What Would Jimmy Do?

Today, June 21, is the first day of astronomical summer — also known as the Summer, or June, Solstice. To be completely accurate, the solstice occurs today, Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at 5:14 a.m EDT.

The solstice marks the official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere — it occurs when the Earth arrives at the point in its orbit where the North Pole is at its maximum tilt (about 23.5 degrees) toward the Sun. This results in the longest day (longest period of sunlight) and the shortest night of the calendar year. 

The word solstice comes from the Latin solstitium (from sol (Sun) and stitium (still or stopped).) Due to the Earth’s tilted axis, the Sun doesn’t rise and set at the same locations on the horizon each morning and evening — its rise and set positions move northward or southward in the sky as the Earth travels around the Sun through the year. During the summer solstice, the Sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky , at which point the Sun’s path doesn’t change for a brief period of time. After the solstice, the Sun appears to reverse course and head back in the opposite direction.

The timing of the summer solstice isn’t based on a specific calendar date or time — it all depends on when the Sun reaches its northernmost point from the celestial equator. So the solstice doesn’t always occur on the same day. Recently, it has shifted between June 20, 21, and 22.

During the solstice, the midday Sun is highest up in the sky, but the Sun’s highest point is getting lower and lower over time. That’s because the Earth’s tilt is slowly decreasing.
Today is the “longest day,” but it’s not the latest sunset — or — the earliest sunrise. The earliest sunrises happen before the summer solstice and the latest sunset after the summer solstice.
Today, the Sun rises farthest left on the horizon and sets at the farthest right —sunlight strikes places in your house that don’t get illuminated at any other time.
In India, the summer solstice ends the six-month period when spiritual growth is supposedly the easiest.

A few days from now, June 24, will be Midsummer Day. Historically, this day marks the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvest. In some cultures, it is traditionally known as one of four “quarter days.” Many years ago, folks celebrated June 24 by feasting, dancing, singing and preparing for the hot summer days ahead.

Enjoy the longest day — the days now start getting shorter….. and the nights longer.
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Today is West Virginia’s 159th birthday. On June 20, 1863 West Virginia became the 35th state of the U.S. It was formed after breaking away from Virginia during the Civil War and admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863 under a proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln. West Virginia is the only state to be admitted under presidential proclamation. That makes it the only state that was created by carving out its territory from another state without that states permission or approval. 

Like all the staes, there are a number of things that make it unique and it has its share of “firsts.”
• West Virginia was the first state to have a sales tax. The tax went into effect on July 1, 1921.
• West Virginia was a bit indecisive in choosing its state capital. The original capital was Wheeling, until it became Charleston in 1870. It was changed to Wheeling again in 1875, and then back to Charleston again in 1885.
• In a West Virginia community by the name of Mole Hill, the residents voted to change the name of their city to Mountain — literally making a mountain out of a mole hill.
• In 1859, John Brown, an abolitionist, led a raid on the national armory at Harper Ferry because he was trying to arm a planned slave rebellion. He was ultimately tried at the Jefferson County Courthouse and hanged.
• The youngest soldier to enlist in World War I, Chester Merriman, was from Romney, West Virginia. He was 14 when he signed up.
• The country’s first public spa opened in 1756 in Berkley Springs, West Virginia (The town was then named Bath — it was part of Virginia.)
• George Washington’s brothers built estates in West Virginia that are still standing. Charles Washington built Happy Retreat in 1780 and Samuel constructed Harewood estate, that was the location for James and Dolley Madison’s wedding in 1794.
• Although West Virginia is best know for coal mining, Salt mining used to be a major industry in the state, particularly in the Kanawha Valley. Before the industry started to decline, salt mining reached its peak in the 1850s.
• The Greenbrier resort, noted for its underground bunker built to house congress in case of a nuclear attack, was once a hospital. During World War II the U.S. Army bought it and converted it to a hospital, where more than 24,000 soldiers were treated over the course of four years.
• In 1931 a Bluefield radio station broadcast a murder trial. It was the first time a murder trial had been broadcast in the United States.
• West Virginia native Chuck Yeager was the first pilot to break the sound barrier.
• The Oakhurst Links was the nation’s first golf course — the course is located in White Sulphur Springs.
• A West Virginian is credited with starting Grandparents Day. Marian McQuade of Oak Hill started the holiday.
• Outdoor advertising began in West Virginia — it got its start with Mail Pouch tobacco ads painted on the sides of barns….

