“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.”
-Charles Dickens
Happy Monday, folks.
I hope the holiday season is treating you well.
This Week in History
December 17, 1538 - Pope Paul III excommunicated King Henry VIII after he had declared himself supreme head of the Church in England.
December 18, 1940 - Adolf Hitler ordered the German General Staff to begin planning Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Soviet Russia.
December 19, 1732 - Benjamin Franklin first published Poor Richard's Almanac, containing weather predictions, humor, proverbs, and epigrams, eventually selling nearly 10,000 copies per year.
December 20, 1606 - The Virginia Company expedition to America began as three small ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, departed London under the command of Captain Christopher Newport. In May of 1607, the royally-chartered company established the first permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown.
December 21, 1846 - Anesthesia was used for the first time in Britain during an operation at University College Hospital in London, performed by Robert Liston, who amputated the leg of a servant.
December 22, 1912 - "Lady Bird" Johnsonwas born in Karnack, Texas, as Claudia Alta Taylor. She was beside her husband, Lyndon Johnson, on board Air Force One when he was sworn in as the 36th U.S. Presiden,t following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
December 23, 1888 - Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh cut off his left ear during a fit of depression.
What I’m Reading
A Fever in the Heartland, by Timothy Egan
Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002, by David Sedaris
How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
The Crossing, by Cormac McCarthy
What I’m Listening To
Live from Alabama, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Elvis’ Christmas Album, Elvis Presley
Journaling Prompt for the Week #51 of 2023
Write about your fondest holiday memories, both as a child and as an adult.
Have a great week. Thanks for reading.