Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Friday, June 15 Boy, I was not happy with my oil change experience today…It was the local shop, where we usually get the tires changed out and that’s always worked well, but not today.
I had called yesterday to ask how much an oil change was…Cassandra, who it turns out does not know what in theeee hell she is talking about, quoted me a price of $25…Wow…That’s a pretty good price, so I asked if that included everything or if there were extras like, oh, I don’t know, oil and filters and stuff…She said no, $25 was the out the door price…Well, $25 is half what it costs in town, so I made an appointment. Click Here For More Whining From Sparrow
Today on The Diary of a Nobody, Sparrow gets down to business as commander of his Sons of the Legion squadron after his adjutant, Tim, calls him wondering what the deal is with all the paperwork he was sent. They decide to hold a meeting of the squadron and Sparrow fills out some of the paperwork himself and later makes an appointment for an oil change at the local shop.
Another day off for The Thought for the Day, so we pulled one from last year from J.C. Watts, a former Oklahoma Congressman who sports fans will remember as a quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners. We were listening to Watts speak at the GOP convention in San Diego in 1996 and Watt’s quote is about the American dream.
The first rewrite of Criminals, Courtesans and Constables is in progress and boy, there have been some changes, including a couple of ‘what was I thinking’ instances. This is why you do rewrites, so you can put down what you meant to say, as opposed to what you actually did say the first time around. The love-in that is finishing the first draft is nothing more than a pleasant memory and it is time to get to work.
On This Date: In 1215 – King John of England affixes his seal to the Magna Carta, a peace treaty with assorted barons who had gotten their shorts in a knot over his reign. The treaty guaranteed, among other things, church freedoms, freedom from illegal imprisonment and limits on payments to the crown. Though the Magna Carta would lose some of its practical significance over the years, it did have a profound influence on the United States Constitution.
In 1938 – Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the only major league pitcher to pitch consecutive no-hitters, defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers 6-0. On June 11, he had no-hit the Boston Braves. His hitless innings streak would last through the third inning of his next start, and his 21 consecutive hitless innings are still the National League record.
In 1968 – Simon and Garfunkel retain the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third and final week with Mrs. Robinson. It would be their second of three #1’s (Sound of Silence; Bridge Over Troubled Water) and would win Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Performance – Vocal Duo or Group.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Thursday, June 14 Ended up pretty busy – relatively speaking, of course – considering I didn’t really have anything planned for today.
I had lunch with Tim from the Sons of the Legion squadron today…The Sons is part of the Legion and membership is reserved for men who are descendants of either Legion members or someone who died in battle…My membership is thru both Grandpa Sparrow and Pa Sparrow, who served during Wars I and II…Regular readers of this crap may – or they may not – remember that I was appointed Squadron Commander a couple of months…Tim was appointed adjutant recently, too…No one is entirely sure whom we replaced. Read More of the Diary Here
After a disjointed week, Sparrow is pleased to start a long period where he doesn’t have to clock in anywhere on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody…After the usual stuff around the house, he offers some remote IT help for the hotel and even manages to squeeze in lunch at the Mexican joint in the next county.
The Thought for the Day didn’t run one or two years ago today, so we offer one from November of last year, from Benjamin Franklin, one of the more useful people our species has produced. Mr Franklin talks about putting the talents you were born with to work, a common theme at this feature because what else are we supposed to do with our lives?
On This Date:
In 1959 – The first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere opens at Disneyland. Despite its utility, the monorail has never really caught on in the United States, mainly used at airports and amusement parks, though they are common in other parts of the world, particularly Japan.
In 1966 – The longest game in professional baseball to date is played in the Florida State Leauge when the Miami Marlins defeat the St Petersburg Cardinals 4-3 in 29 innings. The record would stand until a two-day, 33 inning International League game in 1981, and it remains the longest uninterrupted game in the history of professional baseball.
In 1980 – Funkytown by Lipps Inc remains at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third of four weeks. While Lipps Inc was not a true one hit wonder – their previous single peaked at #64, and they would have hits on the Dance and Soul charts, and in other countries – Funkytown would remain their only US Top 40 hit.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Wednesday, June 13 Today was Day 1 of what ol’ Sparrow is currently passing off as a three-dayer…I got off work at Hotel B at 0700 and I do not clock in anywhere until 1800 Friday at the retailer…It’s actually only one calendar day off, of course, but it is 59 hours between shifts and you must take these things when you can get them. Click For More On Sparrow’s 3-Dayer
Between funerals and installation ceremonies Sparrow hasn’t really been racking up the sleep numbers he’s used to, but that doesn’t stop him from watering the plants and the grass, not to mention taking the trash to the curb in today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody.
One year ago in The Thought for the Day we quote the Bible, James 1:4, where the author, who may or may not have been James, talks about perseverance. Whether you regard the Bible as the sacred word of God or History’s bestest selling novel, there are nuggets in there for anyone to enjoy and this is one of our favorites.
