It’s December 19, 2023. It’s a good day to be alive. In my tiny bubble of reality, I don’t have a single thing that I’m worried about. I can always come up with something but why worry about stuff that may not happen? My clock reads “now” and “now” is a fine place to be. Today we have a short list. Holly Day, Look for an Evergreen Day, National Emo Day, National Hard Candy Day, and National Oatmeal Muffin Day. Now some history to help put today into context: On this day in 1487 the opening ceremony for the 6th Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) began with the sacrifice of 4,000 prisoners of war to the Aztec gods. On this day in 1843 “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens was published. On this day in 1887 Jake Kilrain and Jem Smith fought a 106 round bare-knuckle fight to a draw. Wow. On this day in 1904 the Dawson City hockey team began a 9 day walk to get a boat to take them to Seattle where they caught a train for Ottawa to play in the Stanley Cup on Jan. 13, 1905. On this day in 1922 Theresa Vaughn, 24, confessed in a court in Sheffield, England, to being married 61 times over 5 years in 50 cities in 3 countries. Wow. On this day in 1933 FDR created the Electric Home & Farm Authority to help low-income households purchase major appliances. On this day in 1950 the Chinese invaded Tibet forcing the Dalai Lama to flee to India. On this day In 1998 the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton over the Lewinsky scandal. I’ve not found anyone to quote who died on this day so let’s go to plan B: a stoic philosopher I’ve not quoted before: Plutarch who was Greek and was born in 46 AD. He said, “Of all the disorders in the soul, envy is the only one no one confesses to.” “I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.” “An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.” “To fail to do good is as bad as doing harm.” I’ll end with “Our senses through ignorance of reality, falsely tell us that what appears to be, is FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real.” Abide.
