February 14, 2024. Another day of life. I don’t take a single one for granted. I’ve lived 28,747 of them. It took me most of those days to realize how special each one was. To learn how to produce happiness on demand. As the saying goes, better late than never. Most people never figure it out. Today is Frederick Douglass Day, League of Women Voters Day, National Condom Awareness Day, National Crème-filled Chocolates Day, National Ferris Wheel Day, National Have a Heart Day, Quirky Alone Day, Read to Your Child Day, and, of course, Valentine’s Day. It’s also Great American Pizza Bake Week, International Flirting Week, and Jell-O Week. Moving onto history. 1349 was a tough year for the Jews of Europe. On this date, 900 were burned alive in Strasbourg for spreading the Black Death. On this day in 1803 Chief Justice John Marshall declared that any act of the US Congress that conflicted with the Constitution is void. On this day in 1883 New Jersey legalized unions. In 1920 on this day the League of Women Voters formed in Chicago. On this day in 1929 the Valentine’s Day Massacre took place in Chicago when 7 gangsters were killed by Al Capone. On this day in 1971 Nixon installed a secret taping system in the White House. Today’s dead person is Fredrick Douglass who was born enslaved in 1818. He said, “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” “I will unite with anyone to do good, but with no one to do harm.” “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” “Praying for freedom never did me any good till I started praying with my feet.” “Who would be free themselves must strike the blow. Better even to die free than to live slave.” I’ll end on that quote. We think we live in a state of chaos now, and we do, but nothing like the chaos of mid-1800s. Hope we neve get there again. Abide.
