The Daily Dose/July 21, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FELLOW WHITE, MALE, RURAL RESIDENTS: Friends, COVID is back, with a vengeance in some places, and virtually every single death is of someone who wasn’t vaccinated. A lot of the unvaccinated are rural folks.
Running The Numbers: Less than two-thirds of adults in this country have been vaccinated, despite the fact a vaccine is widely available, effective and free.
Dry, Technical Matter: Although we didn’t grow up in one, we now live in a small ranching community, population about 2,000 and we’re familiar with the attitudes that sometimes attend small-town life. A variety of reasons are cited for not getting vaccinated, from concerns about the vaccine to concerns about government conspiracies. None of them have merit.
We’re Better Than This: Friends, our minds are like parachutes, they don’t do us any good closed and ignorance of this sort is not bliss, it is destitution and slavery. And, frankly, based on the (many) times in my life when I’ve been ignorant, I know there was something inside telling me my mind wasn’t open and perhaps you have a similar voice inside telling you the same thing. Feel free to conquer it because it might save your life.
Broad, Historical Context: As it has occasionally been since time immemorial, ignorance is proving deadly. To say the vaccine is not safe or that it’s a government conspiracy is simply ignorant. We’ve been getting vaccines all our lives and all they’ve done is keep us healthy.
The Bottom Line: So please, friends, go and vax up. Our country is counting on us. There is no reason for us to start wearing masks again nor is there any reason for our country to take it in the economic shorts again. You aren’t showing those damn liberals and you’re not supporting Donald Trump, you are merely hurting yourselves.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s stock portfolio is tanking. Today’s Diary.
The big news is it appears ol’ Sparrow got back into the stock market just in time for the latest crash because the Portfolio is going down harder than a whore with the fleet in…Good gravy, everything but one stock was down…All the big, name stocks were down and so were my index funds…Fortunately, experienced investors like me know the market always rebounds and there is no reason to panic.
———
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.
———
On This Date
The long march to today.
In 1914 – Louis Rigolly of France becomes the first person to exceed 100 mph, driving a French car one kilometer in 21.6 seconds, a speed of 103.561 mph in Ostend, Belgium. Rigolly broke the record of 97.25 mph established in May by Belgian Pierre de Caters on the same course and Rigolly’s mark stood until November when it was broken by Frenchman Paul Baras, who drove 104.53 mph. The current record is 760.343 mph, set by Andy Green of Great Britain in 1997.
In 2012 – The St Louis Cardinals tie the major league record for most doubles in an inning in a 12-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals had seven doubles in their 12-run seventh inning to tie the mark established by the Boston Bees, later the Braves, in 1936. Five of the doubles were consecutive, which tied the major league record established by the Washington Senators in 1934.
In 1951 – Nat King Cole is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart – a predecessor to the Hot 100 – for the fifth and final consecutive week with Too Young. It was Cole’s fourth and final #1 pop song and his 31st chart single in a chart career that began in 1942 and continues to this day on Billboard’s holiday music chart. The song also peaked at #3 on Billboard’s soul chart and was Billboard’s biggest song of the year. In 1972 a version of the song by Donny Osmond peaked at #13 on the Hot 100.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
In a conflict between superstition and philosophy, one may safely wager on the victory of superstition, for the world wisely prefers happiness to wisdom.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. I: Our Oriental Heritage
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Bobby Bare’s biggest hit on the Hot 100 was The All American Boy, which peaked at #2 in 1959. A mistake the record label credited the record to Bill Parsons, a mistake the label acknowledged but didn’t bother to correct.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many #1 songs did Nat King Cole have on a Billboard country chart? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.
