May 1, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Friday, May 1. Something lighter today . . .
I love words. I find them endlessly fascinating. And sometimes very confusing. For instance, how is it possible that flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? Here’s some more synonyms that sound like they should actually be opposites.
valuable / invaluable
bone / debone
regardless / irregardless
press / depress
and my personal favorite... caregiver / caretaker
And then there’s those words that seem like they should mean the same thing - but don’t.
Repetitious/Repetition. Repetitious - tedious, boring / Repetition - an effective tool for learning a skill, a song, a scripture. And Trivial/Trivia. Trivial - insignificant, frivolous / Trivia - Fun Facts! Here’s some fun facts about May 1.
May 1, 1489 - A seafarer named Christopher asks a queen named Isabella to bankroll a trip. (She says no and nothing ever comes of it.)
May 1, 1840 - The first postage stamp is issued. It’s called “Penny Black” because it costs a penny and it’s, well, black. If you have one today it could bring you five million pennies - that’s 50,000 dollars!
May 1, 1920 - Babe Ruth hits his first home run as a New York Yankee. He would finish his career with 714.
May 1, 1952 - Mr. Potato Head goes on sale for the first time. Did you have one?
May 1, 1961 - Harper Lee wins the Pulitzer Prize for her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It’s my favorite.
May 1, 1991 - Nolan Ryan pitches his 7th no hitter. Greatness.
May 1, 1999 - Sponge Bob Square Pants makes his debut. Obviously I saved the greatest event for last.
One last pair of words - Happiness / Joy. Even though we often use these two words interchangeably - they are intrinsically different. Happiness depends on circumstances. I have a job - I’m happy. I lose it - I’m unhappy. Happiness depends on circumstances. But joy comes from the Lord. And even during tough, challenging times - “the joy of the Lord is our strength!”
Meet you back here on Monday,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
