America Drinks and Goes Home - 15 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 278

Micah 6:8
Ephesians 5:17-19
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is a relatively important date in music. On 15 December 1877 Thomas Edison patented the phonograph. (As I recall, "Mary had a little lamb" was his demonstration recording.) Sadly, 67 years later, the plane carrying Major Glenn Miller - a major recording artist of the day - was lost over the English Channel on the way to Paris during WWII.

There's a fun story relating to his passing (I hope it's been long enough). My mother was a big Glenn Miller fan. In fact, I still have a book of her Glenn Miller 45s that I should pull out and play one of these days. At any rate, Mom (many years before she was a Mom) went on a date to see "The Glenn Miller Story." After the movie, she berated her date through her tears: "Why didn't you tell me he died at the end?!" It would appear that she was not fully informed regarding the life of her favorite musician.
Ah, youth.

In news unrelated to music, on 15 December 1933 the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution came into effect. Ratified on 05 December 1933, the amendment repealed the prohibition on alcohol in the United States which had come into force on 17 January 1920, when the 18th amendment took effect. Folks are still celebrating this event in homes across these United States even today. Please celebrate responsibly.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Infamy - 07 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 270

Micah 6:8
Exodus 21:12-14
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today, December 7, is a day that will live in infamy. This is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It's the kind of attack that couldn't quite happen today - all the surveillance satellites and radar installations make it difficult to believe anyone could move a mass of ships and planes into position without being seen - but at least it was an actual military operation, attacking a naval base.

We need to remember the sacrifices made by those killed and wounded on that day 79 years ago, as well as those of the men and women who were then tested in the crucible of WWII thereafter. We can really have no idea what they endured, but we can be grateful and inspired by their example.

One of the things that we really can't understand it how out of contact families were during that war. Imagine your father / brother / husband / uncle / friend / mother / sister / wife / aunt being away in Europe or the Pacific when the only way to contact them was by writing a letter. Our son was in the Army and deployed to Afghanistan. We were incredibly fortunate that Skype was there, and we could see and hear him on a fairly frequent basis. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to write a letter, drop it in the mail, and then wait the weeks it would take to find the recipient, for a response to be written and posted, and then for it to arrive back States-side. They were made of strong stuff, our parents and grandparents. Today is Letter Writing Day, so why not look at another blast from the past? Write a letter to someone and post it today!

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Keep Calm - 04 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 237

Micah 6:8
Hebrews 13:8
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

As we wait for the results of the election, let's emulate the Brits of WWII and Keep Calm and Carry On, shall we? After all, as the rotating verse above says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Whatever happens, that should comfort.

Why not give this video a try?

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.