We finally finished the first draft of our exciting new novel Criminals, Courtesans and Constables. We’ve been chronicling its progress here and we certainly farted around long enough completing the last chapter. There was a reason for this: on the one hand, you start writing a novel so you can finish it but, boy, you grow really close to your characters and you don’t really want to finish it. You want the first draft to linger.
You can’t linger forever, though. Up next: an immediate rewrite of the sacred first draft before putting it away for a few weeks, before the next round of rewrites begins.
On This Date: In 1966 – The United States Supreme Court issues one of its landmark rulings in Miranda vs. Arizona, ruling that defendants in custody must be advised of certain rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to counsel. The decision overturned one Ernesto Miranda’s conviction on assorted charges.
Miranda would later be retried and convicted on the same charges and sentenced to a lengthy prison term. He was paroled in 1972 and was stabbed to death in a bar fight in Phoenix in 1976.
In 2002 – The Detroit Red Wings win their tenth Stanley Cup, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 5. The Red Wings would win their 11th Stanley Cup in 2008, good for third on the all-time list behind Montreal (24) and Toronto (13).
In 1970 – Four months after their breakup was announced, the Beatles final #1 song The Long and Winding Road, reaches the top of Billboard’s Hot 100. It is the Beatles 20th #1 song, a record that still stands. It would remain at #1 for two weeks and the B side, For You Blue, also received airplay and is listed with The Long and Winding Road.
Thank you for reading, and have a reasonably good day.
Gaylon
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Tuesday, June 12 Had a very leisurely morning after getting home from Hotel B…I was very tired but screw it, I was in the mood for leisure, so I took it. Read More Here
Sparrow has a relatively busy graveyard shift at Hotel B, obliged to both answers the phone and deal with both walk-ins and guests with reservations on today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody. Sparrow also has the latest on how the retailer’s new dress code is affecting him PLUS the latest from the Sleep Log.
Today’s Thought for the Day encore is from January of this year, and features Charles Bukowski, a multiple contributor to this feature, talking about being good company for ourselves. This is always a good point to make because we are the only person we will see every day of our lives.
On This Day: In 1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are murdered outside of Simpson’s Los Angeles home. Simpson’s ex-husband O.J. Simpson is ultimately arrested, charged, tried and acquitted of the killings, though he would later be found liable for their deaths in a civil trial.
In 1880 – Lee Richmond of the Worcester National League (NL) team pitches the first perfect game in major league (ML) history defeating the Cleveland Blues 1-0 at the Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds. The second NL perfect game was five days later (John Montgomery Ward) and there were four perfect games were in the American League before the next NL perfect game in 1964 (Jim Bunning).
In 1961 – Travelin’ Man by Ricky Nelson returns to the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100, after being replaced for one week by Roy Orbison’s Running Scared. It was Nelson’s second and final #1 song and the B side of the single, Hello, Mary Lou would reach #9.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Monday, June 11 I was pestered left and right at Hotel B this morning, the phone ringing even before I could sit down and put my feet up…I had been told a VP with the owners – or maybe it’s the management company, I can never be sure – was in-house and I half-thought he was calling to see if I knew how to answer the phone but I don’t think it was…Night auditors who show up every night and don’t cause problems, like me and JoJo, who works the other nights here at Hotel B, are generally left alone because we are hard to find. More Sparrow! More Sparrow!
Sparrow heroically plugs away at his civic duties despite a severe lack of sleep on today’s Diary of a Nobody. This sleep deficiency may well have led to the Great Waffle Batter Disaster of 2018, or it may not have. No one appears to be planning an investigation into the matter.
Two years ago today a professional hockey player named Gordie Howe had The Thought for the Day. Howe was known as Mr Hockey and while a lot – but not all – of his records have been broken Howe will still make most people’s short list of the best hockey players ever. Howe talks about everything you saw being the best he had.
We apologize for their not being a Daily Report or The Sunday Bottom Ten yesterday. We had an awful lot of day Friday and Saturday and not a whole of sleep and few things are as unproductive as writing when you are tired. One, it’s a complete chore and not any fun at all and, two, the results are always substandard, rich coming from us, I know. The Sunday Bottom Ten will return next Sunday.
On This Date: In 1962 – Three prisoners – Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin – escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. They put fake heads in their beds to distract the not-too-bright guards and made their way up to the roof and made their way off the island on homemade rafts. They were never seen again, though reports the Anglin’s made their way to Brazil may, or may not, have merit. We personally think they survived because it is unlikely all three would have died without at least one body showing up.
In 1974 – The Kansas City Scouts and the Washington Capitals join the NHL, in time for the 1974-75 season. The Scouts would move to Denver after two years and are now the New Jersey Devils, while the Capitals recently won their first Stanley Cup.
In 1949 – Vaughn Monroe is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Selling Singles chart for the 5th of eleven weeks with Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend). This was the first of many charted versions of the song, under a variety of titles, but it remains the only version to hit #1 on a Billboard pop chart.
