This day’s name is April 11, 2023. One of the benefits of writing this post is that I’ve learned coping skills to deal with the chaos. Any sane person can find lots of reasons to be worried about what lies ahead of us. I can name a dozen disastrous scenarios. What I can also do is ignore them. Not think about them. As Alfred E. Neuman said “What, me worry?” It’s a good quote to put on a T-shirt. On this day we celebrate Barbershop Quartet Day, International Be Kind to Lawyers Day, International Louie Louie Day, National Cheese Fondue Day, National Library Workers Day, National Pet Day, National Poutine Day, National Ranch Water Day, and Submarine Day. Now some history. On this day in 1241 the Battle of Mohi took place when Mongols invaded Hungary. The Mongol army won the battle, and 30,000 Hungarians were killed. Remember, swords, spears and arrows. Wow. On this day in 1783 hostilities formally ceased in the American Revolutionary War. This is the day in 1814 that Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba. This is the day in 1890 that Ellis Island was designated as an immigration station. On this day in 1898 President McKinley asks Congress for a declaration of war against Spain. This is the day in 1899 the Treaty of Paris was ratified ending the Spanish American War and Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the US. On this day in 1945 four soldiers from the US Third Army liberated the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp. This is the day in 1965 that 40 tornadoes hit the Midwest killing 272 and injuring 5,000. Today’s dead person is Kurt Vonnegut who passed on this day in 2007 at the age of 84. Kurt said, “The terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.” “We are here on Earth to fart around. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.” “People say there are no atheists in foxholes. A lot of people think this is a good argument against atheism. Personally, I think it’s a much better argument against foxholes.” I’ll end with “Doesn’t anything socialistic make you want to throw up? Like great public schools, or health insurance for all? Enough for today. Abide.
