Month: June 2018

For Throwback Thursday, I’m throwing back to John Adams.  Why?  Last year, I binge watched the entire HBO Series “John Adams” on the 4th of July.  If you haven’t had the chance to see that series, I can’t recommend it highly enough – you can stream free with Amazon Prime.

Fun facts about John:

• None of John’s family members went to his Presidential inauguration.  How sad is that?
• John and Thomas Jefferson were famously rivals in politics – but died on the same day (July 4, 1826) exactly 50 years after signing the Declaration of Independence.  Adams last words?  “Thomas Jefferson survives” – but he didn’t.
• His son John Quincy Adams became the 6th President.  John’s birthplace of Braintree, Massachusetts was renamed Quincy in his honor.
• John was the first President to live in the White House – although it wasn’t quite finished when he and Abigail moved in four months before his term ended.
• John was a devoted husband, writing more than 1,100 letters to Abigail – most of which have survived to this day.  In contrast, historians only know of 3 letters that George Washington wrote to his wife Martha.
• The Constitution of the State of Massachusetts was written mostly by John Adams – and served as the model for the U.S Constitution.

David McCullough wrote an excellent biography of John Adams but if you’d like other suggestions try this link to more great books about John.

Famous quote by John Adams – “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

Often referred to as Dr. Franklin, he was not actually a medical doctor.  He was however, a renowned scientist, inventor, author and diplomat.  He was a REALLY interesting guy but since our theme today is generally health, let’s stick to that topic for Ben.

Fun facts about Ben:

• Tired of switching between two pairs of glasses, Franklin famously cut the lenses of both pairs in half and reassembled a single pair – creating the first bifocal glasses.
• After noticing he felt cooler when wearing wet clothing on a hot sunny day, he proposed the principle of Cooling by Evaporation – the basis for refrigeration and air conditioning.
• Ben didn’t patent his inventions – even the Franklin stove that produced more home heat with less waste – because he just wanted people to use them and make their lives better.
• Ben is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.  One of his first inventions was a pair of wooden paddles he used to help propel himself while swimming!  He was a proponent of the benefits of swimming his whole life and once wrote “every parent would be glad to have their children skilled in swimming.”
• And last but certainly not least – Ben founded the first public hospital what would become the United States.  In 1751, he and Dr. Thomas Bond founded the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia which is still in operation today.  The main building dates to 1756 and is registered as a National Historic Landmark.

These are just a few of the many amazing facts about Ben – you can learn more about him by reading his autobiography or check out one of these biographies by various authors.

Famous quote from Ben Franklin – “Well done is better than well said.”

I fell in love with Alexander Hamilton the first time I played the soundtrack for the Broadway musical Hamilton.  And if any of our Founding Fathers had a to-do list, I’m betting it was Alex.  After all, one of the songs in the musical refers to him and his writing as Non-stop!

Fun facts about Alexander Hamilton:

• We really don’t know when he was born.  The records on his home island of Nevis report his birth in 1755, but Alexander always claimed he was born in 1757.   His claim may have worked to help him land an apprenticeship position after the death of his mother left him an orphan.  And it certainly didn’t hurt his reputation of being precocious to shave a couple years off his age!
• Alexander’s views on a strong central national government inspired the beginning of the Federalist Party.  Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed many of Hamilton’s ideas about centralized governance and formed the Republican Party in response.
• Regardless of how it is presented in the musical, Hamilton didn’t actually pass the bar to become a lawyer until 1782 when the Revolution was over.  He began studying law while still on Nevis, attended some classes at King’s College and also studied with John Jay and William Paterson (two future Supreme Court justices) on his mostly self-taught way to becoming a lawyer.
• The last letter George Washington wrote before his death was to Alexander.
• Alex may have been this nation’s first media mogul.  In 1801, he talked several investors into giving him $10,000 to found the New York Evening Post.  Today, it is known as the New York Post and is the nation’s oldest continuously published newspaper.

If you haven’t read “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow that was the inspiration for the Broadway musical, do yourself a favor and look it up at your library or favorite bookseller.

Famous quote from Alexander -“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”

The 4th of July is sneaking right up on us so I thought maybe we should get ready by taking a look at our Founding Fathers.  That doesn’t mean I’m leaving my regular editorial schedule – just making it all about the Founding Fathers this week!

