The Earth has rotated into the sunlight of December 17, 2020. Only a few more days until Christmas. It will be a chilly day in Central Florida but I’m not complaining. You don’t have to shovel chilly. You don’t fall on your butt because the parking lot is chilly. I’m grateful for our 50 degree weather. Today we have a very short list of events: Wright Brothers Day, Pan American Aviation Day and National Maple Syrup Day. If it’s any consolation, December is National Fruit Cake Month. Now to history. The first interesting event happened in 1398 when Tamerlane captured Delhi, defeating Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud’s armies by setting camels loaded with hay on fire and charging them at the Sultans armored elephants. Wow. In 1790 on this day the Aztec calendar stone is discovered in Mexico City. In 1821 Kentucky abolishes debtors’ prisons. I’ve often pointed out how difficult life was for Jews in Europe. In 1862 General Ulysses S. Grant issues order #11, expelling Jews from Tennessee. In 1895, the Anti-Saloon League of America formed, Washington, D.C. I don’t think I would have been a good fit with this group. This is the date in 1903 that the Wright brothers made their 1st sustained motorized aircraft flight at Kitty Hawk. And on this day in 1986, contract killer Richard Kukllinski is arrested at a road block. He was nicknamed the “Iceman” and you can google his interviews on YouTube. This is also the birthday of Pope Francis who said, “Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that creates huge inequalities.” This is also the day in 1933 that Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama, dies at 57. I’ll end with a Dalai Lama quote ““Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.” A good way to end this post. Abide
