It is now the 25th day of November 2023. The tree will go up this weekend and the house will transform into a Christmas scene worthy of a 1950s movie set. I will watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Elf”, “A Christmas Story”, and “Miracle on 34th Street”. I will be grateful to be able to enjoy another holiday season. Today we can celebrate International Aura Awareness Day, International Hat Day, National Parfait Day, Shopping Reminder Day, Small Business Saturday and World Giving Day. Now let’s see what happened on this day in history. In 1120 the ‘White Ship’ capsized near the Normandy coast while crossing the English Channel transporting a group of nobles, including the heir to the English throne. About 300 died with only 1 survivor. On this day in 1741 Elizabeth of Russia seized power in a coup with the help of the Imperial Russian Guards. She would rule until her death in 1762 and remains one of the most popular monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign. On this day in 1817 the 1st sword swallower performed in the US (NYC). On this day in 1839 a cyclone hit eastern India with a 40-foot storm surge. It destroyed the city of Coringa, destroyed 20,000 ships and killed an estimated 300,000 people. On this day in 1941 the German Jews in the Netherlands were declared stateless (lost their citizenship). On this day in 1955 race segregation was forbidden on trains and buses between states. In 1957 on this day President Eisenhower suffered a mild stroke impairing his speech. Today’s wisdom comes from one of the richest men to every live, Andrew Carnegie. He discovered that it’s better to give than receive. Andrew said, “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.” “Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself.” “He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.” “I resolve to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.” Andrew Carnegie established and funded around 3,000 public libraries in the United States. When he died in 1919, what wealth he had not given away was donated to charity. Abide.
