Here we are. It’s 09.20.2021. I will start this post with some excellent news: Pfizer and BioNTech have announced that their vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11 and they are going to the CDC for emergency authorization. That my friends, is great, fantastic, and wonderful news! Yes, I have a 10-year-old granddaughter. That’s what I’ll celebrate today. There are other choices: National Fried Rice Day, National Gibberish Day, National Pepperoni Pizza Day, National Punch Day and National String Cheese Day. Now to those odd historical footnotes: On this day in 1664 Maryland passed the 1st anti-amalgamation law to stop intermarriage of white women and black men. On this day in 1737 the “Walking Purchase” forced the Lenape-Delaware tribe to give 1.2 million acres of land to the Pennsylvania Colony. William Penn “found” a lost treaty from 1686 that gave tribal land to the Colony. The measurement of how much land was how far a man could walk in 1 1/2 days. They got the 3 fastest people in the colony and redrew the map. It was a land swindle. On this day in 1859 George Simpson patented the electric range. Finally, on this day in 1946, Winston Churchill argued for a United States of Europe. His aim was to eliminate the European ills of nationalism and war-mongering once and for all. Today is the day in 1878 that the writer and political activist, Upton Sinclair was born. He authored over 100 books. The one entitled “The Jungle” changed the meat packing industry. I’ll end with two quotes: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” And“It is foolish to be convinced without evidence, but it is equally foolish to refuse to be convinced by real evidence.” I’m pretty sure he would have recommended being vaccinated. Have an excellent day. Abide.
