Carpe Diem! We are in the final countdown to Christmas. It’s December 21st, 2023. Another fine day awaits. Mine will be fun to live as most of them are. Your day is up to you. We have an enormous list of holidays today. Here are a few of them: Celebrate Short Fiction Day, Crossword Puzzle Day, Don’t Make Your Bed Day, First Day of Winter, Winter Solstice, Forefather’s Day, Global Orgasm Day, Humbug Day, Kiwi Fruit Day, National Homeless Person’s Remembrance Day, National Look on The Bright Side, Ribbon Candy Day, World Peace Day, and World Snowboard Day. Since it’s Forefather’s Day, lets see what they did: On this day in 1237 the Mongolian forces stormed the walls of the Russian city of Ryazan after a 5-day siege. As usual, they killed everyone and burned the city to the ground. On this day in 1864, General Sherman captured Savannah, Geogia. He didn’t kill everyone and burn it to the ground. On this day in 1891 the 1st game of basketball using the rules created by James Naismith was played by 18 students in Springfield, Massachusetts. On this day in 1909 the first junior high school was established in Berkely CA. On this day in 1933 Fox Films signed Shirley Temple at age 5 to a studio contract. On this day in 1956 the Montgomery bus boycott ended when the Supreme Court ruled that segregated business were unconstitutional. On this day in 1962 the US and Cuba released the “Bay of Pigs” Captives in exchange for $23 million worth of medicine and baby food. This is the day in 1970 that Elvis Presley met President Nixon in the White House. This is the day in 1988 of the Lockerbie disaster when a terrorist bomb destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 mid-air over Scotland killing all 259 passengers and crew and 11 people on the ground. Today’s quotes come from the author F. Scott Fitzgerald who said, “To be kind is more important than to be right.” “Before you criticize others, remember, they may not have had the same opportunities in life as you have had.” “Here’s to alcohol, the rose-colored glasses of life.” That’s a good one to end on. Abide.
