Do you remember this old camp song? Late last night, while we were all in bed, Mother O'Leary took the lantern to the shed, And when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and said, "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!" The infamous Mrs. O'Leary and her cow I thought of that song when I realized that yesterday, October 8, marked the one hundred fifty-fifth anniversary of a historic tragedy, the Great Chicago Fire. I don't remember that event. I'm old, but not that old! Despite...

Although a lot of academic types try to make entrepreneurs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries sound like ogres, calling them "robber barons" and worse, they actually were a boon to the U.S. economy and a blessing to the average American worker and family. And we are still feeling the effects of their efforts today. Just one example is Henry Ford. Henry Ford Ford had been working for some time to develop an automobile to compete with the other early car manufacturers, but he...

I was under the mistaken assumption when I planned this blog post that International Coffee Day was on August 29 and that today, the 25th, was the date that post should appear. But a bit of research showed that the United Nations have designated it to be commemorated on October 1 instead. And we all know that if the UN mandates it, it must be obeyed! Tough! I've already done my research and writing, so here is my post, UN or no UN! The first thing I do every night before going to bed is get...