Today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody was particularly fun to write. It’s always a pleasure, of course, but for some reason the combination of spotty cell service at The Shire,  a complimentary lunch and a Bozo the Clown reference made us a tad more giddy than usual.

Sparrow is not entirely sure what’s going on his cell service. It is notoriously spotty in his small town, but it only seems to be out in the afternoon.

There was not a Thought for the Day either one or two years ago today, so we pulled one of our favorites out for you. It’s from July of last year and it’s from Minnesota Fats, a famous pool hustler of all things, who talks about everyone and everything being capable of greatness. We liked it so much we put in the Gaylon Hall of Fame, too.

On This Date
In 1776 – The Lee Resolution, which declared the “…United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States…” is proposed in the Second Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee and seconded by John Adams. The resolution would lead to the writing of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, which was presented to Congress on June 28. The Second Continental Congress would approve the Lee Resolution on July 2 and the Declaration of Independence on July 4.

In 1982 – Steve Garvey of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the fourth major league player to appear in 1,000 consecutive games, joining Lou Gehrig, Everett Scott and Billy Williams. Garvey would play in 1,207 consecutive games before the streak ended the following season, still a National League record.

In 1941 – Jimmy Dorsey hits #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart (one of several Billboard charts that predated the Hot 100) with My Sister and I. It replaces his hit Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy) which had spent ten weeks at #1 and would be replaced by Dorsey’s Maria Elena the following week. It would mark the first time an artist replaces himself at #1 twice, a feat only accomplished one other time, by the Beatles in 1964.

Thank you for reading and have a good day,
Gaylon

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Sparrow is certainly on the rag today in The Diary of a Nobody, whining about guests at the hotel, being relieved late and there is even some funny whining from the retailer, where people kept pestering him while he was making closing pages.

In The Thought for the Day from two years ago, Thomas Edison – one of the useful people us humans have produced – talks about how we can either spend our lives astounding ourselves or passing aimless days. Plus the usual blathering commentary from yours truly.

On This Date:
In 1944 – World War II’s Battle of Normandy begins with amphibious landings by 155,000 Allied troops. It was also known as Operation Overlord and Operation Neptune and commonly known as D-Day. It would result in a successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe and remains the largest seaborne invasion in human history.

In 2017 – Scooter Gennett of the Cincinnati Reds tied an ML record with four home runs in a game, helping the Reds defeat the St Louis Cardinals 13-1. Gennett is the 17th player to hit four home runs in one game. The Cardinals joined the Braves, Dodgers and Reds as teams that have both given up four home runs in a game to a single player and had a player hit four home runs in a game.

In 1981 – Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes is #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the fourth consecutive week. After another week at #1, it would fall to #2 before returning to #1 for four more weeks. It was the biggest song of 1981.

Have a good day,
Gaylon

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Greetings Readers,

Further proof that Sparrow is completely useless on his own can be found in the fact he needed to be reminded to go and check the mail on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody…He will also need to pay the water bill and it is even money whether or not he remembers to do it before it is shut off.

We did not produce The Thought for the Day on this date one and two years ago, so today we dug one up from November of last year…Lawrence Sanders, writing in the novel The Third Deadly Sin, talks about passion becoming a spectator sport.

Also, Gaylon For Congress went live on Facebook Monday night. We talked about free trade, specifically how the new tariffs America has levied on steel and aluminum imports will do no one any good.

On This Date:
In 1942 – The United States Congress declares war on dreaded Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania on this date in 1942. Despite the fact America has been at war for most of the ensuing years – from Korea to Vietnam to the War on Terror – this was the last time Congress has declared war.

In 1981 – Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros walks Frank Tavares of the New York Mets in the first inning of a game Houston would win 3-0. The walk was the 1,776 of his career, breaking Early Wynn’s all-time major league mark. Ryan would pitch a complete game that night, walking two and striking out ten. He retired with 2,795 career walks, still a ML record.

In 1971 – Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones replaces Three Dog Night’s Joy To The World at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Brown Sugar would spend two weeks at #1 and would also top the charts in Holland, Switzerland and Canada.

Thank you for reading,
Gaylon

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Writing is like anything else, it is best done when one is not too tired. So when the time we usually write The Sunday Bottom Ten came along and we were beat, we decided it was best not to write it because we are never entirely thrilled with what we produce when our brain is not humming on all cylinders. We were too tired to write a Daily Report for Sunday, too. So we finished up today for you.

Sparrow’s hotel jobs are pretty low key and seldom do their events make The Diary of a Nobody but it was pretty busy at Hotel A on graveyard Sunday morning, so we have that to bore you, plus some exciting drivel from the retailer.

In other news, our latest novel Criminals, Courtesans and Constables is almost done, a bit sooner than we thought we’d get to this point. It may sound odd the end of a book catching a writer by surprise but this did. Of course, I knew how I want the book to end, but when it turned up being right around the corner we were somewhat taken aback. It is analogous to walking out of a clearing all of a sudden even though you knew the end of the clearing was there. Oh, there it is. The end of the book is up ahead. 

This is both good and bad. Good because a writer starts writing a book so he can finish it. Bad because a book is your baby and writing the first draft is fun and you hate to see it end.

On This Date:
In 1783 – Man flies for the first time when the hot air balloon is demonstrated publicly for the first time by brothers Josef and Jacques Montgolfier in Annony, France. The flight covered a bit more than a mile and lasted for ten minutes.

In 1911 – The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Boston Braves 26-3 as 13 Reds score runs, a major league record that stood until 1999.

In 1983 – Flashdance…What a Feeling By Irene Cara is number one for the second of six weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100. Cara co-wrote the lyrics with Keith Forsey while the music was composed by Giorgio Moroder. It was the third biggest song of 1983 and was #26 on Billboard’s All-Time Top 100 in 2008.

Many thanks for reading,
Gaylon

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