Assignment 4 - October 5th, 1989

October 5, 1989 was a groundbreaking day in the life of Jim and Arlyn Stein because I made my grand debut into this world. Apparently, they were going to name me 'Micah', but then decided on 'Micaela' and unintentionally got creative with the spelling. To this day, I have never met anyone who spells it the same way I do. My Mom used to always tell me that I was named after Dr. Quinn medicine women and I always thought that was so cool. Until I decided to research when the show actually began and it wasn't until 1993, four years after I was born. I'm not really sure how my Mom got that mixed up, oh well.

There are some fun facts I will share with you about specific events that happened on October 5th, 1989. I must say that I have always relished in the fact that I was born in the 80s. Even though it was the absolute tail end, I take a lot of pride in calling myself an '80s baby'. It's probably because most of my friends growing up were born in 1990 and I thought I was full of wisdom being born in 1989. I mean Taylor Swift was born in 1989 and wrote a whole album dedicated to that year, which really means something, right?

This is very odd, but I’ve always felt a connection to horses. I like to think it’s because horses are my spirit animal. Even though I have never owned a horse, my grandfather was a rustic, cowboy, adventure guide in Alaska and often took people on trail rides through the mountains. Perhaps, he was the one who inspired my strange affinity for horses. All of that to say, the death of racehorse legend Secretariat, was a featured story in the NY Times on my birthday (Crist, 1989). Maybe I was born to carry on his legacy, who knows? Random fact of the day, did you know that Secretariat’s heart was more than twice the size of an average horse heart? That’s spectacular and fills up my horse love tank. It's no wonder he was the most bad A horse in the entire world.

What a gorgeous horse!

The current Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace prize on October 5th, 1989. That’s pretty sweet considering I’ve always thought he was an inspirational man and must confess to using several of his quotes underneath my Instagram photos when I’m trying extra hard to be an inspiring person. I read his acceptance speech and many of the things he said really stood out to me, like the quote below. 

The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding and the development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share. Although I have found my own Buddhist religion helpful in generating love and compassion, even for those we consider our enemies, I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and a sense of universal responsibility with or without religion.(Nobelpeaceprize.org, 2014, paragraph #10)

 I think Dalai Lama was spot on with the solution to the major problems we were experiencing on an international level back then and even today. Universal responsibility is an incredible concept that has the power to revolutionize the world and make it a better place.

Dalai Lama receiving the well deserved Nobel Peace Award

I’m not a huge baseball fan, but according to BaseballReference.com the SF Giants lost to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on my birthday. The final score was Giants 5- Cubs 9. Based on the game stats, the Giants got spanked by the Cubs in the first inning, 6-0!

The weather in Anchorage, Alaska on October 5th, 1989 was a balmy 49 degrees Fahrenheit, with a high that hit 53F(Almanac, 2015). That's actually a pretty nice day for Anchorage during that time of year. I was born at Humana Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska. Below is a photo of the hospital, not a bad view in the house, eh? Dr. Browner was the doctor who delivered me and he was also my pediatrician. It's kind of odd, but I have very distinct memories of him. Maybe I had a few problems as a child that I never knew about (Just kidding). According to my mother, I would call him “Dr. Brownie” and apparently always made him laugh with my pediatric antics. I’m not sure if it’s creepy that I found a photo of him online, but oh well.

Humana Hospital for life

Roland Gift’s face graced the cover of the Rolling Stone issue released on October 5th, 1989. I have no idea who he is, but he must have been a pretty big deal. In my opinion, the golden ticket in this particular issue based on looking at the cover was Tom Petty’s tour diary. Since everyone and their mom knows Tom Petty (and if you don’t, you need a music history lesson as soon as possible), have a listen to the ultimate throwback, “I Won’t Back Down”. Since we're onto music and throwbacks, it's important to note that Janet Jackson's "Miss You So Much" was the number one hit single on October 5th. It stayed on the chart's as number one for four weeks!  

Apart from the death of Secretariat, October 5, 1989 was a pretty darn good day. Dalai Lama was a baller, winning the Nobel Peace prize and the music industry was full of tasty tunes. I will have 80s baby pride for life. 

REFERENCES

Crist, S. (1989, October 5). Secretariat, Racing Legend And Fans' Favorite, Is Dead. Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/05/sports/secretariat-racing-legend-and-fans-favorite-is-dead.html

Dalai Lama wins Peace Prize. (2010, January 1). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dalai-lama-wins-peace-prize

Weather History: Past Weather Reports. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/AK/Anchorage/1989-10-05

Rolling Stone 1989 Magazine Archives | Rolling Stone. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.rollingstone.com/coverwall/1989#0562

US Number One Songs - 1989. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.bobborst.com/popculture/number-one-songs-by-year/?y=1989

Acceptance Speech. (2014, January 1). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1989/lama-acceptance_en.html

1989 NLCS - San Francisco Giants over Chicago Cubs (4-1) | Baseball-Reference.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1989_NLCS.shtml