This Day in History - March 8

March 8, 1986 - Maggie (my first black lab) was born. I got her when I was in first grade, I wrote a book about her in second grade called "My first puppy" in which I described the joys of having her entire litter until we could sell the other puppies, and the subsequent first year that I had her. I also had birthday parties for her a few times, baking her biscuit cakes, in the days before the advent of specialty dog-treat shops, like "Bone Apetite." As I've described earlier, we enjoyed 14 years with her, until she died in February of 2001.

March 8, (1993?) - Grunt (the potbellied pig, former Routson pet) was born. Isn't it ironic that I got two pets with the same birthday? I also lost them both in the same year -- the summer after Maggie died, Grunt went to live in little piggy heaven, which in his case was not a return to the dust but a home in Rome, Wisconsin with a lady who felt bad for unwanted potbellied pigs. The last we heard, he had her trained pretty well.

March 8, 1998 - My senior year of high school. My family was on a missions trip in Guatemala - the parents were enjoying a weekend at the beach and I was getting on a plane to come back to the states when we found out that my mom's mom had died suddenly of a brain aneurism. This is still a very difficult anniversary for my mom, and I'm sure it is for my grandpa as well.

March 8 is always kind of a weird anniversary for me.

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Also of note on March 8 in history:

In 1702, England's Queen Anne ascended the throne upon the death of King William III.

In 1782, the Gnadenhutten massacre took place as some 90 Indians were slain by militiamen in Ohio in retaliation for raids carried out by other Indians.

In 1841, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the "Great Dissenter," was born in Boston.

In 1854, U.S. Commodore Matthew C. Perry made his second landing in Japan; within a month, he concluded a treaty with the Japanese.

In 1874, the 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore, died in Buffalo, N.Y.

In 1917, Russia's "February Revolution" (so called because of the Old Style calendar being used by Russians at the time) began with rioting and strikes in St. Petersburg.

In 1917, the U.S. Senate voted to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.

In 1930, the 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft, died in Washington.

In 1942, Japanese forces captured Rangoon, Burma, during World War II.

In 1965, the United States landed about 3,500 Marines in South Vietnam.

In 1999, New York Yankees baseball star Joe DiMaggio died in Hollywood, Fla., at age 84.

Ten years ago: Two United States diplomats were killed, one injured, when their car was ambushed as they were driving to the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. The plummeting dollar stabilized after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan called the decline unwarranted.

Five years ago: President Clinton submitted to Congress legislation to establish permanent normal trade relations with China. A letter carrier, two firefighters and a sheriff's deputy were shot to death in Memphis, Tenn., allegedly by the letter carrier's husband, Frederick Williams, who was also a firefighter.

One year ago: Iraq's Governing Council signed a landmark interim constitution. Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks slugged Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore during a game, leaving Moore with a broken neck, concussion and facial cuts. (Bertuzzi, who was suspended indefinitely from the NHL, later pleaded guilty to criminal assault.) Abul Abbas, the Palestinian guerrilla leader who planned the hijacking of the Achille Lauro passenger ship, died while in U.S. custody in Baghdad, Iraq; he was 56. Actor Robert Pastorelli was found dead in his Hollywood Hills, Calif., home; he was 49.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Sue Ane Langdon is 69. Baseball player-turned-author Jim Bouton is 66. Actress Lynn Redgrave is 62. Actor-director Micky Dolenz is 60. Lyricist Carole Bayer Sager is 59. Baseball player Jim Rice is 52. Singer Gary Numan is 47. Actor Aidan Quinn is 46. Country musician Jimmy Dormire (Confederate Railroad) is 45. Actress Camryn Manheim is 44. Actor Leon is 42. Rock singer Shawn Mullins (The Thorns) is 37. Actress Andrea Parker is 36. Actor Boris Kodjoe is 32. Actor Freddie Prinze Jr. is 29. Actor James Van Der Beek is 28. R&B singer Kameelah Williams (702) is 27.

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