27 January 2005

There are many events in the world today. Many things to remember from the past. There are births of great and well known people, the passing of many more. The event that mark this day can be felt and will be felt for generations to come.

Wolfgang Mozart was born in 1756; Lewis Carroll in 1832; Jerome Kern in 1885; Admiral Hyman G. Rickover in 1900; Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1948. In 1880 Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the incandescent light; Auschwitz was liberated by Russians in 1945. In 1967 we mourned the death of the astronauts killed in a fire in Apollo 1. In 1973, the Vietnam “peace” accords were signed in Paris.

Today we have people dieing in the name of freedom, music and literature being read, listened to and written. We see the light of Edison every night and share it with the world. We have come a long way, but have a long way yet to go. With every advance we have, there is always a setback. In the future may we have more advances and fewer setbacks, may peace be real and war no longer necessary. May the creation of the written word be uplifting, the music, dance and the arts be enjoyable.