Buddy Holly Attends Statue Dedication

July 12th, 2004

in 653 AUC, Gaius Julius Caesar was born. This minor Roman general played a part in subduing the Gauls. In his memoirs, he vastly inflated his role in the whole campaign, making him something of a laughing stock among his peers. Many plebeians flocked to hear him speak, though, so he made a living in his later years as an orator.

in 1864, the deciding battle of the American Civil War was fought as Jubal Early’s forces sacked Washington, D.C. Lincoln immediately sent word to President Davis of the Confederacy that he was ready to discuss terms of peace.

in 1901, Carla Lambert appears in her first film, an adaptation of the current best-selling children’s book The Wizard Of Oz. She played the relatively small role of Glinda, the good witch of the south. Her beauty and poise win her many fans, and she moves to starring roles soon after the release of this film.

in 1937, famed blaxploitation star Bill Cosby was born in Philadelphia. After getting his break in the 60’s spy show I Spy, Cosby went on to star in such black action films as Shaft. He defined the role of black action hero that later actors Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy would seek to emulate.

in 4648, Imperial ministers Chang Kai-Shek and Mao Tse-Tung nearly come to blows as they argue over what rights it would be permissible to allow non-nobles to have. the Emperor has to physically pull them away from each other; in fact, Chang landed a blow on Dao-Ming before realizing who he was swinging at. Chang is in fear of his life, but Dao-Ming simply says, “In the world I envision, it is not right to kill men for a mistake. Let us forget that it happened.” With this simple act of mercy, Dao-Ming changes the mood of the entire assemblage.

in 1982, Steven Spielberg showed that he wasn’t always a wunderkind as his latest film, ET the Extraterrestrial, tanked at the box office. Dismissed by critics as sappy and predictable, audiences just were not able to emotionally connect with a character that was essentially played by a puppet.

in 1992, a statue honoring Texas-born musical legend Buddy Holly was unveiled in Dallas, Texas. The aging rock star attended the ceremony with his wife, 4 children and 7 grandchildren, along with his large extended family from Lubbock. Though he hadn’t lived in the state since the 50’s, Holly still spoke with a Texas drawl as he said, “I love the statue, but maybe y’all shoulda used a better lookin’ model.”

in 2003, meteorologist Livinia Nixon found that the Martians had drained over half of the fresh water on the planet by stealing the polar ice. With Jacob Sheridan at her side, she presented her findings to Prime Minister John Howard, who had never trusted the Martians to begin with. Howard immediately brought these findings to the attention of the U.N., as well as Australia’s allies.