It’s another beautiful day in my neighborhood. Going to hit 80 degrees today. I’m going to play my ukulele today. Have dinner with friends and play some cards. How great a day is that? February 20, 2020 is going to be a good day. Certainly a day when my glass is half full. It’s also Fat Thursday, Clean Out Your Bookcase Day, National Muffin Day, National Cherry Pie Day and Northern Hemisphere Hoodie Hoo Day. We all should yell “Hoodie Hoo” today to welcome spring. Works for me. Now to history. In1673 the 1st recorded wine auction held in London. In 1725 on this date 10 sleeping Indians were scalped by whites in New Hampshire for £100 a scalp bounty. Think about that for awhile. In 1792 the US postal service created postage fees of 6 to 12 cents depending on distance. That’s not too bad when you consider that the postage in today’s money would be from $1.26 to $2.52. In 1839 Congress prohibits dueling in District of Columbia. In 1872 Luther Crowell patents a machine that manufactures paper bags. In 1927, golfers in SC are arrested for violating Sabbath. In 1933 the US House of Representatives completes congressional action to repeal Prohibition. In 1944 Batman & Robin comic strip premieres in newspapers. In 1950 and this date, Dylan Thomas arrives in NYC for his 1st US poetry reading tour. I only bring that up for this quote, “An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.” This is the birthday (1902) of Ansel Adams, who was famous for his black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West. He said, “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” This is also the day that Fredrick Douglass died of a heart attack in 1895 at the age of 77. I’ve quoted Mr. Douglass before. Here’s another one, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” He’s right of course. Politely asked for change won’t change anything (my quote). And with that I’m going to start my fantastic 02/20/2020. Abide
