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April 22, 2006
Image of the Week: Dr. Fisk's bill
An interesting artifact from the archives of the Lexington Historical Society. This is a bill from Dr. Joseph Fisk of Lexington, who is seeking reimbursement for taking care of wounded British soldiers in the aftermath of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. He treats one British soldier at the Buckman taven the day of the battle, returns to treat seven more there the following day, and even comes back the next week to dress the wounds of some fellow who appears to be doing poorly. He also travels to Lincoln, Woburn, and Cambridge to treat other wounded British soldiers.
It offers an interesting perspective on the aftermath of the battle. Wounded BRitish soldiers being cared for in all these towns--along with, of course, wounded colonials. The impact of a battle on people involved reverberates for a long time after the guns have gone silent.
Posted by rickbeyer at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
Wire Recorder and old radio
I bought a wire recorder on Ebay not too long ago. It is the predecessor to the tape recorder. It records sound on a wire about the diameter of a fishing line. (When I play it for people, they can't believe that the sound is actually recorded on this thin wire. But it is, two feet per second. It is magnetized, just like audio tape.)
I bought it for demonstration purposes—wire recorders were used by the Ghost Army in World War II. This particular machine is a Webster-Chicago post-war model, from about 1952.
It came with about 30 spools of wire that already had recordings on them. I have been making digital copies for preservation purposes. I don't think any of them are one-of-a-kind recordings, but why take a risk? Many of them are high quality recordings of old CBS radio shows, including some I've never heardof, such as "The Paul Masterson Show"
One spool, unlabelled, contains a recording of longtime Santa Anita racetrack announcer Joe Hernandez calling the last race run by the famous racehorse “Seabiscuit.” This was the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap.
You can listen by clicking here.
It sounds like it might have come off a record. I found another recording of the end of the race online, and it sounds a bit different in tone than this one. It may have been recorded on a different mic, or the differences may be due to the way each was reproduced, the number of generations they have gone down, etc.
Anyway, it was a fun find. If anyone has more information about an of these recordings, I would be glad to hear it.
Posted by rickbeyer at 05:25 PM | Comments (0)
KSFO Interview
I did an interview on Friday morning with KSFO Radio, a popular AM talk station in San Francisco. The interview was with Lee Rodgers, who does their morning show. We had a great time and they invited me back for Memorial Day.
The interview really spiked the Amazon ratings for a day or so. I’ve never seen a local market interview have that big an effect on Amazon sales.
The interview came about because I contacted Lee after not having talked to him for more than 25 years, and he was nice enough to have his producer me on the show. In the late 70’s I worked at a radio station in Chicago (WIND) where Lee hosted a mid-day talk show.
I particularly recall an incident in which he neatly tweaked my athletic vanity. I was about 23 at the time, rowing crew, running, biking, ski-racing, and pretty impressed with myself. We were in the lunchroom one morning, and I was going on to Lee about all the training I was doing. He professed to be very impressed. “Your leg muscles must be really developed,” he said, reaching down to feel my calf. “Wow, that’s amazing. I’ve done some working out too, feel mine.”
I reached down to feel his calf muscle. What I didn’t know is that Lee had a prosthetic leg, the result of a lumbering accident when he was a teenager. It was a total shock, and I pulled my hand away as he laughed. I’m sure the look on my face was priceless. I try to call up the memory any time my hubris starts to run away with me.
Posted by rickbeyer at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2006
Image of the Week: WZMY
WZMY interviewer Mike DiBlasi and I took pictures of each other after last night's show. He did a much better job than I did--sorry Mike! We talked about some interesting things, including the role that women played in the events leading up to the American Revolution.
Posted by rickbeyer at 04:40 AM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2006
My TV Update
Actually, I'm going to be on around 9PM for about 20 minutes or so.
Posted by rickbeyer at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)
Where's Rick
I will be appearing on the program "My TV PRime" on WZMY-TV tonight,sometime between 8:30 and 9, talking about Paul Revere/Patriots Day/etc. The station is Channel 18 on most Boston area cable systems.
Posted by rickbeyer at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2006
Don't fire unless fired upon!
I watched the re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington this morning from the Buckman Tavern. I was in the Tap room when the minuteman ran out of the house. I chatted with “Paul Revere” right until he helped carry John Hancock’s trunk across the Lexington Green to safety. Then it was up to the attic, where we had a great view of the battle. I’m giving tours at the Tavern today from 10-2.
Posted by rickbeyer at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2006
History's Champion
Chris Bergeron of The Metro West Daily News profiled me in the paper's Arts section this morning. The article refers to me, among other things, as "slim," so I feel really good about it.
Here's a link to the online version:
Posted by rickbeyer at 08:55 AM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2006
Vietnam Symposium
A few weeks ago Marilyn and I attended a Vietnam symposium at the JFK Museum. THere were lots of heavy hitters there, and I was taking notes of things they said, so here are the quotes of note that came out of it.
"I find myself in an awkward position at events like this, the audience will expect me to be as eloquent as JFK was, forgetting that he had a far better speechwriter than I do."--Ted Sorenson, JFK's longtime speech writer
"There comes out of Iraq the sour odor of the same aromas we smelled in Vietnam."--Jack Valenti, former aide to Lyndon Johnson
"No party has a monopoly on incompetent crisis management."--Former Secretary of State General Alexander Haig
"We are in the midst of another struggle where we don't seem to have learned very much."--General Alexander Haig
"I'm not smart enough to know how to get out of Iraq, just like I wasn't smart enough to know how to get out of Vietnam."--Jack Valenti
"I came here as a refugee. I thought it was important for America to maintain it's position in the world. I tried to bring about the best solution possible." --Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, explaining that he had "no regrets" about how he handled Vietnam.
"All Wars are inhumane, brutal, callous, and filled with depravity."--Jack Valenti
"To be a TV correspondent in Vietnam was to be a hitchiker, and you could hitchike anyplace you wanted to go."--Former CBS News Correspondent Dan Rather
"For all their sacrifices, American troops in Vietnam were irrelevant. The war wasn't ours to win or lose."--Frances Fitzgerald, author of the pullitzer Prize winning book Fire in the Lake
"This nation's freedom is not being well served by Congress abdicating it's checks and balances (in reference to Iraq)."--General Wesley Clark
Posted by rickbeyer at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)
Hear the Commonwealth Journal Interivew
I've posted a copy of the Commonwealth Journal radio interview that aired today on my media page.
Posted by rickbeyer at 09:42 PM | Comments (1)
April 05, 2006
Thanks but No Thanks
Here's one I ran across today. In 1903, the CHicago Tribune asked Robert Lincoln (son of the president, and himself president of the Pullman Company) for a picture they could use occasionally in the paper. Let me quote from his reply.
I read the Tribune daily and it is one of the minor pleasures of life left tome that I can open the paper feeling sure that I am not to be confronted by a portrait of myself.
He declined the request.
Posted by rickbeyer at 06:46 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2006
Commonwealth Journal Interview
The radio program Commonwealth Journal will air a segment devoted to the Ghost Army film on Sunday April 9, It will appear on WUMB Radio in Boston at 7:30 AM and 7:00 PM. It will also appear at various times on other public radio stations in Massachusetts. Go to the Commonwealth Journal website for details. You can also find some excerpts from the interview that didn't air on the Commonwealth Journal website.
Posted by rickbeyer at 02:24 PM | Comments (0)