Today in History

You know I minored in History? I wish I had majored in it instead so that I could be a full time history teacher. I even think about checking to see if I can do a bit of adjunct teaching at the local college over the summers. I have a love of history and when I study a subject, the dead seem to come alive with full and vibrant colors.

While not knowing the depth of the subject matter in William Wallace that was displayed in the movie Bravehart, I had already seen his epic battles and raced to the thrill of his story. The same is true of Rob Roy and the son of Edward III, known as the Black Knight. Wouldn't you LOVE to know what demons torment Andrew Carnegie to build all those fuggin libraries? The point is, we live in a world of rich an exciting tales.

Not all that long ago, we didn't have these new fangled machines like radios, TVs and amazing blogs on the internet. Man kind had to go out and create their own amusement, and let's face it, after a few hours of rubbing on THAT, most people start to chaff or blister. So they all met round a glowing fire. There they sat with full bellies and sleepy eyes as the darkness grew deeper outside their small circle of light. And the young men would boast of great tales of victory, bravery or honor. The old men would sing chants of great deeds or impart needed wisdom.

All cultures are pretty much the same, whether it was a camp fire, a fireplace or a chatroom. People then, as now, will gather so the young men can try to impress with tales of their latest daring deeds. The old men will try to impart wisdom and tales of great courage and honor. What used to be told around the campfire is now told by the flickering light of an LCD monitor, but the method is still the same.

But when we look back on today from ten years, twenty or fifty years in the future, what will we remember about today? Will we recall the Presidential debates? Will we recall the Dow dropped over 700 points again? Will we recall what we wore, the hit song of the day or if Cris posted this day on his blog?

The cool thing about history is you don't always have to be completely exact. You don't have to remember exactly on 10-15-2008 Obama kicked ass in the final debate. You don't need to know Texas is ranked #1 in college football after defeating OU. You don't have to remember the Dow tanked because everybody that isn't bought by a lobbyist knows markets have to be allowed to readjust. What you have to remember is what is important to you. And today on 10-15-2008 I returned to my low carb diet. Then I kind of cheated around 9:00. Then I was back on track again. SO far.