04.12.2022. This brand new, never happened before day should be a good one. My “job” today is to be happy. My plan is to be kind to the people I meet, avoid thinking negative thoughts and to ignore the chaos of the world. This strategy worked yesterday. I hope it’s becoming a habit. Today is Drop Everything and Read Day, National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, National Licorice Day, International Day for Street Children, and Walk on Your Wild Side Day. Now to some historical footnotes: This is the date in 1545 that the French King Francois I ordered the protestants of Vaudois to be killed. It seems that the intended victims didn’t believe in purgatory or the veneration of Mary. 2,700 men, women and children were put to death. 1861 that Fort Sumter is attacked by the Confederacy, beginning the Civil War. In 1877 the catcher’s mask is1st used in a baseball game. I’ll bet you that a catcher who took more than a few foul balls to his face came up with the idea. In 1934, the 2nd highest wind speed of 231 mph was recorded on Mt Washington. Finally, on this day in 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office and Vice President Harry Truman is sworn in as 33rd US President. FDR is the president I admire the most. He took office in the middle of the Great Depression and put the nation on a path to prosperity. Great man, great quotes: “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” “We are trying to construct a more inclusive society. We are going to make a country in which no one is left out.” “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” I’ll end with “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” Abide.
