Sparrow whines about the coffee he bought Thursday, drives in for a shift at the retailer in clothes that aren’t completely dry and makes a senorita giggle with his Spanish, all on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody.

One of America’s most distinctive writers, Charles Bukowski has The Thought for the Day.  It’s from his first novel Post Office and was based on his time working for the postal service. Today’s Thought concerns the safety of where our food and water is, and the open spaces calling us away from it.

On This Date:
In 1861 – The first major battle of the Civil War is fought in Prince William County, Virginia, known to History alternately as the First Battle of Bull Run and the First Battle of Manassas. It resulted in a victory for the Confederate Army and disorganized Union retreat.

In 1959 – The Boston Red Sox become the last major league (ML) team to integrate when Elijah “Pumpsie” Green pinch-runs and plays shortstop as the Red Sox lose to the Chicago White Sox 2-1 in Chicago. Green would play five years in the big leagues, batting .246 in 344 games. Not only did the Red Sox integrate after every other ML team, they even integrated after the Boston Bruins hockey team, who had first played Hall of Famer Willie O’Ree in 1957.

In 1973 – Jim Croce hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100  for the first time with Bad, Bad Leroy Brown. Croce said the song was inspired by someone he knew in the army, although Croce gave varying details about this. Though the song only spent two weeks at #1, it was Billboard’s second biggest song of 1973. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown would be Croce’s only #1 song while he was alive. In September 1973 he died in a plane crash and his next single, Time in a Bottle, would hit #1 in December.

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Gaylon

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Sparrow makes plans to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls with The Wife next week on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody. Also, he does the lawn but only after putting it off as long as possible. Plus he goes to the next county to buy socks and coffee, plus he has dinner at the Mexican joint.

John Dewey, an educator and one of the more respected American philosophers, has The Thought for the Day with a quote about ignorance not being bliss, but slavery.

On This Date:
In 1969 – Man lands and walks on another heavenly body for the first time, as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the moon. Michael Collins, the command module pilot for Apollo 11, remained in lunar orbit. The landing happened 2,983 days after President Kennedy’s speech to Congress calling for a moon landing before the 1960’s were complete and remains one of the great lines of demarcation in human history, separating everything before from everything that followed. Man would return to the moon five more times but has not left low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 returned to Earth in 1972.

In 1969 – Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants, a lifetime .131 hitter, hits his first major league home run in a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The home run came about 20 minutes after Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon and about a year after Cleveland manager Alvin Dark said a man would walk on the moon before Perry hit a home run.

In 1969 – As man walks on the moon for the first time, Zager and Evans only chart single, the futuristic  In The Year 2525,  is in its second week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would spend six weeks at #1 and also went to #1 Great Britain and Zager and Evans remain the only act to have their only hit on both charts go to #1.

Thank you for reading. For those of who remember Apollo 11, this is always a fun day.
Gaylon

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Sparrow introduces the latest wonders to the staff at Hotel B on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody. One is Blake, the new breakfast attendant and the other is a desk clerk with an unusual name Sparrow is unable to remember. Also, at the retailer, Sparrow and Mic discuss the current egg shortage plus the merits of Chinese food.

J.R.R. Tolkien has The Thought for the Day, few lines of poetry from The Lord of the Rings talking about how every experience in our human experience has the potential to show us something meaningful.

On This Date:
In 1553 – Lady Jane Grey, the daughter of the sister of Henry VIII, is deposed at Queen of England by Mary I, a daughter of Henry VIII. She had reigned for nine days and would be convicted to treason later in the year and executed in February 1554.

In 1915 – The Washington Senators steal eight bases in the first inning of their 11-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The eight stolen bases in an inning establish a major league (ML) record that still stands. (It was tied by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1919.) Right fielder Danny Moeller had three stolen bases in the inning, a ML record that has been accomplished many times.

In 1980 – Billy Joel is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me. It would spend two weeks at the top and was the first of three #1’s for Joel. The song also went to #1 in Canada, where it spent three weeks at the top.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day.
Gaylon

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