My body is still reeling from the long double shifts for THE NUTCRACKER but I cannot deny I had a fantastic time. The Patrons, who seemed to come from all directions, were superb. One couple with whom I got to speak was from Atlanta, Georgia, who came to watch their daughter on stage as a member of the Dayton Ballet.

I didn’t realize we had rain approaching and by the start of the second show, I was miserable with muscle cramps and weariness. Still, I loved my full day.

One hundred-twenty years ago, at 10:35 AM, two brothers, bicycle builders from Dayton, Ohio, changed the world forever as their flying machine lifted off the sands of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Dayton, Ohio was the hub of invention from the 1880s until the 1920s, and I am convinced it continues to offer much to the world.

Today is another anniversary, the passing of my birth father, Danny Lee Jolliff, in 1983, two days following my mother’s remarriage. My sister and I have wondered if he would have been involved in the lives of our children. While we shall never know, it has been our hope that he would have welcomed the opportunity to know his grandchildren.

On this date in history: (2014) The United States and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations that had been in abeyance for more than 50 years. (2011) North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il died; he was succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un. (1992) The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by the leaders of Mexico, Canada, and the United States; it was replaced by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement in 2020. (1989) After appearing as a cartoon short, the animated television series The Simpsons debuted as a Christmas special; it became a weekly series in 1990. (1903) On this day in 1903 near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful sustained flights in an airplane—Orville first, gliding 120 feet (36.6 metres) through the air in 12 seconds. (1892) The first issue of Vogue was published; initially a weekly high-society journal, it became a hugely influential American fashion and lifestyle magazine. (1760) American Revolutionary soldier Deborah Sampson, who assumed a man’s identity to join the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, was born.

Make it a great day!