August 2 no fireworks? WOW IT’S AUGUST 2ND! A History “Lesson” We hear a lot these days about what the founding fathers intended…Well if you look up the list of adult beverages consumed at George Washington’s going away party you’ll find that they intended to get royally hammered quite often. Also if you take a look at the calendar of summer 76 you’ll also learn a thing or two. That declaration thing for example…. Yep it’s dated the 4th and yet no one bothered to make it a public announcement/proclamation until four days later and the thing wasn’t signed until welll you guessed it…. 56 signers signed on August 2nd. Talk about post dating something. I mean really a month? I think that’s plenty of “we were just kidding” time right? Yet, I think most kids in the US and many worldwide are taught that July 4th was the day— so that sparked some thoughts. How many other bits of history are we fed to memorize that aren’t quite what they seem? I mean did Christmas really happen on Christmas and did the battle of 1812 really happen due to the 1812 overture? Did they really release 99 red balloons… Did the 100 years war last 100 years and did the guy really meet a guy with seven wives when traveling to St. Ives? Seriously did we really learn the correct history? We certainly did n’t learn a complete history. What we learn and teach is watered down version of what men said happened as they used weapons and other disgusting methods of human destruction. Is that something that really helps us seek peace and joy? What history have we left out? Wel here are just a few things we don’t know about. I’ve mentioned a few of these before in other entries so forgive me if you are bored…however these are still food for thought. What about the history of pajamas? Who was the first to have the footies with the plastic bottoms that once warn smooth became speed skating trainers? Oh what about the history of pogo sticks? Did kids just stand in one spot and jump up and down and count to 1253 for a new indoor basement record? What about the unabridged history of clothes hangers which have done as much to preserve period clothing and our knowledge of past culture as any written record? Oh and no real discussion of history is complete without the history. Of medicine. Who was the first certified proctologist? Who stood up in front of the class and said “you know what I’d like to stick my finger right up there dozens of times a day.” Oh and is there anywhere in the annals of history the recorded history of the first circumcision ? I think accounts may vary on that one, however it had to come after the first course in super sales training and the distillation of highly reactive alcohol . Maybe the point being highlighted is that there is a lot to choose to choose from when. It comes to being invfluenced by history and maybe we can think briefly about what histories influence how we approach and reflect upon experiences. Maybe it would be a fun exercise to take a clear memory and then rethink it given a different context like say It would have happened before there were automobiles? Or maybe we could think about. Things differently given how.the human body is shaped generally…like what would a chair look like if your knees bent the other way? Okay that’s enough brain teasing for now…just have the guts to be a little more curious and a little more skeptical about how history has written the foundation of some experiences in stone. Tomorrow there will be an eight line rhyme time abou this post…but thanks for reading the extended version….

 WOW IT’S AUGUST 2ND!

A History “Lesson”

We hear a lot these days about what the founding fathers intended…Well if you look up the list of adult beverages consumed at George Washington’s going away party you’ll find that they intended to get royally hammered quite often.  Also if you take a look at the calendar  of summer 76 you’ll also learn a thing or two.  That declaration thing for example…. Yep it’s dated the 4th and yet no one bothered to make it a public announcement/proclamation until four days later and the thing wasn’t signed until welll you guessed it…. 56 signers signed on August 2nd.  Talk about post dating something.  I mean really a month?   I think that’s plenty of “we were just kidding” time right?  Yet, I think most kids in the US and many worldwide are taught that July 4th was the day— so that sparked some thoughts.  

How many other bits of history  are we fed to memorize that aren’t quite what they seem?  I mean did Christmas really happen on Christmas and did  the battle of 1812 really happen due to the 1812 overture?  Did they really release 99 red balloons… Did the 100 years war last 100 years and did the guy really meet a guy with seven wives when traveling to St. Ives?  

Seriously did we really learn the correct history?  We certainly did n’t learn  a complete history.  What we learn and teach is watered down version of what men said happened as they used weapons and other disgusting methods of human destruction.  Is that something that really helps us seek peace and joy?  What history have we left out?  Wel here are just a few things we don’t know about.  I’ve mentioned a few of these before in other entries so forgive me if you are bored…however these are still food for thought.  

What about the history  of pajamas?  Who was the first to have the footies with the plastic bottoms  that once warn smooth became speed skating trainers?  Oh what about the history of pogo sticks?  Did kids just stand in one spot and jump up and down and  count to 1253 for a new  indoor basement record?  What  about the unabridged  history of clothes hangers which have done as much to preserve period clothing and our knowledge of past culture as any written record?  Oh and no real discussion of history is complete without the history. Of medicine.  Who was the first certified proctologist?  Who stood up in front of the class and said “you know what I’d like to stick my finger right up there  dozens of times a day.”    Oh and is there anywhere in the annals  of history the recorded history of the first circumcision ?  I think accounts may vary on that one, however it had to come after the first course in super sales training and the distillation of highly reactive alcohol .  

Maybe the point  being highlighted is that there is a lot to choose to choose from when. It comes to being invfluenced by history and maybe we can think briefly about what histories influence how we approach and reflect upon experiences.    Maybe it would be a fun exercise to take a clear memory and then rethink it given  a different context like say It would have happened before there were automobiles?  

Or maybe we could think about. Things  differently  given how.the human body is shaped generally…like what  would a chair look like if your knees bent the other way?  

Okay that’s enough brain teasing for now…just have the guts to be a little more curious and a little more skeptical  about how history has written the foundation of some experiences in stone.  

Tomorrow there will be an eight line rhyme time abou this post…but thanks for reading the extended version….