1154 - Adrian IV was elected to the papacy. Born Nicholas Breakspear, near St. Albans, England, he was the only Englishman ever elevated to the office of pope

1674 - French Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette erected a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan, in present day Illinois. His log cabin became the first building of a settlement that afterward grew to become the city of Chicago

1791 - Britain's Observer, oldest Sunday newspaper in world, first published

1809 - The International Bible Society was founded in New York City as an interdenominational agency for translating, producing and distributing the Scriptures. The I.B.S. has since distributed the Bible to over 150 countries in the world

1837 - John Rolph & Samuel Lount assemble rebel force at Montgomery's Tavern on Yonge Street in Hogg's Hollow

1856 - Government permits free transit of goods in bond through Canada to and from US destinations

1872 - The Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spots the Mary Celeste, an American vessel, sailing erratically but at full sail near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, but not a soul was onboard

1884 - First meeting of Calgary's Town Council held in Boynton Hall

1902 - Ontario goes dry, brings in prohibition by 199,749 votes; with 103,542 opposed

1909 - The University of Toronto beats Toronto Parkdale, 26-6, in the first Grey Cup game, before 3,807 fans

1914 - Founding of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association

1920 - First Pro football playoff game Buffalo-7, Canton-3 at Polo Grounds

1923 - Cecil B DeMille's first version of "Ten Commandments" premieres

1945 - The United States joins the United Nations

1947 - USSR joins International Amateur Athletic Union

1949 - Bob Gage ties NFL record of a 97 yard touchdown run

1961 - Tanganyika becomes the 104th member of the UN

1964 - Beatles release "Beatles For Sale" album

1977 - NFL's 5,000th game, Cincinnati beats Kansas City 27-7

1981 - "Falcon Crest" premieres on CBS-TV

1983 - New Jersey Devils first shut-out, beating Detroit Red Wings 6-0

1991 - Judds final concert (Nashville)

1991 - Pan American World Airways ceased operations

1991 - Journalist Terry Anderson, the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon, is freed by his Islamic Holy War captors after being held for 2,454 days

1995 - Itzhak Rabin PM of Israel (1968-73), assassinated

1996 - NASA's first Mars rover launched from Cape Canaveral

1996 - General Motors releases the first electric car to be mass-produced

1998 - The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour began the in-space assembly of the International Space Station (ISS)

 

