It’s now the 20th day of October 2023. The Sun God Ra has yet to start his daily ride across the sky. I have my first morning cup of strong coffee and I’m ready to see how this day begins. I never know what’s going to happen between now and when I type “Abide” and distribute my musings for this new day. Let’s start with the celebratory events for 10/20/2023. It’s International Chefs Day, National Day of Writing, National Office Chocolate Day, Global Champagne Day, International Sloth Day, Miss American Rose Day, National Brandied Fruit Day, National Suspenders Day, and World Statistics Day. Now to some history: On this day in 1864 US President Lincoln formally establishes Thanksgiving as a national holiday. On this day in 1917 US suffragette Alice Paul began a 7–month jail sentence for protesting women’s rights in Washington. Her treatment in jail became the turning point in the fight for women’s right to vote. On this day in 1926 a hurricane hit Cuba and killed 600 people. In 1944 on this day liquid-gas tanks in Cleveland Oh, exploded killing 135 and leaving 3,600 people homeless. On that same day, General Douglas MacArthur kept his promise and returns to the Philippines. In looking through the people who died on this day I found Lydia Maria Child who was an abolitionist, women and Native American rights activist, novelist, and journalist. She was a busy woman. She said, “Happiness consists not of having much, but in wanting no more than you have.” Then I found Charles Dudley Warner who died in 1900. He said, “To poke a wood fire is more solid enjoyment than almost anything else in the world.” That quote transports me to Northern Michigan and the weekends with the cabin’s campfire that never was allowed to go out. This is where my post stops. In a happy place. Abide.
