1401

We like to mark milestones. From the obvious birthdays and anniversaries, we mark the graduations, the day the pet came to live with us, the day we bought the new car instead of getting a used one, the day the tree in the back toppled over in the storm, the day we dug ourselves out to the street from the blizzard, the day we met that special someone, the last day our favorite restaurant was open. The list goes on. I think, if we didn't mark these dates and the amount of time that has transpired since whatever happened on that date, we would be adrift in our life. Remembering that today is the day that "x" happened, or didn't happen or was supposed to happen but was postponed, gives us an anchor to go forward and backwards through our lives.

Today is the birthday of Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine. Former British Prime Minister Edward Heath was born today as was Richard Roundtree. You're a certain age or a lover of 1970's movies if you know Roundtree's name. Someone named Orenthal James Simpson was born today as was another guy, maybe you've heard of him, named John Tesh. And for those of us who like "The Princess Bride", the grandson's birthday is today.

On this date in history, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to General Washington's troops. Imagine being a farmer from Massachusetts and hearing that your country has declared its independence. We take this for granted, some 236 years later. The temperature hit 112 degrees in Topeka, Kansas on this date in 1860. Today, it's a very pleasant 84, although I would wager it was fairly close to that record last week. The donut cutter was patented in 1872 with the corncob pipe patented 6 years later. I didn't realize the pipe was a patent. The worst train wreck in US history occurred today in Nashville, Tennesee in 1918. The American League beat the National League in the All-Star game 12-0 after a year of no game in 1945. Those men from baseball who had gone to war were welcomed home with an extended pre-game ceremony. Bill Haley and the Comets, in 1955, enjoyed the top of Billboard's music charts with "Rock Around the Clock". Voyager 2 flew past Jupiter, in 1978, for the first man-made object to reach the giant planet. In 1995, the Grateful Dead played their last concert as a group at Soldier Field in Chicago. And just last year, the South Sudan was recognized as an independent nation.

Why is all of this important? It's not really other than it gives me a way to mark the passing of 1400 blog posts. The post about cheap cereal was number 1400. This post is 1401. My only goal in posting has been to reflect on life as it passes me by. I start every month telling myself I will have a post for every day. Some months, like last month, there were so many things to post about, so many things to observe, to ruminate on, to show. By my calculations, I've passed through 1,143 days since May 23, 2009, when I started this blog. Yeah, I could be considered an overachiever. I could quit posting for the rest of the year and into part of next year and STILL be okay on a post a day.

No, I won't do that. There's a lot out there to see, to experience, to do, to ruminate upon. There's a lot to eat so you don't have to and I'm walking down this new road, one that has a chronic illness for the scenery. Maybe there's something I'll figure out to do that can help someone else. I don't have a camera and, right now, don't have the funds to get one so photos will be from my cell phone. They aren't that bad, actually, so I'll continue to show you things I find, like plastic wrapped potatoes. (sigh) Plus, I need to post some cat photos before my one friend sends me his, "Where are the cat photos?" email. If you lived closer, you could get a weekly fix.

So, here's to the next 1400 posts. Who knows where those will find me.

Beverage:  tea

Deb