5-11-13

Tucson Weather Today

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Riddle:
Three frogs on a log--
One decided to jump.
How many were left?

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, May 11 in 1934, a massive storm sent millions of tons of topsoil flying from across the parched Great Plains region of the United States as far east as New York, Boston and Atlanta.

Over a period of two days, high-level winds caught and carried some 350 million tons of silt all the way from the northern Great Plains to the eastern seaboard. According to The New York Times, dust "lodged itself in the eyes and throats of weeping and coughing New Yorkers," and even ships some 300 miles offshore saw dust collect on their decks. Over a period of two days, high-level winds caught and carried some 350 million tons of silt all the way from the northern Great Plains to the eastern seaboard. According to The New York Times, dust "lodged itself in the eyes and throats of weeping and coughing New Yorkers," and even ships some 300 miles offshore saw dust collect on their decks.

The dust storms forced thousands of families from Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico to uproot and migrate to California, where they were derisively known as "Okies" -- no matter which state they were from. These transplants found life out West not much easier than what they had left, as work was scarce and pay meager during the worst years of the Great Depression.

Another massive storm on April 15, 1935 -- known as "Black Sunday" -- brought even more attention to the desperate situation in the Great Plains region, which reporter Robert Geiger called the "Dust Bowl." That year, as part of its New Deal program, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration began to enforce federal regulation of farming methods, including crop rotation, grass-seeding and new plowing methods. This worked to a point, reducing dust storms by up to 65 percent, but only the end of the drought in the fall of 1939 would truly bring relief.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Morton Lyon "Mort" Sahl
(born May 11, 1927)

Mort Sahl is a Canadian-born American comedian and actor. He occasionally wrote jokes for speeches delivered by President John F. Kennedy.

In 1976, Sahl wrote an autobiography called Heartland. It is a bitter account of his rise in comedy, his obsession with the Kennedy assassination, his decline in show business, and his long time friendship with Hugh Hefner. In 1979 he briefly hosted an afternoon talk show on WRC Radio, in Washington, D.C.

During the 1980s, Sahl made many jokes critical of his old friend, Ronald Reagan ("Washington couldn't tell a lie, Nixon couldn't tell the truth, and Reagan can't tell the difference!"). Sahl and his wife were invited to the White House by Nancy Reagan, where President Reagan roasted him at a White House tribute in front of many other top comedians. Sahl said to television interviewer Charlie Rose of the Reagans, "They are very, very forgiving."

Phil Silvers
(May 11, 1911 - Nov 1, 1985)

Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army post in which he played Sergeant Bilko.

Frances Fisher
(born May 11, 1952)

Frances Fisher is an American actress. Fisher gained name recognition playing Detective Deborah Saxon on the soap opera The Edge of Night from 1976 to 1981 During the next 10 years, she concentrated on theatre in New York and in regional theatres all over the East Coast.

In 1991, Fisher was cast as Lucille Ball in the television film Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter, which aired to strong ratings and good reviews. She has played numerous roles on American television, including parts in the series Strange Luck, Becker, and Titus.

She also played key roles in The Lyon's Den and Glory Days. She was the producers' first choice to play Jill Taylor on Home Improvement, but was replaced by Patricia Richardson due to a lack of chemistry with Tim Allen. She also had a guest spot on The Young Riders in 1991. Fisher has guest starred as a bartender, Savannah, at "The Lobo" in the first season of Roseanne.

In 1992, she appeared in Unforgiven (1992), an Academy Award winning film directed by Clint Eastwood, who also starred. Her most famous role was in film, as the society matron Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of the character played by Kate Winslet, in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic.

Foster Brooks
(May 11, 1912 - Dec 20, 2001)

Foster Brooks was an American actor and comedian most famous for his portrayal of a lovable drunken man in nightclub performances and television programs. Brooks regularly appeared on The Dean Martin Show television program in the 1970s (for which he garnered an Emmy Award nomination in 1974) as well as many situation comedies, talk shows, and a few films.

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"I'm not young enough to know everything."
--J.M. Barrie

Answer to riddle:
Three, because the frog only made a decision but did not take action.