This is the 28,196th day of my life: August 12th, 2022. I hope to live a few thousand more days. I will do everything I can to make each one of the remaining days good to live. Today we have a good list of celebratory events: Baseball Fans Day, IBM PC Day, International Youth Day, National Julienne (French) Fries Day, Middle Child Day, Truck Driver Day, National Sewing Machine Day, Viny Record Day, and World Elephant Day. Now let’s see what our ancestors did on this day. On this day in 1099 the Battle of Ascalon, the last battle of the first crusade, was fought. The Crusaders won and, in the process, killed over 12,000 Muslims. This is the day in 1480 that the Ottoman troops beheaded 800 Christians for refusing to convert to Islam. If I had been there the count would have been 799. This is the day in 1658 that the first police force is formed in America (New Amsterdam). In 1851 on this day, Isaac Singer patented the sewing machine. On this day in 1898 Hawaii is formally annexed to the US. This is the day in 1908 that Ford built the first Model T. This is the day in 1945 that Emperor Hirohito informs the imperial family that he has decided to surrender. In 1955 on this day President Eisenhower raises the minimum wage from 75 cents to $1 an hour. Today I’m going to deviate. Instead of giving you quotes from people died today, I’m going to give you quotes about death. Ben Franklin said, “Some people die at 25 and are not buried until 75.” Ashley Montagu said, “The idea is to die young as late as possible.” David Gerrold observed “Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face. Then the worms eat you. Be grateful it happens in that order.” Woody Allen said, “I am not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” I’ll end this morbid post with one from Groucho Marx who said “I intend to live forever or die trying.” Abide.
