Today is December 8th, 2019. These were the days of anticipation when I was a young boy. Christmas was around the corner. My mother gave me a Sears & Roebuck catalogue to use to make up my Christmas list. Then I would carefully write my letter to Santa who would, if I was good, bring me one of them. Children have no idea how good life is for them. All of my grandchildren have graduated into reality. Santa’s no longer real. Oh well. Let’s now see what the Commission has designated for today: It’s National Christmas Tree Day, National Lard Day, Worldwide Candle Lighting Day, World Wide Choral Day, Pretend To Be a Time Traveler Day and National Brownie Day. I am a time traveler and I don’t have to pretend. Yesterday I was there, today I’m here. I’ll go with celebrating the brownie. Can’t do much better than that. Now to history: In 1792 Henry Laurens becomes the 1st person to be cremated in the United States. Why don’t we just say “converted to ashes”? In 1863 Abraham Lincoln issues his Amnesty Proclamation. Everyone who fought for the South was guilty of Treason which carries a death sentence. Lincoln pardoned them. In 1886 the American Federation of Labor (AFL) is formed by 26 craft unions coming together and Samuel Gompers is elected AFL president. Here’s a quote from Mr. Gompers: “The man who has his millions will want everything he can lay his hands on and then raise his voice against the poor devil who wants ten cents more a day.” In 1936 the NAACP files suit to equalize salaries of black & white teachers. In 1952 the 1st TV acknowledgement of pregnancy (I Love Lucy). Finally, 1978 “The Deer Hunter”, starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, premieres in Los Angeles. It won the Academy Awards for Best Picture in 1979. This is the date of Horance’s birthday in 65 BC. He a Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. I’ll end this post with two of his quotes: “The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.” and “Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow”. I will follow the advice of Hornace and seize today because it is a fine day to live life to the fullest. Abide.
