Gee, we saw it happen just like that in "King of Kings."

"It's more complicated than that."

Uh huh.  Over the years of my life, I realized that those questions were at the very heart of Christian belief. 

So, along with the changing day and unplanned weather and the inconsistent holiday celebrations, that was the main reason I still can't figure out Easter Sunday.  Our church is temporarily closed but, in my mind, I hear the story one more time.  

Perhaps that's the struggle that was originally intended. 

And then, to make the holiday even more confusing, there are those Easters when I spent the day at a Dodger game.  Go figure.

Dinner last night:  Lasagna.

Classic TV Commercial of the Month - April 2026

 Do they still make Vanquish?

Dinner last night:  Popcorn at the movies.

That Lovable Easter Bunny

 

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

April Fools With a Police Record

 

And you all thought we got Osama bin Laden?

Hey, who stole my Bic Razor???

Yeah, we know.   You're innocent.

This is jail, not Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater.

No, God doesn't really listen to felons.

Wow, where do I start?

And she posed the same way for her prom picture.

Eight out of ten convicts don't use Crest.

 He's one of the two in ten that do use Crest.

Please don't let the camera pan down.

The helmet will come in handy for the prison football game.

Oh, my God!  They've arrested Della Reese!

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

This Date in History - April 1

 

No fooling around today.   All of this really happened on April 1.  

286:  EMPEROR DIOCLETIAN ELEVATES HIS GENERAL MAXIMIAN TO CO-EMPEROR WITH THE RANK OF AUGUSTUS AND GIVES HIM CONTROL OVER THE WESTERN DIVISION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

I wonder how many times the Western Division plays the Eastern and Central Divisions.

325:  CROWN PRINCE JIM CHENGDI, AGE 4, SUCCEEDS HIS FATHER AS EMPEROR OF THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY.

No age requirement there.

457:  MAJORIAN IS ACCLAIMED EMPEROR BY THE ROMAN ARMY.

The majorian rules.

527:  BYZANTINE EMPEROR JUSTIN 1 NAMES HIS NEPHEW JUSTINIAN I AS CO-RULER.

Justin time.

1318:  BERWICK-UPON-TWEED IS CAPTURED BY THE SCOTTISH FROM ENGLAND.

How about Berwick-Upon-Polyester and Wool Blend?

1572: IN THE EIGHTY YEARS WAR, THE WATERGEUZEN CAPTURE BRIELLE FROM THE SPANIARDS, GAINING THE FIRST FOOTHOLD ON LAND FOR WHAT WOULD BECOME THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.

There's a Brielle in New Jersey.  I don't think this is the same one.

1789:  IN NEW YORK CITY, THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOLDS ITS FIRST QUORUM AND ELECTS FREDERICK MUHLENBERG OF PENNSYLVANIA AS ITS FIRST HOUSE SPEAKER.

Back when House Speakers had a brain in their heads.

1854:  CHARLES DICKENS' NOVEL "HARD TIMES" BEGINS SERIALIZATION.

How about "Fast Times?"   At Ridgemont High?

1865:  THE BATTLE OF FIVE FORKS DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WARS.

I guess forks can kill just as much as knives.

1883:  ACTOR LON CHANEY SR. IS BORN.

The Man of a Thousand Faces.  As opposed to Nancy Pelosi, who only had five.

1887:  THE MUMBAI FIRE BRIGADE IS ESTABLISHED.

Slumdog Fireman.

1891:  THE WRIGLEY COMPANY IS FOUNDED IN CHICAGO.

Chew on that for a while.

1893:  THE RANK OF CHIEF PETTY OFFICER IN THE US NAVY IS ESTABLISHED.

That's so...well...petty.

1922:  WRITER WILLIAM MANCHESTER IS BORN.

Birth of a Writer.

1924:  ADOLF HITLER IS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN JAIL FOR HIS PARTICIPATION IN THE BEER HALL PUTSCH.  HOWEVER, SHE SPENDS ONLY NINE MONTHS IN JAIL, DURING WHICH HE WRITES MEIN KAMPF.

Dumbest guy in the world?   The guard who opened the prison door and let him out.

1924:   THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE IS FORMED.

Good.  In case we're attacked from the North.

1929:  ACTRESS JANE POWELL IS BORN.

Still with us.  And married to a former Little Rascal Dickie Moore.

1932:  ACTRESS DEBBIE REYNOLDS IS BORN.

Mother of Princess Leia.

1933:  THE RECENTLY ELECTED NAZIS UNDER JULIUS STREICHER ORGANIZE A ONE-DAY BOYCOTT OF ALL JEWISH-OWNED BUSINESSES IN GERMANY, USHERING IN A SERIES OF ANTI-SEMITIC ACTS.

That series will unfortunately be long running.

1934:  NEW YORK MET ROD KANEHL IS BORN.

Hot Rod!

1937:  DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR, SPAIN IS BOMBED BY NAZI FORCES.  

So they hated the Spaniards, too.

1939:  ACTRESS ALI MCGRAW IS BORN.

Love means never having to say "happy birthday."

1939:  GENERALISIMO FRANCISCO FRANCO OF THE SPANISH STATE ANNOUNCES THE END OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR.

Still dead in 2015.

1944:   BASEBALL STAR RUSTY STAUB IS BORN.

Love his baby back ribs.  Oh, and the baseball playing, too.

1945:  DURING WORLD WAR II, UNITED STATES TROOPS LAND ON OKINAWA IN THE LAST MAJOR CAMPAIGN OF THE WAR.

Getting ready to say sayonara.

1949:  THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA REPEALS JAPANESE CANADIAN INTERNMENT.

The war's been over for four years.   What took you so long?  

1957:  THE BBC BROADCASTS THE SPAGHETTI TREE HOAX.

The sequel was the Ravioli Plant Scandal.

1965:  BUSINESSWOMAN HELENA RUBINSTEIN DIES.

No amount of eye shadow is going to cover this up.

1967:  THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION BEGINS OPERATION.

Well, heck, how did people get around before this???

1970:  PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON SIGNS THE PUBLIC HEALTH CIGARETTE SMOKING ACT INTO LAW, REQUIRING THE SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNINGS ON TOBACCO AND BANNING CIGARETTE ADS ON TV AND RADIO IN THE US, STARTING IN 1971.

Marlboro Man, you're on notice.

1976:  APPLE INC IS FORMED.

I wonder how successful they will be.

1976:  CONRAIL TAKES OVER OPERATIONS FROM SIX BANKRUPT RAILROADS IN THE NORTHEAST.

And proceeded to run them into the ground.

1979:  IRAN BECOMES AN ISLAMIC REPUBLIC BY A 99% VOTE, OFFICIALLY OVERTHROWING THE SHAH.

Shah Na Na.

1984:  SINGER MARVIN GAYE DIES.

We heard it through the grapevine.

1996:  UMPIRE JOHN MCSHERRY DIES.

On Opening Day in Cincinnati, he was umpiring behind home plate and collapsed.  Video exists.
 
2001:  SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BECOMES LEGAL IN THE NETHERLANDS, THE FIRST CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY TO ALLOW IT.

Unless, of course, two guys get married and then the judge says....April Fools.

2004: GOOGLE ANNOUNCES GMAIL TO THE PUBLIC.

I have to tell you that it's a clunky e-mail system.

2010:  ACTOR JOHN FORSYTHE DIES.

Bachelor Corpse.

2018:  TV PRODUCER STEVEN BOCHCO DIES.

Hill Street Extremely Blue.

2025:  ACTOR VAL KILMER DIES.

The former Batman to you.

Dinner last night:  Grilled sausage.