So Happy Birthday West Virginia — it’s a great place to live. The sun doesn’t always shine in West Virginia, but the people do…..
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Today, June 19th, is a holiday commemorating the freedom of the slaves in the United States. The name Juneteenth is a combination of the words June and nineteenth. Today is also called Emancipation Day and Freedom Day.

Even though it goes by many names, Juneteenth is one of the most important anniversaries in our nation’s history. On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message. When Granger arrived in Galveston, he read out General Order No. 3, informing the residents that slavery would no longer be tolerated and that all slaves were now free and would henceforth be treated as hired workers if they chose to remain on the plantations. The order read in part, “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer…”

It’s probably not surprising that many former slaves didn’t stay on the plantations as workers, but left in search of new beginnings or to find family members who had been sold away. When Granger arrived in Galveston, there were still around 250,000 slaves and they were not all freed immediately — or even soon. It wasn’t uncommon for slave owners, not wanting to give up free labor, to refuse to release their slaves until forced to do so, in person, by a representative of the government. Some would wait until one final harvest was complete, and some would just outright refuse to abide by the directive. It was a perilous time for Black people, and some former slaves who were freed or attempted to be set free were attacked and killed. For Confederate states like Texas, there existed a desire to hold on to their system as long as they could. 

Before the reading of General Order No. 3, many slave owners in Confederate states just chose not to tell their slaves about the Emancipation Proclamation and didn’t honor it. They got away with that because, before winning the war, Union soldiers were largely unable to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation in Souther states. 

What the Emancipation Proclamation did that was so important is that it began a creeping process of emancipation where the federal government finally took firm stands to say slavery was wrong and it must end. Even with the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery would not truly come to an end until the ratification of the 13th Amendment. 

After they were freed, some former slaves and their descendants would travel to Galveston every year in honor of Juneteenth. These annual gatherings spread to other states, but it wasn’t uncommon that Black people were bared from celebrating in public places. In 1872, a group of African American leaders came together and raised $800 to purchase 10 acres of land in Houston, Texas. That land became Emancipation Park — it underwent a $33.5 million renovation in 2016 with a rededication ceremony held in 2017.

In 1980, Texas was the first state to declare Juneteenth a state holiday and some other states followed Texas’ lead, but it was not actually recognized as a federal holiday until June 17, 2021.

Today, Juneteenth is recognized and celebrated around the world. It’s another day that we can all take a step toward reconciliation and healing as we still strive to achieve racial equality — and justice — in our ever more violent world.
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I watched part of the January 6 hearings yesterday — I found them disturbing, for a number of reasons, but that’s not what I’m going to blog about today. This isn’t the first and, sadly, probably not the last time a U.S. President hasn’t operated completely above board. 

He’s certainly not the only one, but the first name to come to mind is Richard Nixon. It’s undeniable that Nixon did some good things, but the gravity of the “bad” things he was responsible for outweighed the good. While Nixon is noted primarily for the Watergate scandal and being the only president to resign from office, like most people, there are a few things that are interesting about him…. both as a president and a man……

