The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (a trilogy in five books) is one of the greatest series ever written. I like book one the best, but they all have quotes that make you think and laugh.

The following quote is from book five, Mostly Harmless. If you are wondering what is mostly harmless, it is the Earth, according to the entry Ford Prefect wrote for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “a wholly remarkable book—perhaps the most remarkable, certainly the most successful book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor.”

“Anything that happens, happens.
Anything that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen.
Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again.
It doesn’t necessarily do it in chronological order, though.”

Douglas Adams

It is from one of my favorite childhood films, Condorman, a fun and crazy movie about a cartoonist who becomes a spy. Michael Crawford (before he was the Phantom of the Opera) is in it.

Today is Chips and Dip Day, so this is the perfect quote to say anytime someone asks you a question. (It means yes.)

A person in your house: Do you want tacos for dinner?

You: I’ll bring the dip, if you bring the Dostoevsky.

See, it totally works.

What are your favorite chips and dips? Potato chips with french onion dip? Tortilla chips and salsa? Fritos and bean dip? Yep, those are my favorites. What are yours? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook.

I don’t know if there is a National Chips Day (it turns out National Potato Chip Day was March 14,) but I don’t eat chips without dip. Perhaps that is why I love that quote so much.

I like ides, because lots of months have them. Ides means the middle of the month. Today is the famous one.

Remember, no matter what happens with the coronavirus, at least we are not being betrayed and killed by our friends. At least, I hope not.

I was going to share some quotes from Shakespeare, but they’re all about death, and while clever, a little depressing in today’s world. (Well, one of them was about tongues and tails, but we don’t need to go there.)

I wanted something with a more hopeful message, so I turned to my all-time favorite author, Roald Dahl. If you ever need a feel-good book (and this seems like the perfect time), I recommend James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Matilda, George’s Marvelous Medicine, and first and foremost, Danny the Champion of the World*. In theory, these are kid’s books, but endearing, happy stories are for any age.

“Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.” Roald Dahl.

*Amazon affiliate link

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Francis of Assisi*

Start today.

*Go to the Footle and Grok website to see the meme for this quote (not mine.)

You have a week left in the month. Seven days can go by so fast. Why not add a little time to your project? Five minutes can be enough. If you did something five minutes longer each day this week, you would have worked a half-hour more on the project. Five minutes doesn’t sound like much, because it isn’t, but a half-hour is substantial.

Your little extra doesn’t have to be time. Perhaps you are writing a book or short story. Why not add one hundred more words than you scheduled? Or if you are scrapbooking, like I am, you can do one more page than you had planned.

You won’t notice the five minutes passing at the time, but you’ll be pleased with what you got done this week.

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” William Penn

There are a ton of  quotes from our first president, but it was hard to find universal thoughts. Most of his words were about war, government, foreign powers, and God. This makes sense, but those quotes belong in other blogs.

I did find a few that were useful in our daily lives. I like the worry quote the best because I try very hard not to worry about things. Apply whichever of these works for you. Good advice is good advice, even if it is over two hundred years old.

George Washington Quotes:

• “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.”

• “There is nothing which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.”

• “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.”
• “I have always considered marriage as the most interesting event of one’s life, the foundation of happiness or misery.”
• “Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.”

Today used to celebrate just George Washington. Now it honors all our presidents. On my podcast today, I talk about the history of this holiday. I thought it would be fun on the blog to list some campaign slogans from various presidential campaigns. Everyone knows “Make America Great Again,” but do you know any of these others?

Presidential slogans

• 1840: William Henry Harrison – Tippecanoe and Tyler Too
• 1844: James K. Polk – 54-40 or Fight
• 1844: Henry Clay – Who is James K. Polk?
• 1860:Abraham Lincoln – Vote Yourself a Farm
• 1900: William McKinley – A Full Dinner Pail
• 1920: Warren G. Harding – Return to Normalcy
• 1924: Calvin Coolidge – Keep Cool With Coolidge
• 1928: Herbert Hoover – A Chicken in Every Pot and a Car in Every Garage
• 1952: Dwight Eisenhower – I Like Ike
• 1968: Richard Nixon – Nixon’s the One
• 1976: Gerald Ford – He’s Making Us Proud Again
• 1976: Jimmy Carter – Not Just Peanuts
• 1980: Ronald Reagan – Are you better off than you were four years ago?
• 1988: George Bush – Kinder, Gentler Nation
• 1996: Bob Dole – The Better Man for a Better America
• 2004: John Kerry – Let America be America Again
• 2008: Barack Obama – Yes We Can!
• 2016: Donald Trump – Make America Great Again

I think they are in their teenage years, so they cause a lot of trouble and don’t listen to a word I say. They seem to like doing this a night, when I’m trying to sleep. So, I’m a little tired, but it’s nothing that a good nap won’t cure.

Naps are curious things. We make children take them, but we often deny ourselves the same luxury. Studies show that naps are important, but it’s difficult to sleep on the job.

Take a nap if you need it. I might need it until my kittens become cats and figure out that they are supposed to sleep twenty-two hours a day.

“I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.” Yogi Berra

It is now the year of the Rat. I hope you have a year of health and prosperity.

To help you have a great year, I found some Chinese proverbs from Wise Old Sayings. Add these to your collection and be like the Rat, a clever and quick thinker.

Chinese Sayings for Lunar Year 4717

I talked about some of his fun inventions on Friday’s podcast, and I won’t repeat that here. Instead, I want to expand one of his quotes.

On Facebook, I saw several memes of the following quote.

That is only the back half of that quote. I think the entire quote is much more poignant and meaningful. Plus, it’s a little gross.

Feel free to share this meme on your social media to celebrate this wise and witty founding father.