This day’s name is December 5, 2023. Carpe Diem! How many more December 5th do you think you’ve got? Some of you a lot, some of you not so many. The thing we all have in common is that after today, we’ll all have one less to live. Don’t take it for granted. Enjoy it. You could celebrate AFL–CIO Day, Bathtub Party Day, Day of the Ninja, International Volunteers Day, National Blue Jeans Day, National Communicate with Your Kids Day, Repeal of Prohibition Day, or World Trick Shot Day. Party in a bathtub? Sounds interesting. Moving on: On this day in 63 BC Cicero read his Catiline Orations to the Roman Senate which have been preserved and are available after 2,086 years. On this year in 1349 the Jews were held responsible for the Black Death and 500 were massacred in Nuremberg. 1349 was a bad year to be a Jew in Europe. On this day in 1948 President Polk triggered the California Gold Rush by confirming that gold had been discovered there. This is the day in 1932 that Albert Einstein was granted a visa to enter America. On this day in 1945 Flight 19, the “Lost Squadron” of 5 torpedo bombers disappeared East of Florida in what is known as the Bermuda Triangle. This is the day in 1955 that the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott began. It was triggered by Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat to a white man. On this sad day in 1974 the final episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired on the BBC. On a happier note, on this day in 1988 a Federal Grand Jury indicted Christian evangelist Jim Baker for fraud and paying hush money to cover up a rape. Today we will hear from the French author Alexandre Dumas (The Tree Musketeers). He said, “All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall.” “As a general rule, people ask for advice only in order not to follow it, or if they do follow it, in order to have someone to blame for giving it.” “The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.” “If you wish to discover the guilty person, first find out to whom the crime might be useful.” Last one: “Haste is a poor counselor.” Enough for this day. Now, go have some fun. Abide.