President Nixon was the first American President to visit both China and the Soviet Union — and — he was also the first to visit all 50 states while he was in office.
Nixon was a Quaker — as a boy, Nixon went to Quaker meetings four times on Sundays and played the piano at church services. He enrolled at Whittier College, a Quaker institution, and attended mandatory chapel for hours each day.
Nixon was a fairly accomplished musician — Nixon’s mother insisted he practice on the family’s upright piano every afternoon and although he never learned to read music, Nixon could also play the saxophone, clarinet, accordion and violin. His musical talent turned out to be a political assed — his appearance on “The Jack Paar Show” in 1963, during which he played a tune he wrote, helped rehabilitate his image after losing the California gubernatorial election the prior year.
Nixon graduated 2nd in his class at Whittier College and 3rd in his class at Duke University School of Law.
Nixon was elected to Congress in 1946 and re-elected in 1948 — he led the House Un-American Activities Committee investigation of Soviet spy Alger Hiss. Hiss was later sent to prison for perjury.
Dwight Eisenhower selected Nixon as his VP running mate in 1952 — they won the election and were re-elected in 1956.
The famous “kitchen debate” with Russian Premier Khrushchev occurred during Nixon’s visit to Moscow to open the U.S. Trade Fair in 1959.
In 1960, Nixon lost the Presidential election to JFK by only 113,000 votes — it’s still the closest election in history. 
Nixon was elected President in 1968, defeating Hubert Humphrey.
In 1970, Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency.
Nixon sought to improve relations with China by becoming the first President to meet with Chinese leaders in Peking in 1972. That same year he became the first American President to make an official visit to the Soviet Union.
In 1973, Nixon hosted the largest dinner ever held at the White House to welcome the American POWs from Vietnam home.
In 1974, Nixon resigned from the Presidency due to the events surrounding Watergate.

Even though he is the only President to resign from office, according to the latest survey of presidential historians, that rated U.S. Presidents worst to best based on their performances while in the White House, Nixon came in at number 29.
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I had cataract surgery a few days ago. While I was waiting, multiple nurses came in for various reasons. One thing that I noticed that I hadn’t given much thought about, was that nurses don’t wear “nursing caps” anymore. Our granddaughters got a Doctors/Nurses set for Christmas and their “uniforms” had nursing caps — they were white with a red cross on them. That’s what I remember nurses wearing years ago. So why don’t nurses wear those caps today?

You’ve guessed  by now that a subject like this requires some of my extensive research….
From what I found out, the cap originated in the early Christian era as a head covering for deaconesses or nuns who cared for the sick. During the 1800s, the head coverings evolved to the white cap that I remember. One article I found indicated that the first nursing caps were worn by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris. It was part of the uniform for one of the first official nursing schools. 

At one time, caps also symbolized a nurse’s educational background. Different nursing schools had specific caps for their nursing students — first year students might have worn a cap with a simple design, while final-year students wore caps of a different shape or with a different design. Nurses also used caps in the hospital as a way to be identified and differentiate themselves from other hospital employees. 

It appears that one (maybe the primary) reason nurses caps (and uniforms) have changed is that more men have become nurses and the “unisex” scrubs became more suitable and popular. Some of the other reasons were that the fabric of the hat was difficult to wash and the caps came to be thought of as a breeding ground for dirt and bacteria. It also became apparent that the cap served no practical purpose, and, they were uncomfortable.

Even though caps aren’t worn much, if at all, in their workplaces, some nursing schools still “cap” their graduates to symbolize their completion of the nursing program — but pinning ceremonies have become more traditional for graduates. 
One of Claire’s sisters was a nurse and one of my favorite pictures of her is when she graduated from nursing school — wearing her cap… 

But no matter what they’re wearing, nurses are there to make patients feel safe and comfortable when they receive medical care — and make a patient’s life better at a time when they need it the most.
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A few years ago, it seems like most of the people that sat around us in church had a name that began with the letter “J.” There were a couple Johns, Jims, Jimmy, James, etc. We used to joke that if your name didn’t begin with a J you couldn’t sit in “our” section.

Well, it’s lucky we were living in modern times. If we’d been going to church before 1524, the letter J would not even have existed — 1524 — that’s when the letter J was “invented.”

