January 2, 2023. Look in a mirror, tell yourself you’re a lucky person to have lived this long and smile. Decide that you are only going to think about positive things today. I know the first part is easy and I know that the second part is hard. For some reason our minds like to think about the chaos and it takes both commitment and practice to not go there. It’s worth the effort. Today is 55 MPH Speed Limit Day, Happy Mew Year for Cats Day, National “Thank God it’s Monday” Day, National Buffet Day, National Cream Puff Day, National Motivation and Inspiration Day, National Run it Up the Flagpole and See if Anybody Salutes it Day, National Weight-In Day, and Swiss Cheese Day. A long list. Now history: On this day in 1757 British troops occupy Calcutta, India. In 1776 Austria ends the use of interrogation by torture. I imagine it became much more difficult to get people to confess to crimes they didn’t commit. On this day in 1832 the 1st Curling club in the US opened. The Orchard Lake Curling Club is around 30 miles from Detroit and is still in operation. On this day in 1890 a 19.2 feet alligator was shot in Louisiana by Edward Avery Mcllhenny. On this day in 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt shut down the post office in Indianola Miss, when they refused to accept the appointed postmistress because she was black. It was a happy day in Florida in 1906 when Willis Carrier received a patent for the world’s first air conditioner. On this day in 1920 US Attorney General Palmer authorized raids across America against unionists and socialists. This was in response to the fear of communism caused by the Russian Revolution. This is the day in 1923 that the Ku Klux Klan attacked the black neighborhood of Rosewood Florida killing 8 people. The first dead person quote today is from George MacDonald Fraser who was an author and screenwriter who said, “In times of horror and torment, prayer is a great thing. Nobody answers but at least it stops you from thinking.” Next is Aldo Gucci who said, “Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.” Since today is the Isaac Asimov’s birthday, I’ll wrap this up with a quote from him: “Maybe happiness is this: not feeling like you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else.” Abide.
