We are now in January 26, 2020. As Piglet says to Pooh, “it’s my favorite day”. Why not? It’s the only one I’ve got. Will Rogers said, “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today”. I think he’s saying that we need to let go of “yesterdays” and focus on today. I agree. Today is National Child Labor Day, Green Juice Day, National Peanut Brittle Day, Spouses Day and Toad Hollow Day Of Encouragement. Toad Hollow is the name of a school (1934) that stood in Kalamazoo MI. A storyteller named Ralph C. Morrison started incorporating Toad Hollow into his stories and that’s how it got its own day. I’ll celebrate my spouse happens to be my best friend. Now to the way back machine. In 1697 Isaac Newton receives Jean Bernoulli’s 6-month time-limit problem and solves problem before going to bed that same night. He is the person that said, “What goes up, must come down”. In 1784 Benjamin Franklin expresses unhappiness over eagle as America’s symbol. It isn’t true that Franklin proposed our national symbol be the turkey but it is true that he thought the turkey would be a better choice. In 1838 Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States. In 1926 John Logie Baird gives the first public demonstration of television in his laboratory in London. In 1954, groundbreaking begins on Disneyland. Finally, this is the date in 1960 that High-school basketball sensation Danny Heater scores 135 points in a single game. A record that still stands today. Now here’s the back story. Burnsville (WV) high school was in a town of 700 people at the time. All of the town’s schools were in one building. The gym wasn’t regulation sized and there were only a few benches for people to sit on. The coach wanted to get attention for Danny who was the son of an unemployed coal miner so a college might offer him a scholarship. It worked. Danny got his scholarship and made it to college, but a car accident ended his basketball career in his freshman year. Interesting story. This is the birthday (1882) of Douglas MacArthur. He said, “The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.” The Roman philosopher Seneca said “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. With that advice, I’ll leave you to start me day. Abide.