Out alphabet wasn’t always the way it is now. Letters have been removed and some have been added over the years. The most recent addition, and the last letter added to our alphabet was the letter “J” in 1524. It turns out that the letters I and J started out as the same character. The letter J began as a swash — a typographical embellishment for the letter I which already existed. When lower case letters were introduced to the Roman numbering system, J was commonly used to denote the conclusion of a series of ones — like “Henry vijj” for Henry the Eighth. Both I and J were used interchangeably to express the sound of both the vowel and the consonant. Then in 1524, Gian Giorgio Trissino, an Italian grammarian argued for poor letter J’s autonomy. Until Trissino stood up, both I and J were used interchangeably by scribes to express the sound of both the vowel and the consonant. Trissino’s stand made him known as the father of the letter J. 

By now this discussion has probably got you wondering about Jesus and all those other “J” names in the Bible. If the J didn’t come along until the 16th century, how did all those J names — Joseph, James, Jonah, Joshua, Job, Jehovah, etc. — get in the Bible? None of the people that lived in biblical times spoke English. The names are all anglicized versions of names that started out, for the most part, as Hebrew names. For example, Joshua and Isaiah are derived from the Hebrew name Yeshua.

So where would we be without the letter J — this blog, “What Would Jimmy Do?” would have to be what would someone else do… even though J is the baby of the English alphabet, I’m glad it finally got the recognition it deserves.
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Happy Flag Day.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring June 14 Flag Day. In 1949, Congress followed the proclamation enacting a statute that officially recognized Flag Day. 

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14th because that was the day that Congress officially recognized it as the flag of the United States in 1777. Today also marks the birthday of the U.S. Army which congress authorized as “the American Continental Army,” on June 14, 1775.

Today is a national holiday, but you don’t get the day off work unless you live in Pennsylvania — that’s the only state that recognizes it as a legal state holiday. I guess that’s appropriate, since that’s where the flag was born.
The flag has been changed 27 times — the final star, for Hawaii, was added in 1960. 
The flag is normally flown from sunrise to sunset, but the flag always flies at the White House, Fort McHenry, and the Iwo Jima memorial and the flag should never be flown at night without a light on it. 
The first time the flag was flown after being adopted was on August 3, 1777 in Rome, New York.
The designer of the American flag was, not Betsy Ross, but Francis Hopkinson. Hopkinson was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag.
There are six American flags on the Moon. Five are standing, but the one planted by Neil Armstrong fell over — they are all probably bleached white due to radiation from the sun.
After certain tragedies, the flag is flown at half staff — usually for 30 days. It’s called “Half staff” on land, and “half mast” on a ship.
The flag code bans the use of the flag as clothing.
If you like to study flag, then you are a Vexillologist.
When displayed on a wall or window the blue field should be in the upper left corner.
The U.S. flag always flies at the top of a staff above any other flag.
The colors of the flag have important meanings: red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice.

Even though today is flag day, we should honor our flag every day…. Ronald Reagan said, “When we honor our flag, we honor what we stand for as a Nation — freedom, equality, justice and hope.”
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I know I sound like a broken record, but every year on this date I struggle to write this blog. Today is Claire’s birthday and I want to wish her a happy birthday and tell her that I love her, but there just seems to be too few words in the English language that convey those thoughts. Over the years, I’ve tried using different languages to get the message across — but it always seems inadequate.

And again, this year, I’ll come up short, but here goes — I love you. I suppose that can’t be said too often, but even when I think it’s impossible to love you more, you prove me wrong. Before you came along, I never knew what it was like to look at someone and smile for no reason, but that’s what happens when I look at you — and I think, good job, God!
I always say you deserve more, and you do, but Happy Birthday Menoi — I love you!!
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Today, June 10, is Ballpoint Pen Day.
Even though people don’t write anything much anymore  — most things are recorded using some type of keyboard, on the computer, phone, etc. But when people do write things on paper, they almost always use a ballpoint pen. We must have dozens and dozens of them lying  around the house. 

Sometimes I can’t remember what day it is, but I do remember the first ballpoint pen I ever saw. I was probably about seven or eight years old, and my dad bought a ballpoint pen at one of the drugstores (Maysville had two drugstores at the time.) I remember him bringing it back into his store and everyone “marveling” at it. I remember it had a cap that had to be removed to reveal the “ball” point. I don’t know how much my dad paid for the pen, but I’m pretty sure that it was more than ten dollars. That was a lot of money back in the early 1940s.

