It is Sunday, March 12 and there are only 176 days until Labor Day.  The back to school specials should be starting up in just a couple weeks.  Today we remember the birthdays of Giuliano de’ Medici, Clement Studebaker and Jane Delano.  On this day in 1789 the US Post Office was established, in 1884 Mississippi established the first US state college for women and in 1912 the Girl Guides (Girl Scouts) were founded in Savannah by Juliette Gordon Low.  In Mauritius it is Independence Day, in Gabon it is Renovation Day, world-wide it is Girl Scout Day and in the US it is National Plant a Flower Day and Daylight Saving Time starts.

Juliette Gordon Low envisioned an organization that would prepare girls to meet their world with courage, confidence, and character.  In 1912, in the midst of the Progressive Era—and at a time when women in the United States couldn’t yet vote—this nearly deaf 51-year-old sparked a worldwide movement inspiring girls to embrace, together, their individuality, strength, and intellect.

Juliette, affectionately known as “Daisy” by her family and close friends, gathered 18 girls in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, to share what she had learned abroad about a new outdoor and educational program for youth, and with this, the Girl Scout Movement was born. Along with Juliette, these first Girl Scouts blazed trails and redefined what was possible for themselves and for girls everywhere.

They played basketball. They hiked, swam, and camped. They learned to read the world around them—for instance, by studying a foreign language and telling time by the stars. They shared a sense of curiosity and a belief that they could do anything.  But most importantly, just like Girl Scouts across the country and around the globe today, they offered a helping hand to those in need and worked together to improve their corner of the world.

That small gathering of girls Juliette Gordon Low hosted over a century ago has grown into a global movement in which all girls can see themselves reflected—and that today includes nearly 3 million Girl Scouts in 92 countries and more than 59 million alumnae, united across distance and decades by lifelong friendships, shared adventures, and the desire to do big things to make the world a better place.

Next, I want to spend just a few minutes discussing Daylight Saving Time and then we can close the trivia files for this week.  Daylight Saving Time was used, initially, by Germany during WW I in an effort to conserve coal.  It was adopted by other countries over time and in 1918 the US got on board.  Throughout the years, DST has been a favorite of retail, sports and tourism interests.  On the flip side, agricultural and evening entertainment people do not like it.  There has always been the claim that it saves energy, but that is heavily disputed.

When the US was debating the issue in the 1980’s, the official change was supported by companies like Clorox (parent of Kingsford Charcoal).  Idaho senators voted for it on the premise that, during DST, fast food restaurants sold more French fries, which are made from Idaho potatoes.  The interesting part of all this is that the idea was pushed, in the late 1890’s, by an entomologist.  He was a shift worker and the extra daylight would give him more leisure time to collect insects.  You now have two different topics with which to dazzle friends and neighbors at the barbecues that can be held during the extra daylight.

I have been pondering the plusses and minuses of being retired recently.  I have come to the conclusion that it is nice to not have to get up every morning and go to work.  It is especially nice when I get up and see that it is pouring rain or there is a blowing snow storm and realize that I can just have another cup of coffee and relax.  The down side is when I get up, have breakfast and realize that I have nothing to do – all day.  Sure, there are household chores to do, but really, how much dust and dirty laundry can one person generate?  I am even getting tired of going to the grocery store almost every day.

I have thought that I should have a hobby, but I realized that I am not interested in doing anything that involves a lot of effort and does not include coffee.  I wonder if there is any way to generate a business that includes drinking Starbucks and watching people, two of my favorite endeavors.  Maybe I could create an industry.  I could start a company called “I’m Watching” that would allow me to sit in malls, drink coffee and observe people.  I am not sure what I would be looking for or who I would tell about what I see, but those are details that I could work on.  I could also create a division of the company that could sit outside stores and watch salespeople to make sure they are being productive.

I always remember when I was in grammar school that the tattlers were the ones who reaped the rewards from teachers.  I was usually on the wrong end of all that, but now maybe I could turn it into a business.  My biggest issue would be whether I should keep the whole thing as my own company or franchise it.  I would have to set up a training program that would teach potential workers things like how to appear inconspicuous, how to watch without being noticed and how to nurse coffee for an hour while appearing casual.  This is all starting to sound like work.  I think I may just stay retired and deal with having nothing to do.  I think I will have a cup of coffee and ponder this.

Just a quick note – even though today is National Plant a Flower Day, if you live in my area of the country, you might want to wait until after the big storm comes through on Tuesday.

This week our fact tells us that it is impossible to eat 6 saltine crackers in under a minute without licking your lips.  Of course it is!  It takes longer than a minute to get the peanut butter on them.  For those of you who now feel compelled to prove this fact wrong, let me know how it works out.