February 14, 2023

It’s February 14^th, 2023. Valentine’s Day when the greeting card companies cash in on romance. 145 million cards will be purchased and traded. It all started in 496 with a Roman festival named Lupercalia and was considered to be the official start of their Spring. Now you know. It’s also Extraterrestrial Culture Day, International Book Giving Day, League of Women Voters Day, Library Lovers Day, National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day, National Ferris Wheel Day, National Have a Heart Day, Read to Your Child Day, and Race Relations Day. Now let’s see what our ancestors did on 02/14. On this day in 1349 the people of Strasbourg burned 900 Jews alive after blaming them for the Black Death. On this day in 1803 Chief Justice John Marshall declared that any act of Congress that conflicts with the Constitution is void. On this day in 1859 Oregon was admitted as the 33^rd state. On this day in 1870 Seraph Young became the first woman to legally vote in the US, two days after Utah’s legislature passed a law allowing women to vote. On this day in 1889 the 1^st trainload of fruit (oranges) left LA headed East. On this day in 1920 the League of Women Voters formed in Chicago. On this day in 1929 the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago took place. 7 mobsters were killed allegedly on Al Capone’s orders. On this day in 1967 Aretha Franklin recorded her single “Respect”. On this day in 1989 the Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie for publishing his novel “Satanic Verses”. Today’s dead person is the author P.G. Wodehouse who said, “I always advise people never to give advice.” “An apple a day, if well aimed, keeps the doctor away.” “Alcohol is a misunderstood vitamin.” “Everything in life that’s any fun, as somebody wisely observed, is either immoral, illegal or fattening.” This one is a good one to end on: “One of the poets, whose name I cannot recall, has a passage, which I am unable at the moment to remember, in one of his works, which for the time being has slipped my mind, which hits off admirably this age-old situation.” Abide.