Yesterday has turned into October 26, 2021. This morning it occurred to me that we spend a lot of time waiting. 40 years ago, I worked with this guy, Carl Johnson was his name, and Carl was always going to do something fun and exciting as soon as (fill in the blank). He always tied a future event to doing something pleasurable. That big vacation or a pool in the back yard or a new whatever. Carl was always waiting. You can probably guess the rest of this story. Carl died of cancer at a young age. The moral to this story is: don’t wait. Do it now. I’ll now get off my soap box. Today is Horseless Carriage Day, National Day Of The Deployed, National Mincemeat Day, National Mule Day, Worldwide Howell At The Moon Day and my pick, Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day. I love the crispy steak, pepper gravy with mashed potatoes and corn. Yum. Now to history. On this day in 1492, lead in the form of graphite was first used in pencils. On this day in 1749 Georgia reverses itself and rules that slavery is legal. In 1861 on this day the Pony Express (Missouri to California) ends after 19 months. This is the day in 1881 that the Gunfight at the OK Corral is fought. On this day in 1949 President Harry Truman increases minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents. This is the birthday of Napoleon Hill who wrote “Think and Grow Rich”. Lots of good quotes from him. Here’s a couple of them: “do not wait; the time will never be “just right”. Start where you stand and work with whatever tools you may have” and “whatever you think today becomes what you are tomorrow.” This date in 1999 is when Eknath Easwaran’s life stopped. He was an Indian-born spiritual teacher and author. I’ll end this post with his quote: “I like to remind my friends frequently how short life is. This is the important message of death: not a day to waste, not a day to quarrel, not a day to brood upon yourself. This is not losing the joy of life; this is gaining the joy of life.” Abide.
