Monday Musings - June 19, 2023

 

1. It is the 3rd Monday of June. We are nearing the halfway point of the year. There are just 27 Mondays remaining in the year. 

2. The Solstice (which for the Northern Hemisphere is the Summer version) occurs Wednesday, June 21 at 10:57 AM. Enjoy the light. It has taken 6 months to get here from the last Solstice.

Skies over Tequesta
Bridge over the Loxahatchee River
Tequesta, FL
June 18, 2023

3. Welcome to the Juneteenth Holiday. It is the 11th holiday designated by the Congress and this year marks the third celebration of the day as a Federal Holiday. I find it interesting that there are 11 Federal Holidays, but yet 3 months do not have a holiday: March, April, and August. January and November each have 2 holidays.

4. I managed a short bike ride yesterday, just over 12 miles. I took an image which recorded the state of the morning skies over Tequesta and South Florida. And that state is dark and brooding. Rain and thunder were on the horizon headed East. Ultimately, during the afternoon the skies cleared and the sun returned, but we have more days with similar conditions coming.

5. I think I am going to stop using Jiffy Lube for oil changes. It seems every time I go there they are trying to hit me up for hundreds of dollars in additional services. This last time they showed me something they said needed to be done and I have decided to take my truck to my regular mechanic to check it out. I still paid almost $200 for an oil change. What happened to roll-in and roll-out no hassle $30 oil changes? I guess they went the way of the dodo.

6. Today in History. In what is now known as Juneteenth, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrive in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War is over and slavery in the United States is abolished. 

A mix of June and 19th, Juneteenth has become a day to commemorate the end of slavery in America. Despite the fact that President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued more than two years earlier on January 1, 1863, a lack of Union troops in the rebel state of Texas made the order difficult to enforce. 

Some historians blame the lapse in time on poor communication in that era, while others believe Texan slave-owners purposely withheld the information.

Ukraine’s Offensive Is a Battle of Readiness - The Wall Street Journal

US and China take a potentially crucial step - CNN

Hundreds of thousands are without power as the South swelters under record-breaking temperatures - CNN

A 33-year-old man fell 4,000 feet to his death from the Grand Canyon Skywalk, authorities say - CNN

North Korea says botched satellite launch was 'gravest failure' - Reuters

Paris air show returns with jets and missiles in demand - Reuters

Saturn's icy moon Enceladus harbors essential elements for life - Reuters

600-pound marlin almost won a crew $3.5 million — then it was disqualified - The Washington Post

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL