We have reached the 3rd day of August 2021. That’s a good thing. While it’s just another milepost on our journey, it’s also a destination not to be taken for granted. I know we can’t treat each new day like it’s our last one, but we can savor each of them. There’s a particular patch of roadway in the Villages where the tree’s limbs have grown over the road and they’re draped with Spanish moss and it’s beautiful, if you really look. I do my best to really live each day. It’s Airplane Crop Duster Day, Clean Your Floors Day, National Watermelon Day, National Night Out and Grab Some Nuts Day. This is the day in 1942 that Columbus set sail with three ships to find the “Indies”. On this day in 1882 the US Congress passed the 1st law restricting immigration. On this day in 1913 the Wheatland Hop Riot happened on the Durst farm in one of the first farm labor disputes. 2,000 farm workers lived in tents, with no blankets and unsafe drinking water. Representatives of a union showed up and then deputies came in to try and break it up. After the dust cleared, 4 people were dead. The strike was successful because laws were passed to improve working conditions. In 1936 on this day, sprinter Jesse Owens wins the 100m (10.3 seconds) in front of Adolf Hitler in a famous race at the Berlin Olympics. On this day in 1966 the comedian/philosopher Lenny Bruce died. My guess is that George Carlin was a fan of his. Lenny said, “I hate small towns because once you’ve seen the cannon in the park there’s nothing else to do.” There’s a lot of truth in that observation. This is also the day that the Russian philosopher and political prisoner, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died in 2008. He said, “A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy and nothing can stop him.” I do enjoy it when I find a quote from a famous philosopher that confirms what I believe. Have an excellent day. Abide.
