Tuesday, August 5, 2008

[1850 - Guy de Maupassant, writer, born near Dieppe, France]

[1858 - Julia Archibald Holmes is first woman to reach summit of Pikes Peak]

[1864 - Battle of Mobile Bay, RADM David Farragut shouts
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"]

[1884 - Cornerstone for Statue of Liberty laid at Bedloe's (now Liberty) Island]

[1889 - Conrad Aiken, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, born in Savannah, Georgia]

[1906 - John Huston, Academy Award-winning director, born in Nevada, Missouri]

[1911 - Robert Taylor (Spangler Arlington Brugh), actor, born in Filley, Nebraska]

[1926 - Jeri Southern (Genevieve Lillian Hering), singer, born in Royal, Nebraska]

[1963 - United States, Great Britain & Soviet Union sign Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]

[1984 - Joan Benoit wins first women's Olympic marathon in Los Angeles]

Quiet Please

Hospitals once were places of healing.
A stay in one today is most revealing.
You seek in vain for peace and quiet.
While around you swirls a noisy riot.

Around the clock you must awaken.
Vital signs recorded; meds are taken.
Outside your door chatter and laugh.
Patients be damned; They are The Staff.

William's Whimsical Words:

Any fool knows that what a sick person needs and wants is rest and quiet. I dare you to find either in a hospital.

to Summer 2008

to Almanack Main Page