This is June 21st, 2021. Yesterday was a very good day because I made some memories. I intend to do the same today. I want to remember the good times and forget the bad. Wipe away the negative and dwell on the positive. I know some people who do the opposite and I do my best to avoid them. Today we have a long list of mediocre events: Go Skateboarding Day (not happening), Atheist Solidarity Day, International Day of Yoga (not happening), National Peaches and Cream Day, National Gong Day, National Selfie Day, World Giraffe Day, World Music Day and Take Your Cat To Work Day (not something anyone would do). I will celebrate Peaches and Cream. This is the day in 1547 the great fire in Moscow took place and a third of the largely wooden city was destroyed and between 2 and 3 thousand people died. On this day in 1834 Cyrus McCormick patented the reaping machine. This was a very big deal if you lived on a farm. This is the day in 1877 that 10 Irish immigrants believed to be Molly Maguires, were hanged in PA. The Molly Maguires were a secret society fighting for better working conditions in the coal mines. On this day in 1893 the 1st Ferris wheel premiered at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition. They were looking for something to compare with the Eiffel Tower in Paris. George Ferris Jr, a 33 year old engineer came up with the idea of the Ferris Wheel (that’s how it got its name). They built it, 1.4 million people paid 50 cents for a 20 minute ride. After the Exposition ended, there were lawsuits and financial problems and George died broke at the age of 37. The End. This is the birthday of Reinhold Niebuhr, born in 1892. He was a theologian, ethicist and commentator on politics and public affairs. I’ll end this post with a few of his words of wisdom: “Every experience proves that the real problem of our existence lies in the fact that we ought to love one another, but do not.” Nationalism: One of the effective ways in which the modern man escapes life’s ethical problems.” And my favorite: “Cheese, wine, and a friend must be old to be good.” Now, I’m going to do my best to have fun today. After all, this is the only June 21, 2021 I’ll ever have. Abide.