So the first among our Founding Fathers seems obvious – George Washington.  Here are some fun facts you may not have known about George:

• George didn’t belong to a political party.  In fact, he disliked the idea of political parties.  He believed parties would lead to conflict and hinder the country’s growth.
• George is the only one of our President’s to have been elected unanimously.
• While we know him for his glorious head of white hair, when George was young, his hair was red.
• George did not attend college.  Like many young men of the time, he was home schooled by his father and older half-brother.  He applied himself well to his educational pursuits and became an expert surveyor and map maker.
• While many wanted to to refer to George as “Your Excellency” or “Your Highness,” he set president that lives through to today by asking to be referred to as Mr. President.

Want to learn more about George?  Here’s a list of some great biographies.

Famous words from George’s eulogy –

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s facial expressions KILLED me in this!

Happy Summer Solstice!  Today is the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours.   From now until December 21st, the days will get progressively shorter.  I know – I’m a buzzkill.  So let’s think about happier things shall we?

All around the world, from ancient times right up to today, the summer solstice has been celebrated by almost every culture.  In ancient Greece, the solstice was used to mark the opening of the Olympic games.  And the ancient Romans celebrated Vestailia in the days just prior to the solstice to honor the godess Vesta.  During this celebration, married women would go to temple and leave offerings to the godess while asking for blessings for their families.

Here in the U.S., native American tribes also had festivities to honor the solstice featuring ceremonial sun dances.  And like the pagans who may have built Stonehenge to mark the solstice, the Plains Indians built Wyoming’s Bighorn Medicine Wheel that aligns with the day’s sunrise and sunset.

Want to know more about the solstice?  Check out these resources:

• Wikipedia
• Vox – 6 Things to Know about the Summer Solstice
• Big Horn Medicine Wheel

So enjoy the daylight and raise a glass in celebration of the solstice!

I just read this article about sleep positions (Daily Mail) and apparently I’m killing myself because I sleep either curled up or on my stomach.  Who knew?  So I did some checking by Googling “sleep positions.”  Want to know more about how you sleep?  Check out these sites:

• WebMD – I thought they seemed more trustworthy than the Daily Mail?
• Men’s Health – Hmmm…..  Some contradictions here!
• Better Sleep Council – who better to ask than mattress manufacturers?

All these sites have a lot of info in common – but after reading all of these, I think the best position to sleep in is the one that makes you most comfortable.  Seems reasonable right?  Now let’s take a nap!

Let me know your favorite sleep position in the comments!

There are few things I like better in the summer than hanging at the pool with a good book.  Or hanging out on my deck with a good book.  Or going to the beach with a good book.  You get the picture right?

Right now I’m on a biography kick.  I finished “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow and started the Jon Meacham book “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.”  And for fun, I just read “Mariana” by Susanna Kersley – I did not see the ending coming on that one.

But I’m starting to look around for my next great summer book.  I found these lists to help me choose:

• Amazon’s Summer Fiction Recommendations
• Real Simple Magazine – 31 Great Summer Books
• Book Bub – Summer Reading Challenge

And hey – if you don’t know about bookbub.com you should check it out.  You tell them what kind of books you like and they send you a daily email offering low cost/no cost books you might enjoy.

Tell me what’s on your summer reading list in the comments!

I love astronauts.  How could I not having grown up in Wapakoneta, Ohio – home of Neil Armstrong?  At the grand age of 6 years old, I was among the guests at his parents’ house for his welcome home from the moon party.  So I have always had a vested interest in space travel.

35 years ago today, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, taking off with the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.   And fun fact – she is also the youngest American astronaut making her first of two flights at the age of 32.   Her second flight, also aboard the Challenger, happened in 1984.  She was in training for her third flight on Challenger when it exploded in 1986.

Ride was one of 8,000 people who answered an ad in the Stanford student newspaper asking for applicants for the space program and was selected by NASA in 1978.  Her training in physics lead to her inclusion in the team that developed the robotic arm used  to deploy and maneuver the payloads by the Shuttle.  And her expertise on the Shuttle program lead to her role on the panel that investigated the Challenger disaster.

Point of interest – Sally Ride was actually the third woman in space.  She was preceded by two Russian cosmonauts named Valentina Tereshkova who flew in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya who flew in 1982.

Want to know more about Sally?  Check out these resources:

• NASA Bio
• Biography.com – Sally Ride
• Wikipedia – Sally Ride