It’s August 18th, 2023. A new day awaits. Remind yourself to be grateful, kind, generous and to think good thoughts today and today will be a good one. I’ll add one more: treasure your friends. I can’t understand how important friends are to the quality of our lives. Today is Bad Poetry Day, Birth Control Pills Day, Mail Order Catalog Day, National Fajita Day, National Ice Cream Pie Day, Never give Up Day, Pinot Noir Day, and Serendipity Day. Now a few historical footnotes: On this day in 1634 Urbain Grandier was accused and convicted of sorcery and then burned alive in Loudon, France. On this day in 1817 a 60-to-70-foot sea serpent was reported offshore in Gloucester, Massachusetts. On this day in 1835 the last Pottawatomie Indians left Chicago. On this day in 1872 Aaron Montgomery Ward issued the first ‘catalog’ for his mail-order business. It was 1-sheet listing 163 available items. On this day in 1909 the Mayor of Tokyo presented President Taft with 2,000 cherry trees which he planted near the Potomac River. If you’ve been in DC when they blossom, you’ve seen how magnificent they are. On this day in 1920 State Representative Harry T. Burn, after reading a letter from his mother, cast the deciding vote in Tennessee that ratified the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. On this day in 1956 Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Don’t be Cruel’ reached #1 and stayed there for 11 weeks, a record for a single release. Today’s insights come from the psychologist B. F. Skinner who passed on this day in 1990 at the age of 86. He said, “the major difference between rats and people is that rats learn from experience.” “The consequences of an act affect the probability of its occurring again.” “Science is a willingness to accept facts even when they are opposed to wishes.” “Old age is rather like another country. You will enjoy it more if you have prepared yourself before you go.” That’s a good place to end this post. Abide.
