Sunday, April 21, 2013

Boston Strong

This week we stand with the people of Boston in the wake of the terrible bombing.

Historically, the week of April 15-20, a lot of bad things have happened from the massacre of African American soldiers at Fort Pillow, Tennessee on April 15, 1864, to President Lincoln's death a year later, to the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, to the Columbine shootings on April 20, 1999.

So, let's take a quick look at some positive things that happened in history this past week.

April 15, 1947- Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color barrier. I'm hearing great things about the new movie 42. I'll have to check that one out.

April 16, 1862- Emancipation Day in Washington, DC. Slavery ended, and this was the only case of compensated emancipation in the United States.

April 17, 1970- Odyssey, the command capsule of Apollo 13, returned safely to Earth after a disaster in space.

April 18, 1923- Yankee Stadium, "The House that Ruth Built," opened. I'm a National League guy, and like a lot of baseball fans, I'm not a fan of the Yankees. Nonetheless, I respect their storied history. Some of the all-time greats stepped up to the plate at this stadium.

April 19, 1775- What else can we say about this day? "The Shot Heard Around the World"--the American Revolutionary War began as American Minutemen bravely confronted British regulars at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.

April 20- Let's go with more baseball history. On this day in 1912, Fenway Park in Boston and Tiger Stadium in Detroit opened. Four years later, the field now called Wrigley in Chicago opened for the Cubs.

April 21,753 BC- The traditional date that Romulus and Remus founded Rome, the Eternal City. For the environmental conservation fans, John Muir was born on this day in 1838.

So, some things to do this week:

-Thank a law enforcement officer for putting their lives on the line to protect us every day. If you can thank anyone in Boston for their response, do so.
- Get outside. Spring is here, so enjoy it!
- Take in a baseball game.

It's still a goal to blog more. I'll do better in the future, I hope. More later as life unfolds.