07 Dec Three Things – Dec. 7, 2020

First thing: This past week I received a $100 charity ‘gift card’ from Ray Dalio (if you haven’t read Dalio, his book, Principles, was life-changing for me.) I was able to personally select who would receive Ray’s $100 donation from several dozen non-profits in my local area–pretty cool idea, right? He talks about his gift here, and TisBest is the organization that handles the charity gift cards. I love seeing the wealthiest among us give back in meaningful ways. 

Second thing: John Adams was a difficult man. I just rewatched HBO’s 2009 series about this founding father and was surprised by how ‘unpolitical’ the man was–making friends was not one of his priorities! Despite being elected America’s 2nd president, Adams was a political theorist at heart, not a politician. His curmudgeon personality made for a harsh juxtaposition against the sensitive hand of his predecessor, George Washington. It was, however, his dogged commitment to reason and his impenetrable stubbornness that helped steer our nation through many of its most formative decisions.
John Adams won 13 Emmy’s and 4 Golden Globes–if you have any interest in our nation’s infancy period, it’s quite worth your time.  

Third thing: I’m not a fan of winter. Some days it just feels like purgatory. After following a rabbit-hole while reading Cicero (who died 2063 years ago today), I’ve discovered that my feeling was most likely shared by the Ancients.
December (from the Latin ‘decum’, or ‘ten’) was the final month in Ancient Rome’s 10-month calendar. The first month of the year was March. What about the day’s between December and March?  No organization or name was given to this period–it was simply called ‘winter’ (or as I like to call it, ‘purgatory’.) That’s right, it was just ’empty space’ on the calendar!  (Read more about the history of the calendar on Britannica.)

(P.S. – I just posted November’s “On My Nightstand” here, a list of all the books I read last month. I’d love for you to head over and take a look–always looking to give or receive book recommendations!) 

Aaron McNany