This week I'm going to plunk down a portion of a game that we played on a recent live give over on YouTube. We were celebrating the birthday of a person who goes by “The Natural Progressive” who was born on January 5, 1971. That date will be worked into this as is my custom.
I think even new people will catch on so there is no need to totally explain how this works; I shall simply begin. The answers and any additional information will be toward the end of this piece. Enjoy, no cheating and excuse some awkward sentence structures if you would—and even if you won't.
One: The largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River is located in The Natural Progressive's state. At the current level it is approximately 75 miles long and about 35 miles wide. What is this lake?
Two: Active in politics throughout his adult life, this person served consecutively as Minnesota attorney general, U.S. senator, and U.S. vice president under Jimmy Carter. He lost the 1984 presidential election to incumbent Ronald Reagan, carrying only 13 electoral votes. He was born on January 5, 1928.
Three: This actor, whose birthday is January 5, 1931, has had a career that has spanned for about 60 years. He is known for some of these movie roles: The Godfather, Network, Apocalypse Now, The Apostle and my personal FAVORITE, Lonesome Dove, in which he portrayed Augustus McCray, a retired Texas Ranger who heads to Montana with a herd of cattle. He was nominated for many Emmy awards including one in 1997 for his portrayal of Adolph Eichmann.
Four: On January 5,1914 – This business, which is heavily associated with assembly lines, announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an eight-hour workday.
Five: A famous dog, who was also an ace pilot, among other things, walked on 2 legs for the first time in his comic strip on January 5, 1956. Who is this lovable beagle?
Six: On January 5, 1961 this show, which would run for six years, debuted. The main star was given peanut butter in order to aid him with his talking. Our birthday girl would probably get along super well with said star as he is her type of fun!
Seven: This pop star turned variety show host turned congressman, died on January 5, 1998 allegedly due to an unfortunate skiing mishap. Some former FBI members have admitted that there is more to the story. Either way, he doesn't have you babe any longer.
Eight: What is a solid-hoofed plant-eating domesticated mammal with a flowing mane and tail, used for riding, racing, and to carry and pull loads? Our birthday gal lives for them.
Nine: If the Natural Progressive wedged into a canoe built for one and zipped down stream, exited the vessel, extracted some ropes and other gadgets, made her way to a large formation, got over it by way of manpower only, then put up a shelter and started a fire in order to sleep under the stars, she would be partaking in THREE of her hobbies. Name one of them.
Ten: This horse became America's sweetheart basically when he won the Triple Crown in 1973. His record has not been broken yet in terms of the Belmont as he won by 31 lengths.
Eleven: Secretariat had to be put down due to a condition called laminitis or founder. What area of his body did this affect?
Twelve: The name Utah comes from the Native American Ute tribe and means people of the ________.
Thirteen: Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and others are considered to be a part of the __________ movement in country music, which goes back about 40 years. It's not because they robbed banks or anything like that but has more to do with how they wore their hair, how they dressed and how they stood out from other country artists.
Fourteen: High school seniors and best friends live in a dying Texas town. The handsome one is dating local beauty, while the other is having an affair with the coach's wife. As graduation nears, both boys contemplate their futures. While one eyes the army and the other takes over a local business, each boy struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else. What is this top movie of 1971 which was based on a book of the same title that was written by Larry McMurtry, who happened to win a Pulitzer Prize for Lonesome Dove?
Fifteen: In 1971 this toy was released with the slogan: “_______ wobble but they don't fall down.”
Sixteen: In 1971 this person was Time's Man of the Year. Believe it or not, he has Quaker roots. He also did a cameo on Laugh In and said, “sock it to me.” He would resign in shame several years later.
Seventeen: In 1971 Organic advocate Jerome Rodale made an appearance on The Dick Cavett show. Throughout the interview he constantly bragged about his health, stating that he was 'going to live to be 100!' What happened to him during said interview?
Eighteen: In 1971 this show, which is associated with bubbles and big bands, covered Brewer & Shipley's One Toke Over the Line, mistaking it for a modern spiritual.
I believe that's all the space I have for this week. I had quite a few visual aids for that particular game and clearly, cannot put them here. If you so desire, please leap over to YouTube and subscribe to my channel, which is simply listed under my actual name. The channel and the live gigs are family friendly as it prevents Mother from clutching pearls.
THE END (War is a Racket by General Smedley Butler, AIPAC lobby, Interstate Crosscheck)
Answers: One, The Great Salt Lake. Two, Walter F. (Fritz) Mondale.
Three, Robert Duvall. Four, Ford Motor Company.
Five, Snoopy. Six, Mr. Ed.
Seven, Sonny Bono – More information: Investigator Bob Fletcher was working with Bono prior to his death. They had discovered that high ranking U.S. military and government officials were raking in millions from arms and drug deals in Central America and Southeast Asia.
Eight, Horse. Nine, Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Camping.
Ten, Secretariat.
Eleven, Hooves - More info: Founder is a common and very painful condition affecting the feet of horses. Known technically as laminitis, founder occurs when there is inflammation of the laminae tissue connecting the pedal bone to the hoof). When there is inflammation and subsequently degeneration (as is seen in an interruption to the blood supply) of the laminae, laminitis results. The damage may be so severe that the pedal bone is no longer supported within the hoof and rotates toward and sometimes through the sole of the hoof. Joe the Pony had this but with good hoof care, he lived a long life into his early thirties.
Twelve, Mountains.
Thirteen, Outlaw – More info: In the musical arena, they openly defied the pop-oriented Nashville Sound and were also highly critical of the entire Nashville record system, where artists were often told what songs they could sing and who would produce them. They stood up for their own music and assumed greater control of their material, hence the “outlaw” title.
Fourteen, The Last Picture Show. Fifteen, Weebles.
Sixteen, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Tricky Dick, etc.
Seventeen, He died, had heart attack and died, heart attack. Eighteen,The Lawrence Welk Show.