June 18, 2022. I’ve got a new day to live. New opportunities, however small, await. Writing this post every morning has made me so much more appreciative of what I have. I hope you feel some of that gratitude too. Today is Go Fishing Day, International Panic Day, International Picnic Day, International Sushi Day, National Splurge Day, National Get Away Day, and World Juggling Day. Panic is bad, everything else on the list is pretty good. Now to some history of June 18th. In 1178, five monks at Canterbury reported that something exploded on the moon shortly after sunset. On day in 1682, William Penn founded Philadelphia. This is the day in 1812 that the War of 1812 was declared by the United States against England. It’s an interesting war if you care to do a little research on it. On this day in 1873 Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 (over $2,200 in 2022 dollars) for voting in a federal election. She refused to pay the fine and no further action against her was taken. On this day in 1928 Amelia Earhart became the 1st woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1960 on this day Arnold Palmer stages the greatest comeback in US Open history, erasing a 7-stroke deficit in the final round to beat Jack Nicklaus by 2 strokes. The first dead person we will hear from today is Maxim Gorkey. This Russian writer was nominated 5 times for the Nobel Prize. Max said, “Be good, be kind, be humane, and charitable; love your fellows, console the afflicted; pardon those who have done you wrong” and “The most beautiful words in the English language are “Not Guilty”. Next is Jose Saramago, a Portuguese writer who won a Nobel Prize for Literature. He asks an interesting question: “How many countries have military bases in the United States? And in how many countries does the United States not have military bases?” The last dead person for today is Samuel Butler, an English writer and critic who, as far as I know was never nominated for a Nobel Prize. Sam said, “All animals, except man, know the principal business of life is to enjoy it” and “People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian religion doubted, and seeing it practiced.” I like that one. Abide.
