March 29, 2019
Dearest Readers,
Apologies for having the temerity to not produce this column for a few days. We have some other projects that demanded our attention.
Many thanks for reading,
xoxoxo,
Kaitlyn
On This Date:
In 1886 – The first batch of Coca-Cola is made, in Atlanta by John Pemberton. Coca-Cola was the end result of two decades of tinkering with assorted recipes as Pemberton, injured in the Civil War as an officer in the Confederate Army, tried to find a pain reliever that did not contain the morphine he was addicted to. Coke as we know it only came about when carbonated water was accidentally introduced, convincing Pemberton to sell his creation as a fountain drink and not medicine. Pemberton died in 1888 and sold his interest in the beverage shortly before he died.
In 1971 – Lieutenant William Calley, United States Army, is convicted of premeditated murder of 22 Vietnamese civilians in the 1968 My Lai Massacre. Two days later Calley would be sentenced to life in prison and on April 1 President Nixon ordered Calley transferred to house arrest and in 1974 his sentence was commuted to time served. Now 75, Calley lives in Atlanta and remains the only soldier convicted of anything in association with the My Lai massacre.
Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1980:
Hot 100 – Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)…Pink Floyd (2nd of four weeks)
Soul Chart – And The Beat Goes On…The Whispers (5th and final week)
Country Chart – I’d Love to Lay You Down…Conway Twitty (only week)
UK Singles Chart – Going Underground/Dreams of Children…The Jam (2nd of three weeks)
Album Chart – The Wall…Pink Floyd (11th of 15 weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard (US) and Official Charts Company (UK).
Numbers Racket
10,688: the continuous number of days the US has been at war.
22.162: the number of dollars, in trillions, of America’s national debt. – Source: usdebtclock.org
593: number of days until Election Day 2020.
Philosophy 101
You don’t run from your weaknesses, you attack them.
Keith Burkepile
We talk a lot here about how all of us can do something well, about how all we really have to do in this life is decide whether or not we are going to maximize the talents we were born with, and about how those who get on in this life are those who do this. We don’t talk a lot about weaknesses.
We all have them though. While we all have things we are good at, we also have things we are not good at, as well as things we’d rather not do and traits that do not bring out the best in us. It’s the way the world is built. Personally, one of our favorite weaknesses, one of many we possess, is procrastination, a trait we can sometimes give clinics in. It’s a trait that manifests itself every year at this time when the yard needs tending to as the snow melts and it takes no small amount of effort to get out there and do what needs to be done. We were able to do that today, though, overcoming a long list of obstacles like writing or cleaning the kitchen, which is something else we are good at putting off. We had everything done by early afternoon, too, a wonderful feeling of satisfaction.
We cannot let our weaknesses define us, or even let them seize a moment, much less a day. We must attack them. When we do, we are rewarded with a wonderful dividend of confidence.
Keith Burkepile is a colonel in the United States Marine Corps.