October 29, 2023 has arrived. The hardest part of writing this post is the beginning it. After having written over 1,500 of them, originality is difficult. I always start by pointing myself and you in the direction of starting the day with gratitude because, in the words of Cicero, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” Pick something to be thankful for and say it or better yet, write it down. It will start today in a positive way. It’s National Cat Day, National Hermit Day, National Oatmeal Day, Reformation Sunday, Visit a Cemetery Day, and World Stroke Day. I don’t plan to celebrate the last three. Now to history: On this day in 539 BC King Cyrus of Persia marched into Babylon and freed the Jewish captives and allowed them to return home. On this day in 1390 the first trial for witchcraft in Paris began. On this day in 1618 Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded. He was one of the most influential figures of his time. On this second trip to South American in search of El Dorado (city of gold) he ransacked a Spanish outpost in violation of a treaty between England and Spain and to appease the Spanish, he was arrested and executed. On this day in 1811 the first Ohio River steamboat leaves Pittsburgh for New Orleans. This is the day of the 1929 stock market crash known as Black Tuesday beginning the Great Depression. On this day in 1942 Nazis murder 16,000 Jews in Pinsk, Soviet Union. On this day in 1960 Cassius Clay fought his first professional fight against Turney Hunsaker and won on points in the 6-round event. I tried to use Sir Walter Raleigh’s quotes to end today with but after spending 10 minutes reading them, I wanted to cut his head off too. Instead, I’ll end with a few from Marcus Tullius Cicero who said, “What society does to its children, so will its children do to society.” “More is lost by indecision than wrong decision.” “Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.” I’ll wrap up with this one which is particularly relevant to Floridians. “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?” Abide.
