The Gasoline of Life

Love when local businesses have inspirational or just plain factual signs. This is 100% what I needed after church today. And it was actually cheaper than a gallon of gas! That's telling you something!

We haven't tipped the $5 mark for regular unleaded gas here – yet. But it's so close. I wish coffee would fuel my car as much as it fuels me. Did you know a gallon of gas only cost 31 cents in 1963? A cup of coffee – 35 cents!

Why do we care? Because also in 1963 a certain someone came into this world. On this very date!

Yup, someone is spending his last year in his 50s. I was just wiki-researching his birth date and it turns out Jim was born on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The fact that that is a reference point on his birthday seems way too historic for my taste!

Probably the coolest fact was the day before his birth. On July 2, 1963, baseball pitchers Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants, and Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves faced off against each other in a National League baseball game that one author would later call "the greatest game ever pitched". Tied 0-0 after nine innings, the game was won in the 16th by the Giants on a home run by Willie Mays. A perfect stat for my baseball-loving man!

Of course what he enjoys about having his birthday on the 3rd is that he always has the day after his birthday off! Thank you, America!

He didn't exactly whoop it up today, though. He had to be the lector (or something like that) at 5 p.m. church so he was well-behaved all day, relaxing on his recliner with some John Wayne on TV and listening to his Reds baseball on Sirius radio. I offered to take him out after church, but he was fine with just staying home. 

So I went to King Cone myself in observance of his special day. After all, ice cream is the gasoline of life when the coffee shop's closed. And sometimes even when it's open.