Washington learned in his youth to do what is right according to character traits. One of the ways he learned was by practicing good penmanship while writing over and over again “The Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation” as they were dictated to him by his tutor.
I’m quoting one of those rules in this message today because my grown daughter who has a husband and grown children herself, was stung by a scorpion tonight. My wife and I had to go to her for comfort and some consolation as her husband and children were away. She was stung twice by the same scorpion. Ouch!
One of the interesting stories in history is that about the Nobel Peace Prize. I know our politicians are envious and some are determined to win this prize. It has been awarded to our current President. But few know the background about Alfred Nobel who started the process. Mr. Nobel was a Swedish chemist and the inventor of dynamite. As such he made a fortune in mining, construction and warfare. I wonder how this invention could have changed the Revolutionary War if it had been discovered sooner!
I heard there was a Presidential candidate debate tonight. I didn’t watch it. I was meeting with my siblings and my 96 year old mother about her needs. She is doing quite well for her age. She has slipped a little over the past year. A few months ago she fell and broke her hip. But it has healed nicely without surgery. Even though her memory isn’t what it used to be, she can still carry on a conversation. That’s enough about Mom, now how about politics?
Groan. I just read this:
We don’t give much attention to Thomas Paine these days. He was from England and had tried to make a living alternatively as a grocer, a Methodist preacher, an excise officer, an English teacher and a writer. He wasn’t much of a businessman as you can see, and he had a difficult time relating to others. However, he was a creative and imaginative literary mastermind.
I told you a little about Patrick Henry’s retirement home, Red Hill, in Western Virginia, in my last blog. If you remember, Henry was married twice and had 17 children. Yes, some had grown and moved away, but several still lived with him at Red Hill. I don’t know precisely how many. Some may have returned with their own children.
Some of our Founding Fathers had complete disdain for newspapers. John Adams for example saw that the “Alien and Sedition Act” was approved and signed to keep newspapers from printing false and libelous stories about politicians.
However, the original Patriots didn’t play football. Football hadn’t even been invented yet. Those original Patriots played for keeps and they created a new nation. The first one ever to be of the people, by the people and for the people.
Yesterday was Constitution Day. Everyone I asked, never knew it was a special day at all, much less Constitution Day. Well, I guess that’s to be expected. Schools don’t pay much attention to the Constitution, because they seem to be too busy with optional gender bathrooms. Opps. Forget I said that.