Home Cooking
by Barbara Crooker

Let me stir up a batch of something hot,
beef stew or red bean chili, something simmering
just below the boil. You let me know if it needs
more seasoning, more spice. Let me spread
some butter on your cornbread, darling;
let it soak into all the cracks. Let me fill
your glass with something red and juicy.
The oven is hot, and all the burners
are glowing. If you can't take the heat.
then get out of my kitchen. But
if you need to take the chill off, baby,
I might be able to dish a little something up ....

"Home Cooking" by Barbara Crooker, from Some Glad Morning, © 2019. Aired by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. (buy now)

It was on this day in 1973 that the Endangered Species Act was signed into law by President Nixon.  In 1972, Nixon outlined his environmental agenda to Congress. He said: "This is the environmental awakening. It marks a new sensitivity of the American spirit and a new maturity of American public life. It is working a revolution in values, as commitment to responsible partnership with nature replaces cavalier assumptions that we can play God with our surroundings and survive." He specifically asked for a new Endangered Species Act that would provide early identification and protection of threatened species, and treat hunting or capturing endangered species as a federal offense. In 1973, the House and Senate versions were combined. The Senate passed the bill unanimously, and the House by a vote of 355 to 4.

It was on this day in 1945 that Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. It was written in 1892 by a minister and Socialist named Francis Bellamy, who was eventually forced out of his position because he preached too many sermons about Jesus and socialism. Bellamy wrote the Pledge for Youth's Companion magazine, which had launched a program offering kids a flag for their school in return for every 100 magazine subscriptions they sold. Youth's Companion decided to step it up a notch and partner with the Columbian Exposition in Chicago (the World's Fair) to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's landing in America. They wanted schools nationwide to participate in honoring the flag. One hot August evening, the magazine's employees were in the offices planning for the celebration, and the editor asked Bellamy to write something for students to recite. His pledge was published in early September, and it read simply: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." On Columbus Day, October 12th, it was recited in public schools all over the country.

In 1923, the National Flag Conference changed the words from "my Flag" to "the Flag of the United States of America," so that immigrants wouldn't be confused about which flag they were honoring. In 1942, Congress first acknowledged the Pledge as part of legislation codifying flag-related rituals, but it wasn't until this day in 1945 that they officially recognized it and it was sanctioned by Congress. The words "under God" were added in 1954 to make sure it didn't sound like something that would be recited by Communists.

On this day in 1895 that Auguste and Louis Lumière opened the first movie theater at the Grand Café in Paris. Other inventors, including Thomas Edison, were working on various moving picture devices at the time. But most of those other devices could only be viewed by one person at a time. The Lumières were the first to project moving pictures on a screen, so that they could be viewed by a large audience.

London's Westminster Abbey was consecrated on this date in 1065. There has been a church on the site since the late 8th century, when a small community of monks formed a monastery there; it's possible the site dates back as far as the early seventh century, to the time of the first Christian king of the Saxons, Saberht. King Edward I (later known as Edward the Confessor) decided to expand the Benedictine monastery around 1040, and ordered construction of a new stone church in honor of Saint Peter. The church became known as "west minster" to distinguish it from Saint Paul's Cathedral, which was the "east minster." By the time the church was consecrated 25 years later, Edward was too ill to attend, and he died a few weeks later. He was buried in front of the high altar.

Galileo first observed the planet Neptune on this date in 1612. The eighth planet from the Sun wasn't officially discovered until the mid-1800s, but Galileo knew about it just the same. He kept a notebook, and in the course of studying the moons of Jupiter, he noted another bright object that he first took to be a star. Later, he noticed that it moved relative to other celestial bodies, and kept track of its progress in his journal. Although he didn't come out and name it a planet, he had already determined that stars didn't move in that manner.

It’s the birthday of humorist Sam Levenson (1911) (books by this author), born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He taught Spanish in the New York public schools, and then went to work on the Borscht Belt comedy circuit in the Catskills. By the 1950s, he had found a home as a television host, appearing on such programs as This is Show Business, Two for the Money, and The Sam Levenson Show.

He said, "You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make all of them yourself."

Sam Levenson said, "Lead us not into temptation. Just tell us where it is; we'll find it."

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

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