August 28, 2023 is now here. Hurricane Idalia is growing stronger in the Gulf as she heads for Central Florida. This happens every few years. Probably it will be nothing more than strong winds and rain where I live (50 miles from the coast). I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope that Idalia doesn’t stall over the bathtub that is the Gulf and become a monster. Today’s holidays are Crackers Over the Keyboard Day, Dream Day, National Bow Tie Day, National Cherry Turnover Day, Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day, Radio Commercials Day, Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, and Red Wine Day which is my pick! It’s also Be Kind to Humankind Week. Always a good idea. Now let’s look at a couple of the historical highlights of this date: On this day in 476 Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus was captured and executed by the barbarian king Odoacer marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. On this day in 1830 the 1st American built locomotive, “Tom Thumb” raced a horse-drawn car. The horse won. This is the day in 1833 that Britain abolished the slave trade. On this day in 1837 pharmacists John Lea & William Perrins manufactured Worcestershire Sauce. On this day in 1884 the first known photograph of a tornado was taken near Howard, South Dakota. On this day in 1955 Chicago Black Teenager Emmett Till was kidnapped, beaten and shot to death by white men in Money, Mississippi. His killers were acquitted but this death helped ignite the Civil Rights movement. On this day in 1957 Republican Senator James Thurmond of South Carolina began a 24-hour filibuster against the Civil Rights Bill. In 1963 on this day Martin Luther King Jr. made his “I have a dream” speech. Today’s dead person is the English poet and journalist Winifred Emma May who was known as Patience Strong. She said, “Happy is the person who can keep a quiet heart, in the chaos and tumult of this modern world.” “Life is like a field, where we must gather what we grow, weed or wheat…. This is the law, we reap the crop we sow.” Enough for this day. Abide.
