We have entered the time/space of August 29th, 2021. It will be a memorable day if you live in Southern Louisiana. Probably not a good one. Life is filled with ups and downs. The ups are easy. The downs test us. After the tornado destroyed our farm, my dad’s comment was “I’ve had so much good luck in my life that I can handle some bad luck”. His approach to adversity was a lesson for me. Today is Chop Suey Day, Individual Rights Day, More Herbs, Less Salt Day, Lemon Juice Day, Speak Kind Words Saturday and National Swiss Winegrower’s Day. I’ll celebrate the kind words because saying them is good for you and the person you are saying them to. Now let’s stroll down the History aisle. In 1533 on this day, Atahualpa, last Sapa Inca Emperor was murdered and buried by Pizarro and his small force of mercenaries. 200 conquistadors brought down the Inca civilization of 10 million people. This is the day in 1833 that Britain’s 1st Factory Act becomes law “to regulate the Labor of Children and young Persons in the Mills and Factories of the United Kingdom”. On this day in 1835 John Batman bought 600,000 acres of land from the Australian Aboriginals for blankets, tomahawks, knives, flour, and clothing. That land became Melbourne. In 1966 the Beatles’ made their last public concert at Candlestick Park, San Francisco. This is the day in 2005 that Katrina devastated Southern Louisiana. On this day in 1632, the English philosopher John Locke came into the world. He said, “Don’t let things you don’t have prevent you from using what you do have” and “With books, we stand on the shoulders of giants”. I’m always amazed when people tell me they haven’t read a book in years and seem to be proud of it. This is the day in 2015 that the author (he sold 100 million books) Wayne Dyer assumed room temperature. I’ll end this post with some quotes by Wayne: “Conflict cannot survive without your participation,” “If you don’t make peace with your past, it will keep showing up in your present”, and “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Decide to have a good day. Abide.