The original ballpoint pen was “invented” by John J. Loud in 1888, however his pen was full of problems and the patent held by Loud eventually expired, and the world continued to use fountain pens and ink bottles. Then in 1938, Hungarian newspaper editor Laszio Brió got fed up with ink smudges and refilling fountain pens and got his brother to help him come up with the kind of ink to couple with the ball and socket design and make a ballpoint pen that wouldn’t allow the ink to dry out in the pen, but would still leave the mark behind when used. 

It turns out that ink was the real issue — Brió got the ball and socket mechanism right, but the ink overflowed in the summer and in the winter, the ink didn’t flow… and froze. One day while visiting printing houses, Brió noticed that the ink used on newspaper printing dried almost instantly with no smudges. He spoke to his brother Gyōrgy about the ink. Gyōrgy, was a dentist, but he was also a rather talented chemist. They tried using newspaper ink in the pens, but the newspaper ink was too thick and clogged the ball mechanism. Turns out that the key was that newspaper ink was oil based. Water-based  ink that Brió had been using leaked out of the pen and needed to saturate the fibers of the paper, but oil-based ink sat on top of the paper, preventing it from bleeding through the page and allowing it to dry almost on contact.
Today, before an average pen runs out of ink, it can write 45,000 words — give or take a few.

So even though we live in an increasingly digital world, I still have a number of ballpoint pens in my desk drawer — and — I sill use them fairly often. Until I retired, I always had a ball-point in my shirt pocket — I don’t do that anymore. One feature that appeals to me about a ballpoint pen is that you never have to change the battery or charge it…. 
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I think I’ve mentioned before that a while back Kelly gave me a book full of questions about my life. I was supposed to answer them and give the book back to her. Being a good father, I did just that.

One of the questions was “Dad, who were your best friends growing up and why?” I responded to that question basically by telling her that over the years, I’ve had different friends for the different phases of my life. I had childhood friends, grade-school friends, high school friends, work friends, social friends, parents of my kids friends, friends, retirement friends, etc. I’m not sure that was the answer she expected, but that’s the way I’d have to list my friends.

Well, that got me to thinking about friendship — what makes a good friendship? I’ve heard it said that old friends are the best friends — that might be true, but I think I’ve got a lot of “new” good friends… I’m not sure how you judge how one friendship is better than another. 

I have a friend that is big on reunions — he never fails to tell me about a reunion being held by our previous employer. I’m also a member of a couple of social groups made up of retirees from the company I retired from. I’ve been to a number of these “reunions,” and in the rooms full of people, I could reminisce with most all of them, but to be honest I invariably enjoy seeing and talking to maybe only four or five in each group. The ones that I liked talking to the most were the ones that talked the least about “old-times.” We talked about current events and what each of us had been doing lately.

I’m sure Claire would agree with me when I say that I meet at least as many people that I dislike as people that I do like. Maybe dislike isn’t the right word, but they’re people I wouldn’t necessarily like to be friends with. I’m not sure why I make friends with some people and not with others. Sometimes there’s just something hard to define that distances me from people. 

There seems to be some sort of connection people have that matches up with some people, but not others. There’s something that goes on between friends that doesn’t happen between “acquaintances.”

A lot of people use the term “good friend” even when they hardly know the person — i know someone that does that, and I’m pretty sure politicians use “good friend” whenever it’s to their advantage even if they’ve never met the person. 

I don’t know that it’s necessarily the amount of time you spend with a person that creates or strengthens a friendship. A lot of people that I worked very closely with over the years, I really don’t know at all and some people that I only see or hear from every few years I consider good friends. 

I guess to have a good friend, you need to be a good friend — maybe a lot of those people that I’ve met over the years that I don’t consider “friends,” would have been if I’d made more of an effort.
Someone once said that instead of loving our enemies, we should try treating our friends a little better.
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