December 2, 2023, is here. Carpe Diem! I often start my daily session of writing this post by looking at the ‘Quotes of the Day’ at Brainyquote.com. I seldom use one of the featured quotes to begin this post with. Today I will. Seneca observed that “No man was ever wise by chance.” To me that quote means that if you want truth, you have to look for it. Do the research, understand the context, find out why things are the way they are. And then, if you’re lucky, and smart, you may become wise, at least on one subject. Most of us don’t. Maybe that’s why America ranks 29th in this year’s world IQ ratings. Moving on. Today is Business of Popping Corn Day, Coast and Toys for Kids Day, Earmuffs Day, Global Fat Bike Day, International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, National Fritters Day, National Play Outside Day, National Rhubarb Vodka Day, Special Education Day, and World Pear Day. Now history: On this day in 1804 General Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of the French at Notre Dame de Paris. On this day in 1823 President James Monroe declared the “Monroe Doctrine” which opposed all European colonialism in the Americas. On this day in 1945 President James K. Polk announced to Congress that the United States should aggressively expand into the West. The term used to support this was “Manifest Destiny”. On this day in 1927 the 1st Model A Ford was sold for $385 (around $6,500 in today’s dollars). On this day in 1938 the first ‘Kindertransport’ carrying Jewish refugee children from Nazi Germany arrived in England. The program lasted 2 years and saved around 10,000 children from the holocaust. Since I started this post off on the subject being ‘wise’, I’ll end with more quotes on the subject: “We think a wise person is someone who solves problems. Truth is a wise person is someone who avoids problems.” Prem Rawat. “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” Shakespeare. “A winner listens, a loser just waits until it is their turn to talk.” Laozi. I’ll end with Ben Franklin who said “Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” Abide.
