Lesser, but still in context.


As I've noted in the past (not that it particularly needed noting), lots of things happen every day. Anyone who peruses the various lists of those "lots of things" will find many that hold no meaning whatsoever for him or her, and perhaps a couple that do. The special meaning that any particular event acquires derives not only from the event itself, but from the interests and experiences of the observer. In the context of the Boidem, for instance, a sporting event will only rarely seem memorable, or noteworthy. That being the case, it's a bit strange that statistically, quite a number of Boidem-contextually significant events took place on October 31.

There certainly are quite a lot of October 31sts upon which something noteworthy could happen. A couple of items I've noted are relatively recent history, but the earliest I've mentioned goes back almost 2500 years, and yet another almost 500. Admittedly, some of the events I showcase here stretch the meaning of "significant" at least a bit. But again, their noteworthiness stems not only from the fact that they happened, but that they are in some way related to the themes dealt with in the Boidem.

Among those themes have been precursors to the information superhighway - usually flesh and blood highways that, shall we say, paved the way for the more ethereal kind. I've noted the passing of the National Interstate Highways Act, the opening of the first freeway in the western United States, and even the first sheet of asphalt paving (lain down in New Jersey). That being the case, there's at least a bit of noteworthiness in bringing together both a for-some-reason popular date here, and a slightly more explicable popular topic, in order to note that on this day, in 1913, the Lincoln Highway, the first trans-continental automobile road in the United States (East to West) was dedicated.



Go to: It's too quiet here - I can't think.