Say good morning to January 27, 2024. The weather forecast looks excellent with a high of 83 degrees. I think I’ll include a few hours of sitting outside and soaking up some of Florida’s sunshine. I’ve got some choices to make. I think I’ll be grateful, positive and happy. Jan. 27th is Auschwitz Liberation Day, Chocolate Cake Day, Holocaust Memorial Day, National Geographic Day, National Seed Sap Day, Punch the Clock Day, Thomas Crapper Daty, and Vietnam Peace Day. It’s also the last day on Hung for Happiness Week. Onto interesting historical footnotes: On this day in 1593 the Vatican opened a blasphemy and theological heresy trail against an Italian scholar and friar (Giordano Bruno) that would last 7 years. Wow. This is the day in 1825 that congress approved the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) clearing the way for the forced relocation of the Eastern tribes (Trail of Tears). On this day in 1941 the Peruvian Ambassador warned the American Ambassador of a Japanese assault of Pearl Harbor. This is the day in 1944 that the Siege of Leningrad ended after 880 days, and more than 2 million Russians killed. In 1945 on this day soviet troops liberated Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps. On this day in 1970 the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw as their #1 pick. Now to my favorite part of the post: quotes from dead people. Today is Howard Zinn’s turn. He was a playwright, philosopher, socialist intellectual and WWII vet who died on this day in 2010. He said, “They have the guns, we have the poets. Therefore, we will win”. “Remember this power of the people on top depends on the obedience of the people below. When people stop obeying, they have no power.” “We need to assert our allegiance to the human race, and not to anyone nation.” “Education can, and should be, dangerous.” “There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” I’m going to stop there. If you want to expand your understanding, add some context to today’s chaos, search on and spend a few minutes reading Howard Zinn’s quotes. Enough for today. Abide.
