The 10th day of April 2020 has now arrived. My rum provisions are holding up as planned. I look forward to 5 O’clock now more now than I used to before I was in social isolation. The reported cases in Lake and Sumter are going up so I’ll continue to stay in the rut I’ve created for myself. Today there are several events worth celebrating: Encourage a Young Writer Day, Global Work From Home Day, Golfer’s Day, Good Friday, National Cinnamon Crescent Day, National Dive Bar Day, Poet in a Cupcake Day and Siblings Day. I think I’ll call my brothers today and see how they’re doing. Now some historical footnotes: In 1815 on this date, Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies experiences a cataclysmic eruption, one of the most powerful in history, killing around 71,000 people, causes global volcanic winter. In 1825, the 1st hotel in Hawaii opens. It was known as Major Warren’s Hotel and was also Hawaii’s first restaurant. In 1849 the safety pin patented by Walter Hunt of New York City . He sold rights to it for $400. Finally, on this day in 1957 “12 Angry Men”, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb, is released. This is one of my all time top 5 favorite films. I think I might watch it again today. This is the birthday (1827) of Lew Wallace who is the author of Ben-Hur and was a Major General in the Union Army during the Civil War. He said, “To be able to laugh at himself is pretty good evidence that one has reached the philosophic stage of life; to invite others to join him in the laugh is a final test conclusive of the fact.” In other words, don’t take yourself too seriously. This is also the day in 1992 that Sam Kinison dies in a car wreck at the age of 38. He said, “Folks, I’ve been straight for seventeen days… Not all in a row.” I’m thinking the 17 days was over a lot of years. So that’s it. Stay safe. Ventilators suck. Abide.
