Finally, after one of the longest weeks in human history, Sparrow picks up his lawn mower from the shop in today’s The Diary of a Nobody. Unfortunately, he got it too late in the day to actually mow the lawn, but there’s always tomorrow. Plus, it is a dead sprint at the retailer.

There are two editions of The Thought for the Day for your to enjoy. One year ago Louis L’Amour talked about reading, while two years ago Gore Vidal talked about the importance of being you. Both, of course, feature the usual witless commentary from yours truly you’ve learned to tolerate.

On This Date:
In 1997: Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 11 counts of murder and conspiracy at his trial in Denver. He would be executed four years later after abandoning his appeals.

In 1891: Charley “Old Hoss” Radbourn wins his 300th game as the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Boston Beaneaters – now the Atlanta Braves – 10-8. Radbourn is the fourth major leaguer to reach the 300 win mark. Since then 20 other pitchers have joined the club.

In 1982: Deniece Williams is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second and final week with Let’s Hear It for the Boy. It was Williams’ second and final #1 song, following 1978’s Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, a duet with Johnny Mathis.

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Sparrow runs into some technical difficulties while making some Sparrow For Congress videos on The Diary of a Nobody, while neighbor Devon actually mowed his lawn, making Sparrow’s look bad by comparison because his mower is still at the shop.

Today’s Thought for the Day is from November 2017 and features Nero Wolfe, a fictional character created by Rex Stout, talking about stealing a little time for oneself. Regular readers know time is one of our favorite themes at The Thought for the Day.  We all have 24-hours every day, and what we get out of this life largely depends on the work we put into those 24-hours.

On This Date:
In 1495: Scotch whiskey is mentioned in writing for the first time, in the Scottish Exchequer Rolls, an official government publication of government revenues. A monk named John Cor was ordered by King James IV to produce several batches.

In 1975: Nolan Ryan of the California Angels becomes the second major leaguer to pitch four no-hitters, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 1-0. Ryan would retire with seven n0-hitters, which are still a record.

In 1959: The Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton moves into the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. It would spend six weeks at #1 and would be Billboard’s #1 single of 1959, despite the fact Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin spent nine weeks at #1. The Battle of New Orleans was also the biggest country song of the year, spending ten weeks on top of the Billboard’s country chart.

Have a good day,
Gaylon

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Sparrow gets threatened on today’s Diary of a Nobody. It was in front of the retailer and the threat was issued by the sort of deranged man you sometimes see in parking lots and both men come through it unscathed. Plus Sparrow buys some windshield wipers.

One of our all-time favorite quotes is featured in The Thought for the Day from two years back. It’s from Garrison Keillor, and he talks about giving your very best or submitting a lesser effort. We like the quote so much we stole it, modified a bit, for the banner of this page.

We started back with substantive work on Criminals, Courtesans and Constables yesterday. For the past couple of weeks, we had been staring at the current chapter without enthusiasm. Sure, we’d make a change here and there but it was the literary equivalent of someone pecking at a meal they didn’t like. Finally, we said screw it and started in with a blank page and BOOM!, there you go, you’re humming on all cylinders again, going from putzing around aimlessly to knowing where you are headed and exactly how you want to get there.

On This Date:
In 1927: Ford produces the last Model T. It had been produced since 1908 and was the first car that was affordable to middle-class Americans. At the end the Model T was a bargain, costing $360, about $5,100 in today’s dollars. All told, 14.6 million Model T’s were produced.

In 1927: First baseman John Neun of the Detroit Tigers completes the ninth unassisted triple play in major league history, recording the last three outs in a 1-0 victory over Cleveland. It was the first unassisted triple play in one day and the last for 43 years.

In 1975: Freddy Fender hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Before the Last Teardrop Falls, his only #1 song. It was one of 24 #1 songs in 1975 that only spent one week at the top spot.

Have a good day and thanks for reading,
Gaylon

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A rather routine day for Sparrow on The Diary of a Nobody. He frets over his low sleep total so far this week, discovers the coffee in the sack is not identical to the coffee in the can and, at the retailer, an older gentleman buys and returns the exact items he bought and returned last week, which reminds Sparrow of his dad.

Today’s Thought for the Day is from two years ago and features one of my all-time favorite quotes, from Gerald Ford. He talks about us citizens getting about as good of government as we choose to make it. Those who have followed my Congressional and US Senate campaigns know I talk about this every hour on the hour. We will always get the government we elect and if we aren’t happy with it we have only ourselves to blame.

On This Date: 
In 1868: Memorial Day – then known as Decoration Day – is observed in the United States for the first time.

In 1894: Bob Lowe of the Boston Beaneaters – now the Atlanta Braves – becomes the first major leaguer to hit four home runs in a game, in the second game a doubleheader vs Cincinnati. Lowe had gone 0-6 in the first game.

In 1970: Ray Stevens moves into the #1 spot in Billboard’s Hot 100 with Everything Is Beautiful. It’s the first of two #1’s for Stevens, and earned him a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Have a good day,
Gaylon

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Sparrow has complete coverage of the Memorial Day ceremony, which includes a Line of the Year candidate, on today’s Diary of a Nobody.

Also, it must have been J.R.R. Tolkien Week at The Thought for the Day last year because another quote from The Lord of the Rings is featured.

Inertia is the greatest force that moves a writer. If a writer is not moved by a force inside him he is not a writer he is a typist. That inertia is starting to assert itself with The Daily Dose and The Thought for the Day, though I am still working on the future classic Criminals, Courtesans and Constables so they will not be resuming tomorrow. This is the same inertia that asserts itself with The Bottom Ten like clockwork every August. You don’t have to go searching for it because it always presents itself.

On This Date:
In 1953: The summit of Mt Everest is reached for the first time, by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. They were part of a larger expedition that saw two others try to reach the summit first, an effort that failed. One of mankind’s great team efforts, both took the knowledge of which of them reached the summit first to their graves.

In 2010: Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies throws the 20th major league perfect game, defeating the Miami Marlin 1-0 in Miami. It came 20 days after Dallas Braden of Oakland pitched a perfect game.

In 1965: The Beach Boys ascend to the top of the Billboard Hot 1oo with Help Me Rhonda, which moves up from #4. It was their second of three #1’s and it also went to #1 in Canada. Help Me Rhonda is one of five #1 songs in 1965 that include a name in the title. The other names were Mrs Brown, Mr Tambourine Man, Henry VIII and Sloopy,

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