For Earl, today is notable for being four months until Christmas Eve. For me, not so much. For Earl, Christmas is a fantastic holiday. For me, yeah, not so much.
Still, I love August 24 for other reasons. It is my second son’s birthday. He turns forty-seven. It is the birthday of one of my best friend’s grandchildren. She’s probably half my son’s age. And tonight we attended a birthday party for a friend who celebrated ninety years on the planet. What’s not to like?
On the world scene, today is the day in 79 A.D. that Mount Vesuvius erupted in southern Italy, covered the city of Pompei with molten ash, and killed thousands of citizens. In 1572, the King of France ordered the assassination of Huguenot Protestant leaders across his country. Also not a very pleasant thing. In 1821, Spain accepted Mexico’s independence. And in 1981 musician John Lennon’s killer was sentenced to twenty years to life in prison. He’s still there.
Reading the world’s view of this date and then reading mine, I’ll stick with Earl’s predictions and the birthdays involved. They may not make national headlines, but they are at least happier events.
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