We have arrived at the 1.6 million miles of time/space known as June 28, 2022. I am a fan of the Stoic Philosophers. Stoicism was taught in the 3rd Century BC in Athens. Their goal is to teach people how to achieve happiness. Plato, Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus were all Stoics. I will begin this post with a quote from Plato: “Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.” We have a very short list of celebratory events for today. Insurance Awareness Day, International Body Piercing Day, National Tapioca Day, Paul Bunyan Day, and Tau Day. Moving on. On this day in 1762 the 1st reported counterfeiting was attempted (Boston). On this day in 1770 Quakers opened a school for blacks in Philadelphia. This is the day in 1820 that Colonel Robert Gibbon ate a tomato on the steps of the courthouse in Salem MA to prove it wasn’t poisonous. This is the day in 1870 that Congress declared New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas to be federal holidays. On this day in 1894, Labor Day was added to the list. On this day in 1902 the US purchased the right to build the Panama Canal from France. On this day in 1914 the assassination of the Archduke of Austria and his wife started a chain reaction that began WWI. On this day in 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed ending WWI. This is the day in 1836 that founding father, James Madison died. He said, “The purpose of the Constitution is to restrict the majority’s ability to harm a minority.” This is the day that Rod Serling died in 1975. Rod said, “In almost everything I’ve written, there is a thread of this: man’s seemingly palpable need to dislike someone other than himself.” I’m going to wrap this one up with a quote from Harlan Ellison who was a writer known for being outspoken and combative. He passed in 2018. Harlan said, “We are not entitled to our opinions; we are entitled to our informed opinions. Without research, without background, without understanding, it’s nothing. It’s like a fart in a wind tunnel, folks.” Abide.
