1940 Packard rolls out first auto ac.

Today is Monday, November 10. It is the 316th day of 2008 with only 50 days remaining in the year.

On this day in in 1939, the first air conditioned automobiles went on display at the Chicago Auto Show. Thank heavens for that. Otherwise, I would never have been able to survive those steamy Mississippi summers.

The innovation received widespread acclaim at the auto show, but the expensive accessory would not be within the reach of the average American for several decades. However, when automobile air-conditioning finally became affordable, it rapidly became a luxury that U.S. car owners could not live without. I remember the day Daddy got our old Chevy retrofitted with a kind of portable unit that blew you away if you were unlucky enough to be plopped in the middle of the front seat. I always was.

On this day in 1969 we first heard the lyrics of “Can you tell me how to get … how to get to Sesame Street?” The classic, Sesame Street debuted on 170 Public Broadcasting stations and 20 commercial outlets. Created by the Children’s Television Workshop, the show starred endearing characters including Gordon, Susan, Bob, Bert, Ernie, the Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and, of course, Big Bird! I would never have been able to get supper on the table but for this show which mesmerized my boys in the mid 1970s.

Chart toppers on this day in 1949 was Frankie Laine’s “That Lucky Ole Sun.” In 1965, the year I graduated (from kindergarten), the Rolling Stones hit Number One with “Hey You, Get Off of My Cloud.” Those were the days my friend, I thought they’d never end….