Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Sunday, June 10 Four years as commander of my Legion post came to a close today, and like Grandpa Sparrow I am now a Past Commander of my post…We had a nice installment ceremony/potluck in conjunction with the VFW, tho not too many non-members showed up…Part of the problem is, I think, having it on a Sunday…There aren’t too many days each year here to outside and do things like hike and fish and camp, so perhaps we should have it on a weeknight next year, altho I’m no longer commander so it’s not my decision. Ten Hut! Read More Sparrow Here
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, June 9 Today was my last full day as commander of the Legion post and when McGowan cornered me at the diner in our small town Thursday holding the national ensign in one hand and the Legion flag in the other and asked if I could lay a comrade to rest today I said sure…It was worth it, too, of course…It was a the cemetery in town, where the family plot is, and I held the American flag at the head of the grave…Roy held the US Army flag…We sent him off with a rifle volley and a couple of nice readings and it was a beautiful and his final resting place has a nice view of the river…Also the storage units, but you can’t have everything. More Sparrow Here
A busy day for Sparrow on The Diary of a Nobody. First, he mows the lawn, at a new setting, no less, then the retailer is a dead sprint and when he reports for duty at Hotel A the police are on the phone and soon to be on scene.
The Thought for the Dayis from earlier this year, from Deng Ming-Dao, author of 365 Tao, a book of thoughts for each day of the year. It is a book that has provided several Thoughts for the Day. Today’s Thought talks about overcoming one ownself, something we all must do because I have learned from experience that the biggest obstacle between me and what I want out of life generally looks me in the mirror every morning.
We are almost done with the first draft of Criminals, Courtesans and Constables. Not quite. We thought we were done, but we really weren’t, there is still a bit more to go.
On This Date:
In 1978 – The Mormon Church allows black men to serve as priests for the first time in its 148-year history.
In 1973 – Secretariat becomes the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, winning the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths. His time of 2:24 remains the North American record for a mile-and-a-half.
In 1979 – The Bee Gees move into the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 for the third and final time in 1979 with Love You Inside and Out. Previously in 1979 they had hit #1 with Too Much Heaven and Tragedy.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Friday, June 8 Got to Hotel A tonight to find Kathy on the phone with the police…Evidently a guest, a long-term guest working on some project, was involved in a scuffle, told police he was staying here and then wandered off…The police eventually come to see for themselves…We go to the room and the TV is blaring and one of the officers knocks and there’s no answer… Click Here! Click Here For More Sparrow!
Sparrow has a pretty busy day off on The Diary of a Nobody, including going out to lunch, conducting a job interview and chatting with his neighbor Jerry.
One of the pleasures of reading is finding new authors to read and The Thought for the Day from two years back is from Saul Bellow’s novel Ravelstein. We found it at a book sale at a small town library. The character being quoted is named Chick, as we recall, and he talks about ignoring the calendar and crossing the plateaus he was meant to cross, a familiar theme at The Thought for the Day.
On This Date:
In 2004 – The first transit of Venus since 1882 occurs, visible in Asia, Africa and parts of the Americas. A transit is when one celestial body comes between another body and the sun and when the bodies are relatively close together, such as earth and her moon, they are known as eclipses.
Transits of Venus come in pairs, the next one was in 2012, and pairs of transits happen irregularly, always a century or so apart. The next transit of Venus is in 2117. The first recorded transit that was observed by humans came in 1639.
In 2000 – The Dallas Stars defeat the New Jersey Devils 1-0 in three overtimes in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It remains the longest 1-0 game in Stanley Cup Finals history. The Devils still lead the series and would claim the Stanley Cup in Game 6.
In 1985 – Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears goes to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would spend one week at the top and was the second and final #1 song for the group, following 1984’s Shout.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Thursday, June 7 Had lunch at the diner today with Kevin, a big Sparrow for Congress fan from the next county, and his wife Heidi today…He’s been looking to get involved for a while and today was the first chance we had to meet, because he keeps odd hours, too…Presuming meeting me in person didn’t scare him away, I told where he could really be helpful was organizing a get-together or a reception for me…And not just the five members of our small party that lives in the next county, either, but members of the big parties, too and, especially, independent voters because there are no shortage of them up here…He could also win the lottery and donate half to the campaign if he wanted. Click Here For More Of The Diary
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.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Wednesday, June 6 I’ve been having trouble using my cell phone at home the past couple of days…But only in the afternoon…I am not entirely sure what the deal is…I received a text from GM Adam in the morning – I had been whining about Jess being late, again, this morning – and there was one from The Wife, stamped at 1327 when I woke up this afternoon, but when I tried to call her, nothing…My text wasn’t sent, either, and I had this same problem yesterday…Now, cell service in our small town is not that great, but I’d never had a problem before. Click Here For More Sparrow
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.
