Sacco Snippets: January 2020

January 2020 Edition: Sacco’s Snippets

January 2020, who would have thought that the number of my childhood, which was a year often used in science fiction, would actually happen?

I still cannot believe that the future is here although there are not too many flying cars nor commercial flights to the moon and beyond.

It always seemed like such a fantasy to read about space travel and such modern conveniences such as computers and artificial intelligence that could turn off your house lights and start the coffee maker.

Geez, coffee makers when I was a kid was whoever got up first and put the pot on the stove.

I used to listen to my parents talk about how sometimes they would steal potatoes from the grocery stands to make a meal for those who had no money in their pockets.

They sometimes went without the necessities that we take for granted these days and had only the newspapers and wireless radio for entertainment.

They would read books and find adventure far from where they lived with possibly a new pair of shoes once a year.

We would listen to their stories and wonder how they survived through some of the hardships they had to endure.

They did so and raised a family into another era where we would watch the birth of video games and advancements in how we lived to which we couldn’t believe able to survive without.

There are now those who cannot live without a cell phone and a laptop to have social interaction and make their lives that more convenient.

Yes, there are some that still do without and the sin of it all is that we are now in the 21^st century. So what is in store for this marvel of time that at one point looked like it was an unattainable number for those who grew up in the 50’s and 60’s?

What lies ahead is always the anxious mystery that looms over us like a tidal wave of uncertainty.

There is always the tried and true way to have fun and laugh while being with those you love.

I see it every time I go into work on a weekend and see the kids laughing and having fun.

Watching families Ice Skating together and loving the brisk cold challenge of staying upright on skates.

Parents watching their children jumping and flipping in the Gymnastics center challenging themselves, and sometimes each other, to who can finish the exercise and still smile like it was easier than it actually was.

I was watching the Bumper cars on Ice the other day and you can actually see folks getting silly with it.

Everything does not have to be a challenge in life as sometimes you just forget your troubles for a bit and take a mental staycation.

Not everything has to be a worry and laughter and joy can always provide the best medicine.

This is not entirely a cure-all for all of what we need to deal with in life but even though all of our issues will still be there it is nice to forget them for a few minutes and come back mentally refreshed.

So what I can tell you is that besides the fact that the days are shorter and the nights are long.

You will need some Vitamins A and D, due to lack of sun exposure and some Vitamins R and R for needed stimulation of the brain.

There is some free stuff as well that certainly will not tax the wallet or the brain as well and not one of them costs a dime.

Beautiful sunsets and crystal clear starry nights of wonder and natural awe. Imagine how beautiful and serene the winter sunsets can be at this time of the year while the fiery ball of energy dips into the ocean beyond the Rockaway’s and over the Jersey shore.

I am extremely fortunate when I begin my day early or leave just at the right moment when I can stand in our parking lot and watch the Sunset and the Stars begin their rebirth in the orange-blue hue at the end of the day.

Free admission to a sky that belongs to us courtesy of Mother Nature in all of her majesty.

This is what the brisk sometimes uncaring month of January has as a peace offering to the snows and icy days ahead.

For in harsh times there is always a ray of beauty if you know where to find it and find it you can.

January is the first month of the year and the first of seven to have thirty-one days.

On average it is the coldest month of the year here in the Northeast.

Named after Janus the god of beginnings and transitions. January is taken from the Latin name Ianuarius. Birthstone is Garnett and Flower is Galanthus.

Some interesting days and birthdays of the famous and infamous as well. If you don’t recognize the name than Google it for more info and historical significance.

1/1 – 1797 Albany replaces NYC as the Capital of NY State

1863 Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation

Birthday – 1735 Paul Revere

1752 Betsy Ross

1/2 – 1788 Georgia becomes a U.S. state

1870 construction of the Brooklyn Bridge

Birthday – 1920 Isaac Asimov

1983 Kate Bosworth

1/3 – 1496 Leonardo DaVinci unsuccessfully flies his flying machine

1888 Marvin C. Stone patents the drinking straw

Birthday – 1832 J.R.R.Tolkien

1926 George Martin

1/4– 1847 Samuel Colt sells first revolver to the U.S. Military

2004 Mars Rover lands on Mars

Birthday – 1643 Sir Isaac Newton

1809 Lewis Braille

1/5 – 1920 Red Sox sell Babe Ruth to N.Y. Yankees

1972 NASA announces the development of the Space Shuttle

Birthday – 1914 George Reeves

1931 Robert Duvall

1/6 – 1838 Samuel Morse tests the Telegraph

1912 New Mexico becomes the 47^th state

Birthday – 1412 Joan of Arc

1914 Danny Thomas

1/7 – 1924 George Gershwin finishes Rhapsody in Blue

1927 the Harlem Globetrotters play their first game

Birthday – 1957 Katie Couric

1964 Nicholas Cage

1/8 – 1790 President Washington delivers the first State of the Union address

1958 Bobby Fischer wins first game at age 14

Birthday – 1935 Elvis

1948 David Bowie

1/9 1788 Connecticut becomes a state

1986 I take an oath

Birthday – 1945 Jimmy Page

1951 Crystal Gale

1/10 – 1861 Florida secedes from the U.S.

