Paradise Driver

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Today is Wednesday, March 10th.

The 70th day of 2004.

There are 296 days left in the year.



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Today's Highlight in History:



On March 10, 1876, the first successful voice transmission over Alexander Graham Bell's telephone took place in Boston as his assistant heard Bell say, "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you."



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On this date:



In 1496, Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain.



In 1629, England's King Charles I dissolved Parliament; he did not call it back for 11 years.



In 1785, Thomas Jefferson was appointed minister to France, succeeding Benjamin Franklin.



In 1848, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the war with Mexico.



In 1849, Abraham Lincoln applies for a patent. He is the first United States president to do so.



In 1862, The first paper money in the United States is issued.



In 1864, Ulysses S. Grant became commander of the Union armies in the Civil War.



In 1880, the Salvation Army arrived in the United States from England.



In 1912, China becomes a republic after the Manchu Ching Dynasty is overthrown.



In 1940, W2XBS-TV in New York City aired the first televised opera as it presented scenes from "I Pagliacci".



In 1945, American B-29 bombers attack Tokyo, killing an estimated 100,000 people.



In 1947, The Big Four met in Moscow to discuss the future of Germany.



In 1949, Nazi wartime broadcaster Mildred E. Gillars, also known as "Axis Sally," was convicted in Washington, D.C., of treason. (She served 12 years in prison.)



In 1956, Julie Andrews, at the age of 23, made her TV debut in "High Tor" with Bing Crosby and Nancy Olson.



In 1965, "The Odd Couple," starring Walter Matthau and Art Carney, opens on Broadway. The play later goes on to become a hit television series.



In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in Memphis, Tenn., to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Ray later repudiated that plea, maintaining his innocence until his death.)



In 1971, The U.S. Senate approves an amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18.



In 1971, Indira Gandhi's Congress Party wins a landslide victory in the Indian general election.



In 1978, CBS began airing the series "The Incredible Hulk."



In 1980, "Scarsdale Diet" author Dr. Herman Tarnower was shot to death in Purchase, N.Y. (Jean Harris, convicted of murder, served nearly 12 years in prison before being released in January 1993.)



In 1982, The United States bans Libyan oil imports due to their continued support of terrorism.



In 1985, Konstantin U. Chernenko, Soviet leader for just 13 months, died at age 73.



In 1997, The series "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" began airing.



In 1998, U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf begin receiving the first vaccinations against anthrax.



In 2001, The 500th episode of "Saturday Night Live" aired on NBC.



In 2002, The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon informed the U.S. Congress in January that it was making contingency plans for the possible use of nuclear weapons against countries that threaten the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction, including Iraq and North Korea.



Ten years ago (1994):



White House officials began testifying before a federal grand jury about the Whitewater controversy.



Five years ago (1999):



During a visit to Guatemala, President Clinton acknowledged the U.S. role in Central America's "dark and painful period" of civil wars and repression.



One year ago (2003):



North Korea test-fired a short-range missile. The event was one of several in a patter of unusual military maneuvers



Facing almost certain defeat, the United States and Britain delayed a vote in the U.N. Security Council to give Saddam Hussein an ultimatum to disarm.



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Today's Birthdays:



Talk show host Ralph Emery is 71.



Bluegrass/country singer-musician Norman Blake is 66.



Actor Chuck Norris is 64.



Playwright David Rabe is 64.



Singer Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean) is 64.



Actress Katharine Houghton is 59.



Rock musician Tom Scholz (Boston) is 57.



The 19th prime minister of Canada (1993) and first woman to hold the office, Avril Phaedra Campbell is 57.



Actress Shannon Tweed is 47.



Actress Sharon Stone is 46.



Rock musician Gail Greenwood is 44.



Rock musician Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) is 41.



Britain's Prince Edward is 40.



Actress Jasmine Guy is 40.



Singer Edie Brickell is 38.



Actor Stephen Mailer is 38.



Actress Paget Brewster is 35.



Country singer Daryle Singletary is 33.



Rapper-producer Timbaland is 32.



Actor Cristian de la Fuente is 30.



Actress Bree Turner is 27.



Olympic gold-medal gymnast Shannon Miller is 27.



Actress Emily Osment is 12.



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Thought for Today:

"We must not waste life in devising means. It is better to plan less and do more." -

— William Ellery Channing, American clergyman (1780-1842).

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