Sacco’s Snippets: August 2019 Edition

August 2019 Edition

August is here, and the temps should start to drop.

This month, being my favorite month has some end of summer nuances that can either thrill you or bore you.

If you are a ‘Star-gazer’ such as me, you are in for a treat. The August night sky, when apparent, can give you the universe’s light show with around five different meteor shows during the month, with some ending, some beginning and some underway.

The planet Jupiter was thrilling to watch last month but should be showing off for us in August.

A sturdy pair of Binoculars or a decent Telescope will let you see some of the moons surrounding this marvel of a planet. Jupiter will be prominent in the South after dusk nightly.

At nightfall, Saturn will be popping out and dazzling more brilliantly than a 1st magnitude star.

Hey, it’s free, and there is nothing more peaceful than a night sky, unless of course if you live next to an airport or a bugle factory.

This, being the last real summer month, has a lot to offer and a lot to look forward to. Sorry to all of those who love the heat and the beach but I genuinely love the crisp night skies and the cooling end of the summer breeze.

It is also the unofficial start for Hockey season where players begin to emerge from their summer daze and get back to work toward victory and glory. More on this subject later.

August is the 8th month of the year but wasn’t always.

When the Roman calendar was changed to the Gregorian and Julian, adding two months, August went from being called “Sextilus” and was the 6th month of the year.

The month was also known as the harvest month and celebrated as such. When the name was changed to August, it was in honor of the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar as a tribute.

The Birthstones for this month are Sardonyx, Peridot, and Spinel. The flower is Gladiolas or Poppy. Zodiac signs are Leo up to the 22nd and Virgo from the 23rd on.

Some interesting observances for the month are; American adventurers month, Children’s eye health month. My personal favorite observance is buying a Hockey coach a cup of coffee month.

I am still working on the buy a Hockey Coach Lunch but so far no good.

There is always time, so I guess I can only hope and wait. I’m only kidding but must say that we have some pretty fantastic families that are regulars in our facility that are always willing to treat me to a cup of Coffee.

Great families usually have excellent children and that always a bonus for us and they are.

Just recently, a discussion was had about what I write about and why I do this. This was certainly not the first time that this topic has come up in recent time, but it is always significant.

There is not too much reading done these days since we have become a more ‘Age of information accessible’ society. One must always remember the significance of history, both good and bad, to know why things, in general, are the way they are.

The Aviator Sports and Events Center is sitting on one of the most historical parcels of land, not only locally, but nationally as well.

Although there are numerous places of historical value in the state of New York, these hangars were the original ones from the first commercial airport in the state.

Which means that in the same space that you may walk to get into one of our many areas you may very well be the same steps taken by Wiley Post, Howard Hughes, or even Amelia Earhart.

I recently asked some of our players if they knew who “wrong way” Corrigan was. Yes, you just thought of it, he was the guy that went the wrong way, right?

Brooklyn is steep in history that had shaped our country when it was very young. Ever wonder where street names got their names?

Why neighborhoods are called what they are called or even the history of the beaches and parks in our area. Also if you’re not the ‘book type,’ then go through your favorite search engine and do a little bit of research. I have had the opportunity to do some research into the game that I am fortunate to play a small role in and have loved since I was quite young and had hair.

The history of Hockey is a long and consuming one, although knowledge can be just as powerful as a slap shot. Sometimes when I am sitting in one of the rinks early in the morning, I look around at the building itself, especially the older original parts, and wonder how old the wood actually is.

Did Jackie Cochrane’s plane actually get serviced in this hangar?

Did John Glenn sit in the office and have a cup of coffee after he broke the intercontinental flight speed record?

History like this often gets taken for granted or are forgotten parcels of time. Here are some historical significance of the days of the month and some notable birthdays;

8/1 1961 – 1st Six Flags opens in Texas

1981 – 1st MTV broadcast (what son did they play)

Birthday 1819 – Herman Melville

1942 – Jerry Garcia

8/2 1790 – 1st U.S. Census

1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait

Birthday 1939 – Wes Craven

1982 – Grady Sizemore

8/3 1946 – The NBA is founded

1958 – The USS Nautilus travels beneath the polar icecap

Birthday 1811 – Elisha Otis (you see this name many times so far)