1870 John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil

Birthday – 1945 Rod Stewart

1949 George Foreman

1/11 – 1908 the Grand Canyon national monument created

1935 Amelia Earhart flies solo Hawaii to California

Birthday – 1757 Alexander Hamilton

1946 Naomi Judd

1/12 – 1966 Batman debuts on Television

1991 Persian Gulf War begins

Birthday – 1944 Joe Frazier

1955 Kirstie Alley

1/13 – 1930 Mickey Mouse comic strip begins

1957 Wham-o produces the first Frisbee

Birthday – 1596 Jan Van Goyen

1834 Horatio Alger

1/14 – 1690 the Clarinet invented

1954 Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio married

Birthday – 1919 Andy Rooney

1941 Faye Dunaway

1/15 – 1844 Notre Dame receives its charter

1974 Happy Days premieres

Birthday – 1913 Lloyd Bridges

1929 Dr. Martin Luther King

1/16 – 1581 English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism

1909 the magnetic South Pole is discovered

Birthday – 1911 Dizzy Dean

1959 Sade

1/17 – 1819 Simon Bolivar proclaims Columbia a republic

1976 President Marcos named president for life of the Philippines

Birthday – 1706 Benjamin Franklin

1931 James Earl Jones

1/18 – 1896 first X-ray machine demonstrated

1911 Eugene Ely lands the first aircraft on a ship

Birthday – 1782 Daniel Webster

1931 Mark Messier

1/19 – 1955 Scrabble board game invented

1966 Indira Gandhi elected P.M. of India

Birthday – 1943 Janis Joplin

1946 Dolly Parton

1/20 – 1961 John F. Kennedy inaugurated

1981 Ronald Reagan inaugurated

Birthday – 1732 Richard Henry Lee

1930 Buzz Aldrin

1/21 – 1888 the AAU founded

1954 nuclear submarine Nautilus launched

Birthday – 1924 Telly Savalas

1963 Hakeem Olajuwon

1/22 – 1952 the first commercial jet put in service

1957 Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula

Birthday – 1561 Sir Francis Bacon

1965 Diane Lane

1/23 – 1973 President Nixon announces Viet Nam peace accord

1975 Barney Miller debuts

Birthday – 1737 John Hancock

1944 Rutger Hauer

1/24 – 1848 California gold rush begins

2003 Department of Homeland Security begins

Birthday – 1949 John Belushi

1968 Mary Lou Retton

1/25 – 1890 Nelly Bly goes around the world In 72 days

1961 President Kennedy makes the first Television news conference

Birthday – 1759 Robert Burns

1835 Andrew Carnegie

1/26 – 1934 the Apollo Theater opens

2005 Condoleeza Rice becomes Secretary of State

Birthday – 1880 General Douglas MacArthur

1955 Eddie Van Halen

1/27 1888 National Geographic Society founded

1926 the first Television broadcast

Birthday – 1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

1832 Lewis Carroll

1/28 – 1855 first locomotive runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific

1915 the U.S. Coast Guard created

Birthday – 1225 Thomas Aquinas

1912 Jackson Pollock

1/29 – 1936 the first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame

1959 Sleeping Beauty released

Birthday – 1737 Thomas Payne

1879 W.C. Fields

1/30 – 1862 the USS Monitor launched

1847 Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco

Birthday – 1882 Franklin D. Roosevelt

1931 Gene Hackman

1/31 – 1936 the Green Hornet radio show debuts

1958 Explorer one is the first successful US Satellite launched

Birthday – 1919 Jackie Robinson

1947 Nolan Ryan

What a month for history, Hockey and staying busy while the shorter days become longer.

Before you know it the Spring will be here and the cold mornings will be a memory.

Come on out to see what we have in store for you to break the winter boredom.

www.aviatorsports.com is your ticket to fun and excitement, food and fun. Go to the website and see what’s going on.

Free parking, the door is open and the heat is on. The only step you need to make it through the doors where your next fun time is waiting.

“There is something for everyone and everyone for something”

John Sacco

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