Well, today we meet an old friend. George Boole. As we discussed before, you should have a thought for him next time you use Boolean Logic. Which you are of course doing right now. So click a link in his memory. Or something.
Golda Meir died on this date in 1978. Like Margaret Thatcher, she shows what a strong female leader looks like. She's best known today for a couple things besides being Israel's Prime Minister. First is when she declared that Israel and her neighbors would know true peace "when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us". Sadly, it hasn't happened yet. And she's also known for her response to the 1972 Olympics Massacre (aka Black September). She called in her leaders, and told the head of Mossad that he was tasked with finding and killing the terrorists, wherever and whenever they could be found. And, she even put it into writing for his secret files, so he would have bureaucratic cover. That's a helluva woman.
Next on our list is the one you're waiting for. We all know what happened in 1980, don't we? Yes indeed. RIP John Lennon. I remember lying in bed, talking to my roommates with the radio playing, and I heard something right at the edge of sound... And I sat upright to listen again. The DJ said Lennon had been shot, and his condition was unknown. A moment later, he came back and announced Lennon's death. Sigh. Like everyone, I wish we had gotten the chance for a reunion of some kind, but alas. All that being said, I have to admit that I think too many of his songs were pretentious and immature, and Dear God spare me from ever having to hear that moronic song "Imagine" again.
Slim Pickens also died today, in 1983. He was in "Blazing Saddles" and "1941", which is ironic since that dealt with events around Pearl Harbor and its aftermath. Funny guy, who told off the Japanese who captured him in 1941 in hilarious fashion. Ah, good times.
Darrell Abbott also died today, in 2004. He was better known of course as Dimebag Darrell. Like Lennon, he was shot by a lunatic. Unlike Lennon, he was onstage at the time. I'm no expert on him, but I recall reading a short bit by someone who knew him when he was younger. DD gave the guy guitar lessons, and they of course lost track over the years, though the guy followed his career with interest. Some years later, when DD had hit it big with Pantera, the writer was at some fan fest; and DD saw him. Gave him a warm greeting, and treated him like an old friend- not a shred of pretense. I think that probably speaks volumes about him, though I could be wrong. Hell, the whole story could be fake for all I know. But assuming it's true, he impressed a lot of people.
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