There is something ominously grim when I look at January 30th’s
notable marks. On this calendar day in 1933, Hitler was sworn as chancellor of
Germany. On this calendar day in 1948, Gandhi was assassinated. On this
calendar date in 1956, African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s home is bombed
in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
That’s just for starters. On this date, also---
·
1925 – The Government of Turkey
expels Patriarch Constantine VI
from Istanbul.
·
1930 – The Politburo
of the Soviet Union orders the extermination of the Kulaks.
·
1969 – The Beatles'
last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records
in London. The police break up the impromptu concert.
·
1972 – The Troubles:
Bloody Sunday: British paratroopers open
fire on anti-internment marchers in Derry, Northern
Ireland, killing 13 people; another person later dies of injuries
sustained.
·
1979 – A Varig Boeing
707-323C freighter disappears over the Pacific Ocean
30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
And so much more.
If this is your birthday, I
apologize. I hope you celebrate with gusto and do something wonderful so the
cloud hovering over this date lightens a little. Many small and a few great
actions can make the kettle less black. Let’s polish it into a beautiful
reflective silver shine.
I don’t know what is set in
stone, predestined, or guided by unseen patterns. What I am sure of is that
what we do matters.
History was. Now let’s make some.
Well, we're having yet another blizzard, so maybe it's the wild weather on January 30th that's to blame?
ReplyDeleteNot unless you live where there are no blizzards, ever.. ;)
DeleteIt's strange how dates can hold such bad incidents. There's one date in particular next month that holds several bad incidents for my family. I never could figure out why awful things happen on that day.
ReplyDeleteI think of this as a reminder that there are layers of mysteries Science and human reason have no domain in.
DeleteOh how terrible. But you are right--what we do matters. It's also the feast day of St. Bathilda (sp) who was sold into slavery but who became a queen and the first to banish slavery in France. I love saint stories--they show such heroic virtue.
ReplyDeleteBlessed Saint Bathilda. This maybe a mitigating dot on the January 30 timeline.
DeleteThis was a sobering post! Sad to think so many awful things happened on the same date. Maybe people being born on January 30th can reduce the ominous quality.
ReplyDeleteYes, calling all January 30th birthdays to go out and make the world better!
DeleteVery strange! I have a very happy anniversary on January 31, so maybe that mitigates a bit. (It was the day M mumbled--uh, proposed--to me.)
ReplyDeleteAh, it all changes the next day... :D
DeleteP.S.
DeleteI should have put a winking face on my comment above, Barbara. I really don't pretend to make sense of these things.
"Many small and a few great actions can make the kettle less black." Oh how true. I plan to use that gem of wisdom the next time one of my grandkids uses the excuse that something is too hard or not worth the effort. Those dates were chilling. A good reminder to avoid repeating our mistakes. To always, move forward.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm going to imagine your grandkid's face when you say that :D
DeleteWhereever there are grandkids, there's hope.
The dates and historical facts you note are chilling. My guess is that one could find equally awful events on other days of the year, but also awesomely good happenings. Somehow, the latter don't get into the headlines, but I wish they did.
ReplyDeleteI never realized January 30th was such an ominous day. :( Hopefully only good events will happen on that date from this point on.
ReplyDelete