Today is Presidents Day — originally a day to honor the nation’s first president, George Washington. Through the years, both George Washington (born on February 22) and Abraham Lincoln (born on February 12) have come to be honored on the third Monday in February. Today it has supposedly come to be a patriotic observance of all US presidents… although sometimes it seems like it’s more about Presidents Day sales than any kind of patriotic observance.
It is, however, an official federal holiday —post offices and stock markets are closed, as well as most, if not all, banks. Schools (that are open, are also closed.
I know I’ve mentioned some of the things before, but it’s a good day to learn a few things about our past presidents….
The story about George Washington wooden teeth is a myth. Over the years, he was fitted with false teeth made from ivory, gold and human teeth.
James Madison was the shortest president (5’4”) and Abraham Lincoln was the tallest (6’4”.)
There have been eight left-handed presidents — James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama.
George Washington was the only president unanimously elected — all of the state representatives voted for him.
Martin Van Buren was the only president to speak English as a second language. His first language was Dutch.
Rutherford B. Hayes banned beer, wine or any other type of alcohol at the White House. At official functions, Mrs. Hayes was known as “lemonade Lucy.”
Joe Biden is the oldest president at 78 years, 61 days
I suppose it should be noted that on this Presidents Day, Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial just completed. While the outcome of the trial was never in doubt, the former President was impeached — twice. That’s certainly a stain on the office we celebrate today.
Today is the first Presidents Day for the new President — he’s got a tough job and I wish him well. One of his predecessors, Harry Truman, said. “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” Good luck to us all….
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