Category Archives: General

This Guy Inspires Me

The picture is of a Lancaster man. The man you see has Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He has what is called primary-progressive MS. That’s a fancy name that means it is a steady worsening of symptoms and disability as it progresses. I could give his name, but I don’t know if he would want me to do that.

So, on a Friday, a group of people is at the fairgrounds setting up for the MS Walk the following day. Now, this guy is helping set up tables. He grabbed a table at a time, moved himself and the table by wheelchair, set the table down, pulled out the legs, and returned to get another table. I don’t know this for sure, but I’m certain he positioned more tables than anyone else and, if not, certainly moved tables to the furthest distance.

Me, I was sitting on a stage. I was there because I had then relapsing-remitting MS. Today, it has progressed to what is called secondary-progressive. The doctor misled me, and the change in name was only because I was using a cane. Really, it means I’ll experience a gradual, steady change in my ability to perform daily tasks.

He came over, and we talked. I believe I noticed that his wheelchair was powered only by him. He chatted, showed me some pictures on his cell phone, introduced me to his granddaughter, and told me about his wife. I guess they had just taken a trip to Florida. Oh yeah, one of the pictures he showed me was a souped wheelchair he made that could power itself in the woods and go up steps.

When I speak of MS, I often steal a line from the movie Heartbreak Ridge. Well, I changed it; you must adjust, adapt, and overcome when you have it. Something better comes from a Rocky movie. Rocky is talking to his son, and I have to shorten this some, but the advice Rocky gives his son is as follows:

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!… But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that…”

So this guy has been knocked around by life, but he keeps coming back. There’s no quit in him. Some, maybe many, would give up. I see so many give up when facing almost nothing. But for him, the obstacles are there. He gets hit, takes it, and keeps moving forward. As Rocky said, “That’s how winning is done!”

Today would be July 15, 2025, if we had never had leap years.

We all learned in school there are 365 1/4 days in a year. Actually, 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds, but close enough, kind of. For those who like decimals, there are about 365.2422 days each year.

Julius Caesar saw the problem and was tasked with getting the Roman calendar caught up. Until then, the Romans had been using a lunar calendar. So, in 46 B.C., Caesar added 80 days to the calendar in what became known as the “year of confusion.” That was because he got it wrong by using 1/4 day, and adding 80 days throws people off more than a tad.

The days eventually got off kilter again, so another correction was made in 1578. This one is weird, and I learned it when my dad explained it to me. A leap year is every four years, but we don’t have one if a year ends in 00, like 1700, 1800, and 1900. But, if it’s a millennial year, like 2000, we have one. American colonies made the switch in 1752. By then, they had to skip 11 days to catch up with the new Gregorian calendar. Without the changes where I live now, we’d have snow today, July 15. 2025.

Does anyone want to learn about leap seconds now?

February 30 Has Happened Twice.

Twice in history have countries had to arrange for February 30. In one case, the day occurred as part of the conversion between the Julian and Gregorian calendars; Sweden had to add the day in

1712 because it made the wrong years leap years during its initial attempts to convert in 1700. This messed up the country’s calendar so badly that everyone had to return to the Julian calendar temporarily. In 1712, the country changed the official Gregorian calendar and added two leap days- February 29 and 30- to catch up.

Fact of the Day-Our 50 Star Flag(with a bonus)

I feel compelled to put something up on this date every year regarding this. I didn’t know the guy or the teacher, except by name, and I liked the story. I’ve lived in Lancaster for over 38 years, so I can claim this one, although my heart remains in a little town called Mantua in northern Ohio. We moved to November 2022.

Anyway, it’s an interesting story from when schools expected more from students. First, an Ohio high school student designed the 50-star American flag for a class project. Then, the kid goes a step further and designs a 51-star American flag as extra credit.

We’re talking about a 17-year-old Lancaster High student, Robert G. Heft, in 1958, as a school project designed the 50-star American flag. Originally Heft received a B– for the project, even with what I consider extra credit.

After discussing the grade with his teacher, they agreed (somewhat jokingly) that if Congress accepted the flag, the grade would be reconsidered. One strict teacher when it comes to handing out grades.

Well, Heft’s flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation. I guess Ike liked it, so his campaign slogan was “I Like Ike!” Not really, but I had to throw it in even though it makes no sense here.

According to Heft, his teacher changed his grade to an A for the project. The teacher was Stanley Pratt. As an aside, Heft’s mother was a seamstress. You may think he cheated, but she didn’t help since it was his project. Back then, parents didn’t do the homework for their kids. I’ve read Heft sewed the final flag together in 12 1/2 hours. As I said, he also designed a 51-star flag—a fascinating picture of his gravestone.

Another aside, but you can stop reading here. The B- to A grade thing just hit me. In sixth grade, I received an ‘F’ in handwriting. I had a teacher who wasn’t content to give an ‘F’ though; she had to do it in red ink. Toward the end of the year, a handwriting sample of all students was sent to the Ohio Department of Education.

Guess what? My writing that earned an ‘F’ received one of only four Superior Awards for our school. My picture was even in the newspaper with the other kids wearing my short jeans and tennis shoes. But, my grade on my report card went from F to A, maybe A+, during the final grading period. I can’t remember now, but I hope it was a different color ink. It is a colorful report card, though. I should post it someday.