February 2, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Friday, February 2.
February 2nd... that's Groundhog Day! At 6:30 this morning, the little furry rodent came out of his house and (drum roll please) he did NOT see his shadow! That means we'll have an early spring! Or maybe it's the opposite. I can't keep it straight. Rodent weather predicting is a complicated thing.
February 1, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Thursday, February 1.
Welcome to a new month! Welcome to February, typically our most wintry month here in East Texas. We'll see about that. February, of course, is also the month we celebrate Valentine's Day, a day that celebrates the power of love.
January 31, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, January 31.
I've been musing this morning about the fickleness of fame. Most of us, at one time or another, dream of becoming famous. And we assume that all it takes is talent. History, however, tells us that this assumption is often false.
January 30, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, January 30.
The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is considered to be America's library, and boasts 32 million books. It began in 1800 when Congress moved to Washington from New York City. But in 1814, during a war with England, the British burned it to the ground. On January 30, 1815, Thomas Jefferson offered his personal collection of 6500 volumes as a replacement, and was paid $24,000 in return. That's a half-million dollars in today's money.
January 29, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, January 29.
Have you ever been to Pittsburg? No, not Pittsburg, Pennsylvania... Pittsburg, Texas! It's an East Texas town that has several notable "claims to fame". It's the headquarters of Pilgrim's Pride Chicken, the birthplace of racing legend Carroll Shelby, and the location of a very unusual flying machine - the Ezekiel Air Ship. You can see a replica of that odd aircraft in a museum in Pittsburg, just down the street from First Baptist Church (where Bo Pilgrim was a deacon).
January 26, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Friday, January 26.
In the summer of 1695, Swiss mathematician John Bernoulli offered a challenge to the world's scientists. He placed a six-month limit on the solving of an "unsolvable" problem. And, sure enough, at the end of six months, the great minds of the earth had been unsuccessful. But then, on January 26, 1696, the problem was given to Bernoulli's rival, Sir Isaac Newton, who proceeded to solve it . . . in one night. Genius!
January 25, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Thursday, January 25.
How do you sleep at night? You've heard the old joke - "I sleep like a baby, I wake up every 3 hours and cry!" My sleep habits have undergone a radical change in my old age. As a young person, I was a dedicated night owl, never going to bed before midnight, every morning another challenge to get up in time for school or work. I remember my mother (bless her heart), having to tell me over and over, "David, get up!" and finally coming into my room and sprinkling me with cold water - and we weren't even Methodists!
January 23, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, January 23.
I love puzzles. All kinds of puzzles. Number puzzles, trivia puzzles, mazes, riddles, you name it. But my all-time favorites are word puzzles, and most especially crosswords.
Crossword puzzles began appearing about a hundred years ago. In 1942 the New York Times newspaper published their first one and the New York Times Crossword has remained the “gold standard” ever since. I do my best to complete it every day.
January 22, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, January 22.
Rain! Rain! Rain!
The sound of heavy rain woke me up before sunrise and the forecast is for a rainy week here in East Texas. We could see a half foot or more before all is said and done. But, as the old saying goes, "every cloud has a silver lining".
Silver lining #1 is that we could use the extra moisture. Silver lining #2 is that all this rain is coming just as the temps are climbing well above freezing. If this had happened early last week, we would have had an ice-catastrophe!