10.27.2023 is the date. We watch a lot of competitive cooking shows in my house. People are given a few ingredients and a period of time to make a dish that will be judged. It’s really a metaphor for living a good life. Making the most out of what you’ve got. That’s my plan for today (because today is all I’ve really got to work with). It’s Boxer Shorts Day, Cranky Co-workers Day, Frankenstein Friday, International Bandanna Day, National Breadstix Day, National Potato Day, and American Beer Day. I think I will celebrate some American beer today. It’s now part of my plan. Now some history: On this day in 1682 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn. On this day in 1795 Pinckney’s Treaty was signed by Spain and the US establishing the Southern boundary of the US and giving Americans the right to navigate the Mississippi River. On this day in 1806 the US annexed West Florida from Spain (there was at the time a West and East Florida). On this day in 1917 20,000 women marched in a suffrage parade in NYC. On this day in 1922 Mussolini proclaimed that “either the Government (Italy) will be given to us or we will seize it by marching on Rome.” Think about that demand for a few seconds…. On this day in 1959 a rare Pacific Hurricane killed 2,000 in Western Mexico. This day was named Black Saturday in 1962 when a US spy plane was shot down over Cuba and the US navy dropped warning depth charges on a Soviet submarine. Today’s quotes come from the writer Rex Stout who created the character Nero Wolfe. Rex said, “Pessimists gets nothing but pleasant surprises, an optimist nothing but unpleasant.” “The trouble with an alarm clock is that what seems sensible when you set it seems absurd when it goes off.” “No man with any sense assumes that a woman’s words mean to her exactly what they mean to him.” “A hole in the ice is dangerous only to those who go skating.” “There are two kinds of statistics, the kind you look up and the kind you make up.” Last one: “I don’t approve of open fires. You can’t think, or talk, or even make love in front of a fireplace. All you can do is stare at it.” Abide.
