September 11 (pre-"9/11")

Remember when September 11 was just another day? I can't say I really do, because I wasn't born on that day, and as far as I knew, I didn't know anyone who was either born or who died on that day.* I've never been a college football fan and I can't stand the Cowboys, but coaching legends Bear Bryant and Tom Landry called the day their very own. D.H. Lawrence and Lola Falana were born on September 11. Boy, can you imagine a time when you could open the paper on September 11 and read that Lola Falana was born on this day? I bet all those people and their loved ones and more remember September 11 for what it was before the day was ruined for the forseeable future as a day of joyful memories and/or private rememberance.

On September 11, 1609, Henry Hudson landed on Manhatten island. On that same date in 1906, Gandhi is credited with founding the nonviolence movement. What do you know, this makes 100 years of nonviolent forms of protest!

Until September 11 became "9/11" there were Red Sox fans whose offspring would have to wait 86 years for another day like the September 11 in 1918, when the Sox won what generations of fans feared would be the last of their World Series.

The Beatles recorded their first single, "Love Me Do" on September 11, 1962, and in 1985, Pete Rose would break Ty Cobb's all-time record for most hits in a career. That September 11 in 1985 is one I'll remember, when "Charlie Hustle" meant something entirely different than it would a few years later.

*You got me - I don't have a preexisting personal connection to this date, so I'm cheating by the guidelines of my own blog, but allow me this brief post.