Tuesday

Jul. 22, 1997

Long Paces

by Timothy Steele

TUESDAY 7/22

Today's Reading:"Long Paces" by Timothy Steele from THE COLOR WHEEL, published by Johns Hopkins University Press (1994).

The Jewish fast of Tammuz begins at first light today, commemorating the 1st century Roman siege of Jerusalem.

Screenwriter and film director Paul Schrader (TAXI DRIVER), who never saw a film of any kind until he was 18 years old, was born on this day in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1946.

It's the birthday of novelist Tom Robbins (ANOTHER ROADSIDE ATTRACTION; EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES), was born on this day in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, in 1936.

John Dillinger was shot to death by federal agents in 1934 as he walked out of the Biograph Theatre in Chicago, reportedly betrayed by the "Lady in Red" who accompanied him.

Playwright Megan Terry (CALM DOWN MOTHER; BABES IN THE BIGHOUSE; GOONA GOONA), was born on this day in Seattle in 1932.

It's the birthday of etiquette authority Amy Vanderbilt (AMY VANDERBILT'S COMPLETE BOOK OF ETIQUETTE), born in New York City, in 1908.

Sculptor Alexander Calder, the originator of the mobile, was born on this day in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, in 1898.

It's the birthday of poet Stephen Vincent Benet (JOHN BROWN'S BODY), born on this day in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1898.

Biochemist Selman Abraham Waksman, discoverer of streptomycin, the first effective treatment of tuberculosis, was born in the Ukraine on this day in 1888.

It's the birthday of German physicist Gustav Hertz, whose research confirmed the theory that atoms can absorb only specific amounts of energy, born in Hamburg, in 1887.

Painter Edward Hopper (NIGHTHAWKS), who worked as a commercial artist and illustrator until he was 40, was born on this day in Nyack, New York, in 1882.

Margery Williams Bianco, author of THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, was born on this day in London, in 1881.

It's the birthday of Emma Lazarus, whose famous lines from her poem "The New Colossus" are inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, born on this day in New York City, 1849.

Botanist Gregor Mendel, whose experiments with peas in his monastery garden established the basis for the science of genetics, was born on this day in Heinzendorf, Austria, in 1822.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®

 

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