As we move into another year I wonder how much of the past will be repeated. How many of those resolutions made last year will be repeated this year? How many mistakes made last year will be repeated this year? We promised ourselves last year that the year will be different. Was it? Lost of positive changes in 2023 for you? We need to make those positive changes and enjoy life because, as the song goes, we are closer to the end than we know.
So, looking back 100 years, what was it like in 1924? Calvin Coolidge (R) became President when sworn in in February. International Business Machines (IBM) was established. In 1924 they made typewriters and stenograph equipment. Today IBM is more complex working on the Cloud, in aerospace and the Defense industries, as well as cybersecurity. Prohibition begins. It became illegal to make, transport, and sell alcohol. It was never illegal to drink booze, however.
The fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt was born in 1924. In the 70s and 80s she came out with a very famous pair of jeans. The astronaut Deke Slayton was also born in 1924. So too was the future youngest Naval fighter pilot of WWII and President of the United States, George H.W. Bush as well as future President Jimmy Carter (who is 99 as of this writing), and future Dallas Cowboys head coach, Tom Landry.
Eggs were 32 cents an ounce (and falling) and a movie ticket was a quarter. And the Cleveland Bulldogs were the NFL champs. Ever wonder why Cleveland Browns fans wear bulldog masks today? That's why. The Rose Bowl was interesting, or boring. Washington Husking tied Navy 0-0. There was no overtime rule at that time.
Finally, Chicago was the first city in the US to have a recognized Gay Rights organization – the Society for Human Rights, established one hundred years ago.
Do you have any resolutions? I do. I want to lose weight (but that's an annual resolution). I'm trying the Galveston Diet and doubling my exercise regime. My second resolution is to make my classes more relative and interesting to my students. Finally, I resolve to play more Dungeons and Dragons!
