Common Threads

 

1841 El Camino?

MDCCCXLI

James Morris’ diary: Groundhog Day

    Fog City Golden Glue?

U.S. vs. The Amistad: Illegal slavery

     The Farmer and the Felon?

Tower of London: fire destroys Grand Armoury

     King’s Garden?

James Braid sees animal magnetism~hypnotism

    Tangerine Turtle and White Rabbit?

London: Punch! first published

     Tropical Haze?

President first dies in Office: Harrison (pneumonia)

     Emerald Sky Drops?

James Clark Ross finds Ross Ice Shelf

     Pacific Stone Blue Dream? 

 

1845, Humming Tunes

MDCCCXLV

Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (The Four Aces)

     Barrett sends Browning the first love letter

Come Together (The Beatles)

     Uniform federal election day established 

Freebird (Lynyrd Skynyrd) 

     “The Raven” published in New York Evening 

      Mirror 

Rubber Band Man (The Spinners)

     UK: rubber band patented by Stephen Perry 

Because He Lives (The Gaithers)

     Finland: only country to have Easter Sunday 

Fire (The Pointer Sisters) 

     Fire destroys Pittsburgh 

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Wallace Willis) 

     Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an 

     American Slave published 

Mashed Potato Time (Dee Dee Sharp)

     Potato blight begins famine in Ireland 

America the Beautiful (Katherine Bates and Samuel Ward)

     Concept of Manifest Destiny coined by John 

     O’Sullivan

1851: Whale Tragedy 

MDCCCLI

Portland Penny coin flip: Boston loses Oregon 

  

     Losers can be winners 

Australia: Black Thursday brushfires 

     Temptations smolder and smoke

Western Union founded 

     Lifelines are essential 

Charles Darwin’s daughter dies: depression 

     Even the fittest fall 

Adolf and Lionel play Immortal Game of chess 

     Practice strategic forethought 

America wins first ever America’s Cup

     A victory lane awaits 

New York Times founded

     Progress is newsworthy 

Moby Dick published 

     Don’t mess with whales 

Boston: First US YMCA opens

      Support others 

Christmas Eve, Washington DC: Library of Congress burns

     Resist the eggnog

 

Pen sills for skewell! 

“Pen sills for skewell!”

Her voice held fake excitement.

Santa got it wrong. 

 

1865

MDCCCLXV

New York Stock Exchange opens on Wall Street

     will they cancel student loan debt?

Thirteenth Amendment passes

     break these chains! 

Civil War ends

     freedom is a relative concept 

Abraham Lincoln assassinated 

     a shot in the dark: squeeze a turnip

Sultana sinks in the Mississippi

     neck deep in the muck: IBD

young Jumbo arrives at London Zoo

     neck wide in the glands: 

                       hypothyroidism

Alice in Wonderland published 

     is there even a key within reach?

Wild Bill Hickok starts first western showdown 

     the world is going straight to hell

Brother Jonathan sinks off CA coast

     yes, plummeting down the rabbit hole like Alice 

SS Republic sinks off GA coast

     or are we already there?

 

And now, 1866

MDCCCLXVI

     I was 100 years away

no full moon in February

     promises made, promises broken

Civil Rights Act passed and vetoed 

     Covid numbers rise: a dark world 

total lunar eclipse 

     Fitz and Boo oblivious 

ASPCA founded, NYC

     Christmas shopping mostly done 

Nickel replaces the half-dime

     one count rises, another falls

Metric Act standardizes measurement

     even Christmas spirit wears a mask

dynamite invented in Germany 

 

Chris Baron, professor of English at San Diego City College and author of All of Me and The Magical Imperfect, hosted my writing group today and inspired us to write A Before Picture verse. My mother left us in December 29, 2015, and today my verse is about her. 

before and now

before

we silently sucked our teeth
when she
told us to buckle up

we secretly rolled our eyes
when she
told us to lock our doors

we soundlessly steamed at the ears
when she
told us to slow down
(“they sit right up here, you know”)

and covertly clenched our fists
when she
told us to turn it down

now

we hear her voice
echoing through the years
transcending dimensions

and through our blurry tears

we buckle up
we lock up
we slow it down
we turn it down

and wish
she were here
to right our world again

Today’s prompt inspired us to map our voices.  I took today’s date and broke it apart into two years of history and mirrored events. 

Then and Now

1215/MCCXV 

2020/MMXX

King John Forced to sign the Magna Carta

George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor police murders

King John rejects Magna Carta: First Barons’ War

COVID-19 pandemic sweeps worldwide

Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid

Harry and Megan opt out of royalty

Genghis Khan’s Mongols torch Beijing: month-long burn

Australian brushfires kill 47 million acres

Fourth Lateran council defines transubstantiation doctrine

Beirut erupts in explosions

The Dominican Order is founded

Murder hornets arrive

The Macy Jug is made

Beloved world legends die

Then and now: the promise of hope is found in a manger in Bethlehem

 

Alarm

Get up!

Get going!

Get out!

Move it! 

Asleep to awake

Horizontal to vertical

Dreams to reality

Sheets to shower

Time to money 

Money to “living”

Living to surviving

Freedom to ownership 

Snooze is not an option 

Get up! 

Get going!

Get out!

Move it! 

 

1885

     weekend camping at FDR- site 104

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

     IBD simmering, no full-fledged flare there

Good Housekeeping debut issue

     picnic atop the mountain

First Motorcycle – Gottleib Daimler

     fireside gift: starter brick flame

Salvation Army organized

     Christmas music on the Jensen

Boston Pops formed

     recharging our batteries

Statue of Liberty arrives in NYC

     Flat tire: changed to spare 

 

First cafeteria opens in NYC

     antenna raised – local channels!

Georgia Tech founded – ATL

     when’s the next trip?