Thursday, January 13, 2022. We are about to enter some ugly time/space called the midterm elections. The media will be filled with incendiary statements designed to enrage. I will not participate. I don’t want to live my days being angry. I can be friendly to people who aren’t friends. A friend is someone who shares my values and I trust their judgement. To the people who want me to share their fear and anger, I will use the same tactic the lady who went to Southern Charm School learned and say “That’s nice”, smile and move on or simply sleep them for 30 days on Facebook. I seek happiness. Today is Make Your Dream Come True Day, National Rubber Ducky Day, Public Radio Broadcasting Day and Peach Melba Day. I’m already living my dream. The first historical footnote that I find interesting is the Nika riots which took place in Constantinople on this day in 532. Over 30,000 people were killed, and half the city burned over a chariot race. Think about this event in the context of British football fans. They took their chariot races very seriously in the Byzantine Empire. On this day in 1695 Jonathan Swift was ordained an Anglican priest in Ireland. His quotes are interesting: “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” and “He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.” I’m sure I would have enjoyed Sunday services with him preaching. In 1874 on this date the Tompkins Square Riot in New York City happened when 1,600 policemen attacked 7,000 thousand unemployed protesters. There was a severe recession going on and if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat. This is a good day for some observations from the Irish author James Joyce who died at the age of 58 in 1941. He said, “Your mind will give back to you exactly what you put into it.” “They lived and laughed and loved and left.” Change the “They” to a “He” and put that on a head stone. I’ll end with this gem: “Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honored by posterity because he was the last person to discover America.” Abide.
