Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 01/23/17

We tend to think that “now” is the way it will always be. We make projections based on today instead of painting pictures of the future. We become actuaries and accountants instead of dreamers and artists. And we also fool ourselves that “today” is the most important time ever. I’m writing this on January 22. Here are some past occurrences on this date:

In 1771, Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Britain.

In 1901, Queen Victoria of Britain died at age 82 after a reign of 64 years. She was succeeded by her son, Edward VII.

In 1914, attorneys for world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, an African-American prizefighter, filed a brief for a new trial with the U.S. Court of Appeals, challenging Johnson’s conviction under the Mann Act.

In 1924, senators investigating the Teapot Dome lease scandal declared they would use all the legal powers of the government to get to the truth.

In 1943, U.S. and Australian troops took New Guinea in the first land victory over the Japanese in World War II. (My father fought there.)

In 1944, U.S. troops invaded Italy, landing at Anzio beach in a move to outflank German defensive positions.

In 1973, in its historic Roe v. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state bans and made abortion legal.

In 1991, Iraq launched a Scud missile attack against Israel, injuring 98 people.

In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber,” accused of sending bombs that killed and wounded people, pleaded guilty to all counts against him in California and New Jersey. He was sentenced to life in prison.

You get the idea. As you read this on January 23, look up what happened on that date.

The seasons change. I saw a goose once walk into a tree because it was so fixated on protecting its young. But if it killed itself, the young would also perish. We have to look forward and not kid ourselves—or mourn—that today is forever.

You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say. —F. Scott Fitzgerald

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