Carroll Shelby recently passed away at the age of 89. By all accounts, he was one of those people who lived life to the fullest. Certainly he is best-known as the man responsible for the cult-classic Shelby Cobra and Ford’s Shelby Mustang, but he accomplished so much more than that. He constantly “reinvented himself,” as the saying goes, enjoying periods of success as a chicken farmer, champion race car driver, racing team owner, safari tour operator, philanthropist, and a chili entrepreneur. He survived a heart transplant, kidney transplant, and seven marriages!

As an example of his tenacity, he once drove in a race with nitroglycerin pills under his tongue while fending off a heart attack, yet managed to come in third. He also raced with a broken elbow in a cast, his hand taped to the steering wheel—and came in second. But Shelby really found his calling when he put his talents into designing and building high-performance cars. He reached the pinnacle of success by helping Ford dominate the racing scene in the 1960s, but also just recently collaborated with the car maker on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang.

Goodbye Carroll Shelby, you will be remembered as a man of many talents who left an indelible mark on the auto industry, on your very colorful journey to the finish line.

May 10th is the anniversary of a very historic moment in our country’s history. In 1869, in Promontory, Utah, the Union Pacific tracks were joined to the Central Pacific tracks—and the 2,000 mile journey that once took pioneers 4 to 6 months was reduced to 6 days! One can only imagine the excitement in the air as the last spike was driven into place! Check out this site for actual photos and newspaper accounts from the event!

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/gosp1/promontory_summit.pdf

Even though I am not a collector, I still have some really wonderful train memories. My cousin Dennis had an elaborate model train setup in his family’s basement. Whenever we visited, my siblings and I were in awe of the little locomotive as it puffed along, passing by gate crossings and tiny trees, disappearing into tunnels and traveling across mountainside bridges. It was almost hypnotic.

Another fond train memory is a class field trip—a scenic ride of the Arcade & Attica railroad across western New York. Entering the historically-preserved station and bouncing in the seats of the antique train was exciting. It’s a trip I’d like to take again because looking back, even though I had fun, I was too young realize the significance of traveling along the very same rails that were spiked down by pioneers in 1881. Today, I would be able to appreciate such an inspiring trip back in time so much more. Time to call my cousin Dennis and see if he's up for a road trip!

We were sad to learn that actor Jonathan Frid, who portrayed the vampire Barnabas Collins in the cult soap Dark Shadows, passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 13^th at the age of 87. But like a true vampire, he won’t be gone long, because he makes a cameo appearance in Tim Burton’s upcoming feature-length film spoof starring Johnny Depp!

While reading up on Barnabas, I discovered that he was not an original character, but introduced months into the show’s run. He took up residence with the Collins family and became the breakout star--and a reluctant one at that. The classically-trained Frid, a stage actor with a masters degree in directing from Yale Drama School, was not a fan of his own character and could not understand why the show was so popular! At age 80, Frid began attending Dark Shadows conventions at the request of fans, and finally embraced his fame as daytime TVs beloved vampire. Now, almost a half century later, Jonathan Frid has departed this life, but our Dark Shadows memories will live on forever!

http://www.darkshadowsfestival.com/default.htm

Slow news day? I don't think there's any such thing. Being that there are only so many days in the year, it stands to reason that on each day, somewhere in history, something really inspiring, significant, or amazing took place. Take today – April 17, for example.

In 1790, founding father, inventor, and elder statesman Benjamin Franklin passed away at the ripe old age of 84. Over 200 years later, we still hold his achievements in high regard.

In 1934, Don Kirschner was born. Kirschner, a music publisher, launched the careers of Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Harry Nilsson, and The Monkees.

In 1964, Ford unveiled the Mustang at the World’s Fair. With a suggested retail price of $2,368, the car was a great success and sold over one million in its first 18 months. And it was the star of Steve McQueen's movie, Bullitt.

"The Joey Bishop Show" was launched by ABC in 1967 as competition to Carson's The Tonight Show, and ran for two years. Bishop’s sidekick was then-newcomer Regis Philbin.

In 1970, the world breathed a sigh of relief, as the ill-fated journey of Apollo 13 came to an end. The damaged spacecraft returned safely to Earth, splashing down into the Pacific Ocean.

Paul McCartney’s solo LP, McCartney, was released in 1970. On that same day, Johnny Cash performed at the White House at the request of President Nixon, singing “A Boy Named Sue.”

In 1983, Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scored 7 goals in one Stanley Cup playoff game!

And that is just a fraction of things from just ONE DATE on the calendar! (P.S. – If, after reading this, the only thought that comes to your mind on April 17th has to do with tax returns, you need to bring a little more retro fun to your life… and I know just the place!)