Today is the 9th day of April, 2021. The week has rolled around to Friday once again. It’s starting to look and feel nearly normal in the bubble that is The Villages. Most of us have been vaccinated and soon we will be back to what occupied our time early last year. “Oh Happy Days” keeps playing in my head. Today is Jenkin’s Ear Day. It’s also Appomattox Day, National Chicken Little Awareness Day, National Poet In A Cupcake Day, National Chinese Almond Cookie Day, National Winston Churchill Day and my pick from this list, National Gin And Tonic Day. Let’s start the “what happened on this day” part of the post with Jenkin’s Ear. He was the Captain of an English ship that was boarded by Spanish Coast Guard who, for some reason, decided to cut off his ear. England and Spain went to war over the incident. On this day in 1865, General Robert E. Lee and 26,765 troops surrendered at Appomattox Court House which is why this is Appomattox Day. In 1872 Samuel R Percy patented dried milk on this day. In 1950 Bob Hope made his 1st TV appearance. He said, “The good news is that Jesus is coming back. The bad news is that he’s really pissed off.” Finally, this is the day in 1963 that Winston Churchill became an 1st honorary US citizen. I didn’t know that anyone could be an honorary citizen. This is the day in 1626 that the English philosopher Francis Bacon died at the age of 65. He said, “I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.” Me either Francis, me either. This is also the day that Frank Lloyd Wright stopped living. He said, “A man is a fool if he drinks before he reaches the age of 50, and a fool if he doesn’t afterward”. Now, it’s a new day to do with as you will. Stay safe and Abide.
