We are now at mile maker 20 in our journey through January 2020. It will be a winter day for Central Florida. We won’t get to 60 degrees which is our version of cold weather. I can live with it. After all, we’ve got choices of events we can celebrate: It’s National Disk Jockey Day, Elementary School Teacher Day, International Day of Acceptance, MLK Day, National Buttercrunch Day, National Cheese Lovers Day, Penguin Awareness Day and Take A Walk Outside Day. There are lots of good choices in this list. I love cheese, like buttercrunch, appreciate Martin Luther King and Mark the Shark is my favorite DJ. We’re off to a good start. Now to our history: In 1785 Samuel Ellis advertises to sell Oyster Island which became Ellis Island. There were no takers. In 1841 China cedes Hong Kong to the British during the 1st Opium War. In 1930, the 1st radio broadcast of “Lone Ranger” on WXYZ in Detroit. In 1942 on this date, Nazi officials hold notorious Wannsee Conference in Berlin to organize the “final solution”, the extermination Europe’s 11 million Jews. Finally, on this date in 1965 the Byrds record “Mr Tambourine Man”. I’ll use Martin Luther King for my quotes today. There are lots of people who’ve tried to change the world with hate. Usually they’re unsuccessful or their success is short lived. There are a few who’ve used love. Gandhi is a good example and so is Dr. King. Here are a few quotes: “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” And “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” Dr. King certainly makes the list of people I’d like to spend an afternoon with. Now, it’s time to start this unique, once in my lifetime day. I’m planning on making it a good one. Abide.
