Friday, May 19, 2017
[1795 - Johns Hopkins, founder of the Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, abolitionist, born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland]
[1800 - Sarah (Miriam) Peale, portrait artist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]
[1884 - The Ringling Brothers Circus premieres, (and closes in May 2017)]
[1890 - Ho Chi Minh (Nguyen That Thanh), Vietnamese leader, born in Kim Lien, Vietnam]
[1906 - Bruce Bennett (Herman Brix), Olympic medalist(shot put), actor, born in Tacoma, Washington]
[1925 - Malcolm X (Malcolm Little), black nationalist, civil rights activist, born in Omaha, Nebraska]
[1930 - Lorraine Hansberry, playwright, born in Chicago]
[1935 - T.E. Lawrence, (Lawrence of Arabia), dies following a motorcycle accident]
[1940 - Milton Sims 'Mickey' Newbury, Jr., songwriter, singer, born in Houston, Texas]
[1941 - Nora Ephron, screenwriter, director, producer, born in New York City]
[1973 - Secretariat wins the second jewel of the Triple Crown, The Preakness]
If sin were not, we must surely invent it.
Else why need guilt to help us repent it?
A world without hellfire, and no damnation,
It is unthinkable; it defies explanation.
Without sin, guilt would a paper tiger be.
Parents lose control, and also the clergy.
Absent sin or guilt there is unemployment.
Clerics need not their splendid raiment.
Out of work countless officials would be,
Law enforcement, prison guards, and military.
Lawyers and talk-show hosts become redundant.
And even shrinks are seen as less abundant.
The economies of developed global nations,
And most third world country cousins,
Would soon collapse in great confusion.
Freedom might prevail in wild profusion.
William's Whimsical Words:
Chaos reigns; end civilization as we know it,
What say you, shall we have a go at it?
to Almanack Main Page
