May 4, 2021
May 1: Is it 4:20 yet?
May 1 — High Times magazine’s May 1991 issue popularized the idea of “420” representing stoner culture. Turns out the story has its roots in a group of five high school students in San Rafael, Calif., who planned to meet at 4:20 — by a statue of Louis Pasteur — to search for a mythical abandoned crop of cannabis. Yes, it’s right up there with the Fountain of Youth and the Lost City of Gold. The quintet — Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich; undoubtedly destined for a Mount Huffmore if anyone finds the motivation to carve such a thing — called themselves the Waldos because they frequently hung out by a wall outside of school. Reddix went on to become a roadie with — wait for it — the Grateful Dead, using his platform to advocate for teens to establish 4:20 p.m. as a common time to puff the magic dragon.
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Birthday boys and girls …
Curtis Martin (1973) should be dead. He’s 48 today, a third-round draft pick of the Patriots (1995–97) who signed with the Jets (1998–2006), netting five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro honors. Growing up in tough circumstances in Pittsburgh, he had a loaded gun pointed at his head and the trigger pulled seven times, but it misfired. His mother insisted he find an extracurricular activity to stay off the streets, and he found football. And in 2012, he found himself in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tim McGraw (1967) turns 54. The son of former major league pitcher Tug McGraw, he’s been married to Faith Hill since 1996. Nearly every album he’s released has hit no. 1 or close to it, as has a steady list of singles since “Indian Outlaw” in January 1994. It’s easier to count the songs that don’t crack the top 10.
Wes Welker (1981) turns 40, giving hope to undersized white guys everywhere. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound slot receiver signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers in 2004, playing for five teams before retiring from the Rams in 2015. The five-time Pro Bowler made All-Pro lists four times and co-holds the record for longest touchdown reception with a 99-yarder from Tom Brady on Sept. 12, 2011. He caught it at the 17, stiff-armed a defender and sprinted the final 83.
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The Outfield released “All the Love” in May 1986. Hard to track down a specific release date, so we’ll just celebrate it all month.
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Maxim magazine debuted in the US in May 1997, giving guys something of a user guide through their 20s. Gracing that first cover was Christa Miller, who found renown on “The Drew Carey Show” (1995–2004) and “Scrubs” (2001–10), among others.
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“SpongeBob SquarePants” premiered in 1999. How that didn’t parlay into a marketing opportunity for frozen Krabby Patties, we’ll never know.
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Tina Turner released “What’s Love Got to Do With It” in 1984. Remarkably, it was the only no. 1 hit for the storied performer, who broke into the top 10 six times.
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NBC debuted the miniseries “V” in 1983. Inspired by the 1935 Sinclair Lewis novel, “It Can’t Happen Here,” it was essentially the story of an alien race establishing a presence in the United States that was friendly and contributional … until they ate us. Far from a one-off, “V” grew into a series of novels and multiple movies and series.
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“Miss Elizabeth” Hulette died, at age 42, in 2003 of “acute toxicity” from painkillers and vodka. She was found unresponsive in the home she shared with Lex Luger. A native of Frankfort, Ky., Hulette met Randy (Poffo) Savage while doing ring announcing for ICW in 1983. They married in 1984, divorcing in 1992 amid an in-ring life that roughly mirrored their real world. She was in and out of wrestling thereafter, reappearing in WCW in the late ‘90s.
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Formula One legend Ayrton Senna was killed in a crash while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. He was 34 at the time, the most senior driver on the circuit, and had met the morning before his crash with retired driver Alain Prost about re-establishing a driver’s union aimed at safety. It was a tragic weekend already, with one crash sending debris into the crowd and injuring fans, and a fatal wreck by Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger. At his own fatal crash, an Austrian flag was found in the Brazilian’s cockpit, as Senna planned to wave it in honor of Ratzenberger should Senna earn a spot on the podium. Senna’s crash occurred after a first-lap caution, and he’d pulled up alongside the pace car to ask him to increase his speed, as the slow pace was allowing tires to cool and air pressure to drop. On lap 7, Senna’s car left the course at 191 MPH, he hit the brakes for a full 2 seconds, and he collided with a concrete wall at 145 MPH. The right tire and suspension assembly flipped back into his cockpit, connecting with his head in a variety of ways, any of which were deemed fatal. Italian law required that any such death be investigated for possible criminal causes. Senna’s death, ruled a failure of the steering column, resulted in crew chief Patrick Head being found guilty of manslaughter, escaping sentencing only because the statute of limitations had expired.
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The body of mountain climber George Mallory was found in 1999, 75 years after disappearing while climbing Mount Everest. We’re guessing his body was well preserved.
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On a lighter note, Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park — later Disney Hollywood Studios — opened in 1989.
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Amtrak took over US passenger rail service in 1971. A little before our time, since most of us would’ve been kids or unborn at the time, it’s an interesting footnote for GenX.
