The goal of this exercise was to write for 21 consecutive days, but I missed yesterday.
I am doing this because a study demonstrated that if people spend time for 21 days to write down three things for which they are grateful, it improves their optimism. My intuition tells me that the study and its conclusions are valid. I am also nearly certain that the participants in the study had jobs and places to live. I am not sure if I have 63 possessions (21 days times three things), so this is challenging. If you look at my past lists, you will see that I rarely list possessions anyway, but the comparison is useful for context.
Ubiquitous music
Before the invention of the phonograph in 1877 (thank you, Thomas Edison), if someone wanted to listen to music, it had to be what we now call “live” music. Commercial radio (1920) made music even more accessible, but it was not until the transistor radio of the 1960s that most people could listen to music whenever they wanted. Like most people, I would cannot imagine a world without easy access to music.
I am grateful that Benjamin Franklin was sometimes wrong
Ben Franklin, arguably the greatest American ever, has almost nothing to do with this, but it is a catchy section-heading, so I used it. Franklin thought the turkey was a little vain & silly
but courageous and a true American. He really like turkey. I think turkey tastes like fetid garbage. (I am writing about food: hyperbole is acceptable, maybe even required.) On the other hand wing, chicken is fantastic. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it
, braise it, microwave it, baste it, and grill it. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried.
There’s orange chicken, lemon chicken, chicken soup, chicken stew, chicken salad, chicken and potatoes, chicken sandwich, chicken pot pie, chicken and dumplings, . . .
Humor
I have lost nearly everything, but I still have some humor. I am absolutely certain that I would not have survived this long with it.
