August 13 (A Triple...But I'm Making Note of a Special Fourth)

1521 - Hernando Cortes, Spanish conqueror, captured and destroyed Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) after a three month siege.

Firepower, cavalry, disease, superstition and neighboring Indian tribes who detested the Aztecs (probably the most important factor) were more than enough for Cortes and his meager band of Spaniards to overwhelm the greatest nation in the New World...It's a story beyond belief - maybe the most incredible conquest ever - one which changed the world.

Read more about Cortes.

1898 - The Spanish-American War ended.

This war was America's coming out party, and also the end of Spain's once great role on the international stage...It's ironic it is also the date which saw Spain's greatest conquest: Cortes against the Aztecs.

1961 - Berlin was divided when East Germany closed the Brandenburg Gate, sealing off the border between the city's eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees. Two days later work began on the Berlin Wall.

The Cold War got much 'hotter' on this day...And millions of East Germans saw their slight chance at a decent life disappear.

1995 - Baseball great Mickey Mantle died of cancer.

I am too young to have seen him play, but as a child I read extensively about 'The Mick' and watched re-runs of 'Home Run Derby.'  He was my first hero...I admit to crying when I saw the news of his liver cancer, and even more on this day of his death.

Mickey was an awesome baseball player who was the strongest and the fastest, a switch-hitter, a Hall of Famer, a Triple Crown winner, a 3-time MVP, a 16-time All Star, a champion. He was almost mythological in my young mind, and the ballplayer I most often pretended to be when hitting balls against the wall or catching flies in the outfield.

"That boy hits baseballs over buildings. He runs as fast as Ty Cobb." - Casey Stengel

I'm glad I didn't know of his flaws when I was a child, and wish we could return to a better time when our heroes could be just that - HEROES!

Unfortunately, we live in a time where heroes are created then destroyed by the media, and I feel sorry for the children of our current day. There is no such thing as childhood innocence, and they are made to grow up much too fast in a world with the cruelest of realities...I admit I long for a better time, a time when a boy could be a boy.

1932 - Adolf Hitler rejected the post of Vice-Chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing."

Unfortunately the Austrian Madman soon got it 'all'...And the world got Hell.