Ra will ride his chariot of fire across the sky of January 29, 2024. I’m hoping for a better day than yesterday. Detroit’s hopes for a Super Bowl came to an end. Not every dream ends well. The Commission has decided that it’s National Puzzle Day, Curmudgeons Day, National Corn Chip Day and Freethinkers Day. I’ll some corn chips and salsa on the side while I do a sudoku puzzle (good for the brain). This is the date in 1595 that William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” is thought to have been first performed. In 1834 President Jackson orders first use of US troops to suppress a labor dispute. In 1863 the Bear River Massacre takes place when American soldiers slaughter hundreds of Native Americans at the Bear River in present day Idaho. In 1879 the Custer Battlefield National Monument established in Montana. A few words about General Custer: He attacked an encampment of around 10,000 Indians with a force of 208 men. In 1892, the Coca-Cola Company is incorporated in Atlanta. In 1920 Walt Disney starts work as an artist with KC Slide Co for $40 a week. Walt said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” In 1944 the USS Missouri, the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy, was launched. In 1964, the most lopsided high-school basketball score ever recorded is 211-29. The game was played in Louisiana but I don’t know the schools involved. This date is the birthday (1737) of Thomas Paine who said, “My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.” This is the last day (1956) that H.L. Mencken lived. He was a journalist, essayist, satirist and cultural critic. He said “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” That is sound advice, especially now since we have many complex problems that need to be solved. I will now climb down from my small soap box and begin to live this brand new day. Abide.
