The 22nd day of February 2024 has arrived. I haven’t read any of the headlines yet, but they are predictable in their awfulness. Articles that will spin everything toward the negative. The best personal defense you have is to turn the news off and ignore the chaos. The #2 strategy is to develop a dark sense of humor (read the headline, chuckle and say “dumbass”). Today’s holidays are Humble Day, Discover Girl Day, National Cook a Sweet potato Day, National Margarita Day, National Wildlife Day, Walking the Dog Day, Washington’s Birthday, and Woolworth’s Day. Now a few historical footnotes to demonstrate that we haven’t advanced much as a species in the last couple of thousand years. On this day in the year 303 Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered all Christians churches to be closed and all scriptures destroyed. In 1349 on this day the Jews of Zurich, Switzerland were expelled. 1349 was probably the worst year for the Jews of Europe because of the Black Death. On this day in 1784 the “Empress of China” set sail from New York to open trade with China. On this day in 1819 the Adams-Onis Treaty between Span and the US was signed which ceded Florida to the US. On this day in 1879 the 1sr “Woolworth’s Great Five Cent Store” was opened in Utica, New York. It failed immediately. On this day in 1882 the “Father of American Golf”, John Reid, 1st demonstrated golf on a Yonkers cow Pasture to his friends. This is the day in 1898 that the black postmaster of Lake City, SC was lynched, and his wife and 3 daughters shot. On this day in 1944 during WWII, US Army Air Forces accidently bombed a Dutch town (Nijmegen) killing around 800 civilians. This is the day in 1980 when the “Meracle on Ice” took place when the Americans beat the Soviet Union in an Olympic hockey game. Since it’s George Washington’s birthday, I’ll use his quotes. “You have only one way to convince others, listen to them.” “Give not advice without being asked, and when desired, do it briefly.” “I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind to whatever nation they might belong.” That’s a good quote to end this post on. Abide.