1977 – Tom Brady

8/4 1983 – NY Yankee Dave Winfield accident kills a seagull on the field

1985 – Rod Carew’s 3000th hit/ Tom Seaver’s 300th win

Birthday 1962 – Roger Clemens

1971 – Jeff Gordon

8/5 1305 – William Wallace captured by the British

1914 – The first electric traffic light installed Cleveland Ohio

Birthday 1930 – Neil Armstrong

1962 – Patrick Ewing

8/6 1926 – Gertrude Ederle swims the English Channel

1945 – The Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima Japan

Birthday 1911 – Lucille Ball

1965 – David Robinson

8/7 1819 – Simon Bolivar triumphs over Spain

2004 – Greg Maddux wins 300th game

Birthday 1975 – Charlize Theron

1987 – Sidney Crosby

8/8 1876 – Edison patents the Mimeograph

1976 – The Band Boston debuts the album Boston

Birthday 1937 – Dustin Hoffman

1981 – Roger Federer

8/9 1173 – Tower of Pisa begins construction

1936 – Jesse Owens is the 1st American to win 4 medals in the Olympics

Birthday 1943 – Ken Norton

1944 – Sam Elliot

8/10 1944 – American troops defeat the Japanese on Guam

1990 The Magellan space probe reaches Venus

Birthday 1874 – President Herbert Hoover

1959 – Roseanna Arquette

8/11 1929 – Babe Ruth hits #500

1981 – IBM introduces the IBM PC

Birthday 1921 – Alex Haley

1953 – Hulk Hogan

8/12 1908 – The first Model T Ford rolls off the assembly line

1960 – The first commercial satellite Echo1 launched

Birthday 1939 – George Hamilton

1971 – Pete Sampras

8/13 1942 – Bambi premiere

1976 – International left handers day

Birthday 1860 – Annie Oakley

1899 – Alfred Hitchcock

8/14 1945 – Japan surrenders

1974 – The U.S. troops leave Viet Nam

Birthday 1851 – Doc Holliday

1983 – Mila Kunis

8/15 1914 – The Panama Canal opens

1947 – India gains independence from Britain

Birthday 1771 – Sir Walter Scott

1912 – Julia Child

8/16 1777 – American troops defeat the British at the Battle of Bennington

1977 – Elvis dies

Birthday 1913 – Menachem Begin

1953 – Kathie Lee Gifford

8/17 1807 – Robert Fulton starts the 1st Steamboat service

1973 – Willie Mays hits 660th homerun

Birthday 1786 – Davy Crockett

1969 – Donnie Wahlberg

8/18 1920 – The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed

1982 – Pete Rose makes his 13,941 plate appearance

Birthday 1587 – Virginia Dare

1934 – Roberto Clemente

8/19 1909 – The Indianapolis 500 track opens

1990 – Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert

Birthday 1871 – Orville Wright

1931 – Willie Shoemaker

8/20       2 – Venus & Jupiter are in conjunction= The Star of Bethlehem

1938 – Lou Gehrig hits record 23rd Grand Slam

Birthday 1948 – Robert Plant

1954 – Al Roker

8/21   1931 – Babe Ruth hits 600th homerun

1959 – Hawaii becomes the 50th state

Birthday 1936 – Wilt Chamberlain

1980 – Usain Bolt

8/22   565 – The first spotting of the Loch Ness Monster

1902 – Teddy Roosevelt the 1st U.S. president to ride in an automobile

Birthday 1920 – Ray Bradbury

1939 – Carl Yastrzemski

8/23 1990 – East & West Germany call for unification

1992 – Hurricane Andrew strikes

Birthday 1946 – Keith Moon

1970 – Jay Mohr

8/24 1814 – British troops burn the Whitehouse

1853 – The 1st Potato Chips are made in New York State

Birthday 1960 – Carl Ripken JR.

1965 – Reggie Miller

8/25 1609 – Galileo demonstrates the 1st Telescope

1996 – Tiger Woods wins U.S. Amateur Open

Birthday 1930 – Sean Connery

1961 – Billy Ray Cyrus

8/26 1929 – The 1st Roller Coaster in the U.S. built

1939 – 1st Major League Baseball game televised

Birthday 1958 – John Coach

1980 – Chris Pine

8/27 1859 – The first U.S. Oil well tapped in Pennsylvania

2003 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth

Birthday 1970 – Jim Thome

1976 – Sarah Chalk

8/28 1893 – Caleb Bradham renames his drink Pepsi-Cola

1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King makes his “I have a dream speech”

Birthday 1969 – Charles Cerullo

1978 – Sandra Volino

8/29 1885 – The 1st Motorcycle patented by Gottlieb Daimler

1958 – The United States Air Force Academy opens

Birthday 1809 – Oliver Wendell Holmes

1915 – Ingrid Bergman

8/30 1984 – Space shuttle Discovery launches

1990 – Ken Griffey&Ken Griffey jr first father and son to play in a professional game together

Birthday 1897 – Mary Shelley

1918 – Ted Williams

8/31 1980 – Poland forms the Solidarity Trade Union

1997 – England’s Princess Diana killed

Birthday 1928 – James Coburn

1935 – Frank Robinson

 

What a month August is and a gateway to my favorite time of the year, the Fall. Before you know it the holidays will be here and the snow will fall.

But in the meantime how are you cooling off? Are you enjoying yourself playing Mini-Golf or driving the ball farther than the eye can see?

Did you know from August 2 to the 4th at the Aviator is the Big Bounce America’s Trampoline Park?

Did you know that the Brooklyn Nets Basketball camp is from 8/5 t0 8/9? How about our Aviator Hockey Camp 8/5 to 8/9 and 819 to 8/23.

Ice Skating, Rock climbing wall, Gymnastics Gym, Outdoor, and Indoor Soccer Fields and so much more but you have to get into the building to get into the fun.

What are you waiting for an invitation? Well, you just got one.

www.aviatorsports.com is the key to our door. We have a full food court, a sports lounge and so much more. I cannot believe when people tell me they have never been here. When you walk in, you will have customer service to your left, monitors with daily, weekly and monthly activities, and a brochure desk. Just across the street is our Golf Center, where you can work on your long and short game to your heart’s content.

See you soon!

John Sacco

AC NY Aviators Premiere

USPJL

Aviator Sports and Events Center

3159 Flatbush Avenue

Brooklyn NY 11234

(718) 758-7500

www.aviatorsports.com

 

Belt Parkway E/W to Exit 11S. Make left turn right before the bridge and the first left when entering Floyd Bennett Field and you will see the facility on your left side.

Public transportation via MTA Bus Q43

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