Upsy Downsy Day


 

Some days.
Yes, some days you just have to shake your head, and say, “Some days….”

This is one of them. When I think about this date, this April 14th, I am always reminded of that terrible time in 1865. That is when our very fine President, that good Abraham Lincoln, was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Of course, it all happened at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.

414. That’s the date.

It also marks the anniversary of some other dreadful moments. Like in 1912. That is when that really big boat, the Titanic was sailing along, and it bumped into an iceberg. Just a little left of Newfoundland. And away she went to her watery grave. There were 1,503 people who died on that frightful night. I can’t imagine. I’ve seen the movie a couple of times, and I still can’t imagine.

On to the next. Many years later, there was the time when there were no icebergs in sight. Or water. The Dust Bowl. This was throughout the midwestern section of the United States, and significantly, in the southern plains. It took place over a long period of time — like the entire decade of the 1930s. But on April 14th in 1935, a huge sweeping phenomenon happened. They called it Black Sunday. That day packed a whopper of a major dust storm / sandstorm which ravaged the middle portion of the United States. But the entire and encompassing devastation was known as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

And, if you go way back in time, Julius Caesar was assassinated on this date. That was in 43, B.C. But they named a salad after him.

So yes. April 14 has its dark side. 414. That is also the area code for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, if that means anything to you. The beer brewing capital of the world. Some may see that as a good thing. Others may deem it more like bad news. It depends on where you’re sitting in life, I suppose.

It isn’t all doom and gloom really.
There have been some real plusses.

This one is probably my favorite. In 1828, the very First American Dictionary registered its copyright for publication. By that gem of a guy, Noah Webster. Words, glorious words.

And since we all love a good movie, we can be happy about this one. In 1894, we had the first public showing of Thomas Edison’s kinetoscope. His moving pictures machine. Now we see those moving pictures everywhere.

So here we are, on April 14th. And history proves to us once again, that we don’t know what life may hold. It could be Titanically Bad, or Dictionarily Good.

The thing we can be sure of is this. Life keeps on happening. The world keeps spinning. And every day, more history is made.

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“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”
― Robert Frost

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“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”
― Allen Saunders

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“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
― Confucius

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