#82, To Do List, Fruitcake will save the world & "This is Not the End of the Book
Happy Birthday America
Happy Birthday America
An early edition of the PPP. Hope you all have a fun and safe 4th of July.
Did You Know
That Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day, July 4th, 1826? This is from the “History” website.
"On July 4, 1826, former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who were once fellow Patriots and then adversaries, die on the same day within five hours of each other. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were the last surviving members of the original American revolutionaries who had stood up to the British empire and forged a new political system in the former colonies. However, while they both believed in democracy and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, their opinions on how to achieve these ideals diverged over time."
These two had been close friends before they became mortal enemies. But in later years, they renewed a tentative friendship.
"On July 4, 1826, at the age of 90, Adams lay on his deathbed while the country celebrated Independence Day. His last words were, "Thomas Jefferson still survives." He was mistaken: Jefferson had died five hours earlier at Monticello at the age of 83"
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Quote I am Considering
To be silent the whole day long, see no newspaper, hear no radio, listen to no gossip, be thoroughly and completely lazy, thoroughly and completely indifferent to the fate of the world is the finest medicine a man can give himself.
~Henry Miller
(Book: The Colossus of Maroussi)
Sammie’s Journal Notes
I searched my journal for what I did in years past on the 4th of July and I found these notes for 2018. By the way SIP stands for Screened In Porch.
What I did today:
unloaded the dish washer
loaded the dish washer
cleaned up to puddles of cat puke
ran the vacuum
picked up a hard cat turd from kitty box
ran the vacuum
broke a saucer
ran the vacuum again
cleaned the SIP screens with a broom (they look nice now)
cleaned the SIP
Min-waxed the old Red Flyer wagon
got the chainsaw running
chainsawed a large tree limb fallen from the locus tree
worked on the chainsaw
cut down dead limbs from the trees out front
cut down dead lilacs behind the garage
worked on chainsaw
cut up a pile of sticks
worked on chain saw
used the leaf blower to blew off the roof and gutters
worked on the leaf blower
Applied Band-Aids to my leg, my toe, my arms. Blood trickled down my leg in a sweaty, red streams. I look as gory as Odysseus once he was done cleaning his house of the suitors.
finished the Odyssey. (Confirming my love of this book.)
made notes in this journal
worked on my fountain pen, it went dry
I did not ride my bicycle See how much you can accomplish when you don't ride those long miles?
Mike Fridays’ Funnies: Things Said In Court
If this one did not make you laugh the first time, it probably wont this time either.
Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July fifteenth.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.
Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
A: Yes.
Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A: I forget.
Q: You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you’ve forgotten?
Q: How old is your son, the one living with you.
A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can’t remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?
A: Forty-five years.
Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?
A: He said, “Where am I, Cathy?”
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.
Q: And where was the location of the accident?
A: Approximately milepost 499.
Q: And where is milepost 499?
A: Probably between milepost 498 and 500.
Q: Sir, what is your IQ?
A: Well, I can see pretty well, I think.
Q: Did you blow your horn or anything?
A: After the accident?
Q: Before the accident.
A: Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school for it.
Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult?
A: We both do.
Q: Voodoo?
A: We do.
Q: You do?
A: Yes, voodoo.
Q: Trooper, when you stopped the defendant, were your red and blue lights flashing?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the defendant say anything when she got out of her car?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What did she say?
A: What disco am I at?
Q: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?
Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?
Q: Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?
Q: Did he kill you?
Q: How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?
Q: You were there until the time you left, is that true?
Q: How many times have you committed suicide?
Q: She had three children, right?
A: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
A: None.
Q: Were there any girls?
Q: You say the stairs went down to the basement?
A: Yes.
Q: And these stairs, did they go up also?
Q: Mr. Slattery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn’t you?
A: I went to Europe, Sir.
Q: And you took your new wife?
Q: How was your first marriage terminated?
A: By death.
Q: And by whose death was it terminated?
Q: Can you describe the individual?
A: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male, or a female?
Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A: Oral.
Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.
Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?
A: It IS possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.
Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
A: Yes.
Q: And what were you doing at that time?
Beach Book of the Week:
This is Not the End of the Book: A Conversation Curated by Jean-Philippe De Tonnac by Umberto Eco (2011-05-05)
I love this book, a book about books. Anyone who loves books will dig this. It is a series of conversations between two great bibliophiles about the history and future of books. These authors have surprising faith in the book, believing paper and ink will not only survive but thrive in a rising tide of technology.
One of my favorite lines from the book.
“the book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. once invented, it cannot be improved”
TEDx Normal: Jennifer Caldwell
What if everything you’ve heard about Gen Z is wrong? In this engaging and stereotype-busting talk, Jennifer Caldwell challenges outdated assumptions about today’s youngest workers and changemakers. From championing diversity and mental health to redefining career paths and embracing digital fluency, Gen Z is not just following trends—they’re setting them. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at TEDx
Throat Punch Poetry: Fruitcake
By S. Lewis
In some bizarre future scenario Chris and I are cruising up and down the goddamn beach on our electric tricycles with weathered panniers mounted on the sides containing ice and Ultra beer. We have small canopies mounted on our trikes over our heads like contraptions from a Mad Max movie. We are the color of walnut. Our eyeballs are sunburned. We are stoned out of our gourds. Toasted inside and out. Gathering around us are creatures in bikinis with curved hard bodies, parts of which have a propensity to keep moving even though they are standing still, and also, all manner of lanky, carved-muscled young dudes wearing baggy suffer shorts. They stopped us because they believe we know the answer. We lead them on for a while talking some Zen shit. And then Chris stares out to sparkling mother-ocean, spreads his arms out wide and shouts, The answer is Fruitcake. At that moment, even I believed him.
Moment of Zen
.