QUARANTINE BLOG # 232

November 17, 2020

November 17, 1968, was a Sunday, and the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets were playing a football game which will forever be known as “The Heidi Game.”

The Oakland Raiders scored two touchdowns in nine seconds to beat the New York Jets – and no one saw it, because they were watching the movie Heidi instead.  With just 65 seconds left to play, NBC switched off the game in favor of its previously scheduled programming.

With a little more than a minute left to play, the Jets kicked a 26-yard field goal that gave them a 32-29 lead (the 8th lead change of the game).  On their next possession the Raiders scored a touchdown, and took the lead, 32-36.  Then the Jets fumbled the kickoff, Oakland recovered the ball, and ran it in for another touchdown.  The Raiders had scored twice in nine seconds, and they won 43-32.  But nobody outside the Oakland Coliseum actually saw any of this, because NBC went to commercial right after the Jets’ kickoff and never came back. 

👉  Here in Georgia we are suffering through two more months of political ads because neither of our two Senatorial races produced a winner.  By Georgia law, the winner must gain 50% of the vote plus one.  And as they were over the last year of campaigning for all offices, both local and national, the ads are ugly, causing this blogger to hit the remote button frequently (and not just for “one call, that’s all”).  Scouring for a clip for an earlier blog, YouTube’s research pulled up some clips of the humor of President Ronald Reagan.  I saved a half dozen of them, and over the next few blogs I’ll be sharing them.  Here is an 85 second clip from a presidential debate – it really was a debate and not a display of schoolboy behavior and lack of manners – between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkKVzb_7NIo.

👉  A second experimental COVID-19 vaccine – this one from Moderna Inc. – has yielded extraordinarily strong early results, another badly needed dose of hope as the pandemic enters a terrible new phase.  Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from an ongoing study.  A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own vaccine looked 90% effective.  

A vaccine can’t come fast enough, as virus cases topped 11 million in the U.S. over the weekend –  1 million of them recorded in just the past week – and governors and mayors are ratcheting up restrictions ahead of Thanksgiving.  The outbreak has killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide, over 246,000 of them in the U.S.

👉  Speaking of governors ratcheting, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced new restrictions aimed at mitigating the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.  “The situation has never been more dire,” Whitmer said.  “We are at the precipice, and we need to take some action.”

Starting today, in-person classes at high schools and colleges statewide and eat-in dining at restaurants and bars will be suspended until December 8.  Middle schools and elementary schools are allowed to continue face-to-face instruction under the new pubic health order as long as they continue to require mask-wearing and follow other health guidelines.

All organized sports and group exercise classes will be canceled.  In addition, casinos, movie theaters, bowling alleys, ice skating rinks, bingo halls, arcades and indoor water parks will have to temporarily shut down, and all businesses are asked to allow employees to work from home if possible.  Gatherings inside homes will also be limited to two households at a time under the new order. 

👉  And how the bidders loved him!  A buyer shouted out with glee that he would pay $368,000 for the Rudolph and Santa Claus figures used in the Christmas special “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”  The buyer was not identified, but the seller, Peter Lutrario, said he wanted to be able to take care of his children and grandchildren with the money.  The figures were among several used to make the 1964 stop-motion animation television special.  The 6-inch-tall Rudolph and 11-inch-tall Santa were made in Tokyo of wood, wire, cloth and leather, and are still malleable.  Rudolph’s nose still lights up.  Santa’s beard is made from yak hair.

👉 Speaking of auctions, I promised you another song from the mid-1950s.  Written by Leroy Van Dyke and inspired by his own experiences as an auctioneer, “The Auctioneer” eventually topped the pop music charts, selling 2.5 million copies.  Van Dyke wrote it while stationed in Korea during the Korean War, and first performed it for troops on the same bill as Marilyn Monroe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPqzfiesoJY.  

👉  I apologize for missing the birthday of the “Man Who May Never Be King,” Britain’s Prince Charles.  The Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne – a title he has held since he was 3 years old – celebrated his 72nd birthday Saturday.  Gun salutes would normally have been fired from London’s Green Park and the Tower of London for the heir to the throne’s birthday, but the traditional ceremonies did not take place this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.  The royal family’s official Twitter account post the accompanying photo of Charles as a baby sitting on Queen Elizabeth II’s knee.

👉  George Bennard was born in Youngstown, Ohio, shortly after the end of the Civil War. He felt impressed to train for the ministry, but his plans were disrupted when his father’s death left him responsible for his mother and sisters. Eventually George’s obligations lessened, and he was able to move to Chicago, marry, and begin in ministry with the Salvation Army. Later he was ordained by the Methodist Episcopal church and became a traveling evangelist.

After a difficult season of ministry, George realized he needed to better understand the power of the Cross of Christ. He later said, “It was like seeing John 3:16 leave the printed page, take form, and act out the meaning of redemption. While watching this scene with my mind’s eye, the theme of the song came to me.”

It took several months for the words of “The Old Rugged Cross” to formulate in his mind. As he preached through the Midwest, George would carry the words with him, working on them, polishing them, and sometimes singing them in his meetings. At last, his hymn finished, George went to the home of his friends, Rev. and Mrs. L. 0. Boswick, and sang it for them. After the last note, he looked at them and asked, “Will it do?”

The Boswicks were so moved that they helped pay the fees to have it printed, and “The Old Rugged Cross” soon began appearing in hymnbooks across America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MlwNJOQTA.

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