The earth has now entered an area of space designated as April 11, 2021. I like to remind myself that I live on a rock protected by a thin atmosphere flying trough space at nearly 500,000 mph. I try to celebrate life each day. We can all celebrate that today is International Louie Louie Day, National Cheese Fondue Day, National Pet Day, National Poutine Day, Submarine Day and Good Deeds Day. I’ll celebrate Louie Louie. What a great timeless rock and roll song. The Submarine gets a day because in 1900 on this date, the first modern submarine was purchased by the U.S. Navy. In 1912 the Titanic departed Queenstown, Ireland, for NY. In a few days I’ll report the sinking. In 1961 the trial of Adolf Eichmann for war crimes began. I remember following the trial and beginning to understand what evil really was. Finally, in 1968 US President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1968 Civil Rights Act. He said, “Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men’s skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.” He may have been the most powerful president in my lifetime. This is the birthday (1940) of Thomas Harris. He’s the author that brought us Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. He has some interesting quotes: “Being smart spoils a lot of things” and “How seldom we recognize the sound when the bolt of our fate slides home.” This is the day we lost the author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. in 2007. He said, “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” In other words, our job here is to enjoy ourselves. I think I will today. Abide.