Birthdays

1443 - Pope Julius II (1503-13)
1822 - Frances Crabbe, England - feminist:  founded Anti-Vivisection Society
1835 - Samuel Butler, England - author: Erewhom, Way of All Flesh
1835 - Sir Richard John Cartwright, Kingston Ont - politician: knighted in 1879, he was a federal cabinet minister and led the Ontario Liberal Party, championing the cause of free trade with the US
1861 - Lillian Russell, Clinton Iowa �?actress: HMS Pinafore, Grand Mogul
1888 - Aleksandar I Karadordjevic - King of Yugoslavia (1921-34)
1889 - Buck Jones [Charles F Gebhart], US - actor : War Horse
1889 - Isabel Randolph, Illinois - actress: Fuller Brush Girl, Our Miss Brooks
1892 - Francisco Franco [Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde], El Ferrol, Iberia - general/dictator of Spain (1936-75)
1899 - Sonny "Rice" Miller, Glendora Mississippi �?harmonica player: King Biscuit Time
1905 - Emilio Médici - President of Brazil (1969-74)
1910 - Alex North, Chester PA - composer: Spartacus, Viva Zapata, Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
1910 - Ramaswamy Venkataraman - President of India (1987-92)
1912 - John W Pritchard [Ian Wallace], US - author: Megalomania
1913 - Mark Robson, Montreal �?movie producer: Avalanche Express, Happy Birthday, Wanda June
1920 - Michael Bates, Jhansi India - actor: Clockwork Orange, Patton
1921 - Deanna Durbin, Winnipeg Manitoba - actress: 100 Men & a Girl
1922 - Gerard Philipe, Cannes France - actor: Caligula, Le Diable au Corps
1925 - Maurice Binder, NY City - photographer/film titler: James Bond movies
1928 - Dena Dietrich, Pittsburgh PA - actress: Dena-Karen, Ethel-The Ropers
1930 - Harvey Kuenn - baseball player
1930 - Ronnie Corbett, England - comedian: 2 Ronnies
1931 - Alex Delvecchio, Fort William Ontario - NHL player: Detroit Red Wings
1933 - Horst Buchhol, Berlin Germany - actor: Magnificent 7, Raid on Entebbe, Sahara
1934 - Victor French, Santa Barbara CA - actor: Highway to Heaven
1934 - Wink [Winston Conrad] Martindale, Jackson TN - TV host: Tic-Tac-Dough, Can You Top This
1937 - Donnelly Rhodes, Winnipeg Manitoba - actor: Dutch-Soap, Double Trouble, Danger Bay
1937 - Max Baer Jr, Oakland CA - actor: Jethro-Beverly Hillbillies
1938 - Liesbeth Struppert - actress: Miep Gies-Anne Frank
1940 - Freddy Cannon [Picariello], Lynn MA �?singer: Palisades Park
1940 - John Cale, Wales - singer: Velvet Underground
1942 - Bob Mosley, Paradise Valley CA �?musician: Moby Grape
1942 - Chris Hillman, San Diego CA - singer: Byrds-Turn Turn Turn, Mr Tambourine Man
1943 - Patti Chandler, California - actress: Bikini Beach
1944 - Dennis Wilson, Hawthorne CA �?singer: Beach Boys-In My Room
1944 - Anna McGarrigle, Montreal �?singer:  McGarrigle Sisters- Heartbeats Accelerating
1948 - Southside Johnny Lyon, Neptune NJ �?singer: Asbury Jukes-Don't Want Go Home
1948 - Roberta Lynn Bondar, Sault St. Marie Ontario - first Canadian woman astronaut in space
1949 - Jeff Bridges, Los Angeles - actor: Stay Hungry, Jagged Edge, Against All Odds
1950 - Pamela Stephenson, Auckland New Zealand - actress: Superman 3, Sat Night Live
1951 - Gary Rossington - musician: Lynyrd Skynyrd; Rossington-Collins Band
1951 - Patricia Wettig, Cincinnati OH - actress: Nancy Weston-30 Something
1955 - Brian Prout, Troy NY - singer: Diamond Rio-Meet in the Middle
1956 - Bernard King - NBA player: New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets
1961 - Frank Reich - NFL player: Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions
1962 - Stan Gelbaugh - NFL player: Seattle Seahawks
1964 - Marisa Tomei, Brooklyn NY - actress: My Cousin Vinny
1969 - Terry Glenn - NFL player: New England Patriots
1970 - Jeff Blake - NFL player: Cincinnati Bengals
1972 - Damien Covington - NFL player: Buffalo Bills
1972 - Howard Eisley - NBA player: Utah Jazz
1972 - Jassen Cullimore, Simcoe Ontario - NHL player: Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning
1972 - Jude St John - CFL player: Hamilton Tiger Cats
1972 - Ted Johnson - NFL player: New England Patriots
1973 - Corliss Williamson - NBA player: Sacramento Kings
1973 - Tyra Banks - actress: Higher Learning, Fresh Prince of Bel Air

 

 

 

Kindergarten Thanksgiving

 

This will probably bring back many memories to any of us having had experiences with small children's conversations. For most people, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what we've been given and to savor the scents of crisp autumn days and pumpkin pie, but for this woman it has a whole different meaning:

 

One November afternoon when my daughter was in kindergarten, I picked her up after school. She bobbed out to the car and crawled into the back seat. "What did you do today?" I asked.

 

She couldn't wait to tell me. "We learned that boys are different from
girls" she chirped. Looking into the rearview mirror I could just see the top of her head. "My teacher told us that boys have a thing the girls don't," she added.

 

"Well, yes they do..." I said cautiously.

 

Then she piped up again. "That's how girls know that boys are boys," she said. "They see that thing hanging down and they know that he's a boy..."

 

I mentally calculated the distance home. Our five-minute commute already felt like an hour.

 

"Did you know that when the boys see a girl they puff up?"

 

My palms were beginning to sweat. "Um...well.." I was still searching for something to say, to change the subject, when she asked, "Why do the girls like boys to have those things?"

 

Well I didn't know what to say. I mean, what woman hasn't asked herself that very same question at least once? "Oh, well...um..." I stammered.

 

She didn't wait for my answer. She had her own. "It's cause it moves when they walk and when girls see that they know they're boys and that's when they like them. Then the boy sees the girl and he puffs up, then the girl really knows he likes her too. And then they get married. And then they get cooked."

 

That last part confused me a bit, but on the whole I thought she had a pretty good grasp on things. As soon as we got home she hopped out of the car, fishing something out of her school bag. "I drew a picture," she said. "...you want to see?"

 

I wasn't all that sure I did, but I looked anyway. I had to sit down. There, all puffed up so to speak, looking mighty attractive for the ladies, was a crayon drawing of a great big Tom Turkey. His snood, the thing that hangs down over his beak, the thing that female turkeys find so irresistible, was magnificent. His tail feathers were standing tall and proud.

 

She was a little offended that I laughed so hard at her drawing. I laughed until I cried. But I told her I loved it - and I did - and she got over her pique. That was the end of that... for her anyway. But I'm not so lucky. Every year I remember that conversation, and to be honest I haven't looked at a turkey or a man the same way since.