Have a Happy New Year

What are you eating for New Years? Since New Years Day 1866, many eat the traditional black-eyed peas for good luck. Where does this come from you say? Well, many have suggested a tradition that dates back to the Civil War. The Union troops were given a strategy which involved destroying everything in the South. They burned what they saw, pilfered the crops, cows, and other agricultural items. The only thing they left were the black-eyed peas because the Union troops didn’t realize they were an edible food item. Many may say this about them today, unless of course you have someone like my wife who knows the right ingredients to add which make them taste terrific. Anyway, the black-eyed peas provided food for survival so people of the South associated them with good luck. Ever since New Year’s Day 1866, the South has hung on to the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on the first day of the year.

                                                                          

Is there such a thing as good luck or is it that some people just seem to always look at the good side of things; just go for it with no fear of failure and end up creating good luck for themselves. In the entire history of the United States, only one person has ever been officially hit by a meteorite. The year was 1954 in Sylacauga Alabama. Mrs. E. Hulitt Hodge was simply taking a nap in her living room when out of nowhere an 8.5 pound meteorite came crashing through her roof and landed on her hip. She received abdominal injuries which fortunately, were not serious. It caused extensive bruising which took a number of weeks to disappear. The funny thing about the incident is that she lived across the street from the Comet Drive-In Theatre. 

I think there may be something to just looking at the good side of things. A person just can’t sit around in fear of a meteorite hitting them. They’ve got to get out and go for it. No one can accomplish anything if they are always afraid of making a mistake. Why sit around and think of doom and gloom. If someone doesn’t like something, they should change it. Look on the bright side of things because even if something bad happens, it might make you famous. So if you want to eat black-eyed peas this year, go ahead, it’s not going to hurt anything. Then after dinner, open up your lap top or smart phone and watch an inspiring video on YouTube with positive quotes or something.

 

Of course, you could do like the farmer did on a local commercial in my area of central Texas one time. It was a commercial of an ice cream maker called Blue Bell ice cream. The farmer was having a bad day; his barn fell down, he was struck by lightning, and he fell in the mud. At the end of the day he was sitting at the table eating Blue Bell ice cream with mud on his face and frizzled hair. His wife walked in and asks, “How was your day”. As he took another bite of Blue Bell the farmer said “It turned out good”

After I eat my black-eyed peas this New Years Day, I think

I'll have a big bowl of Blue Bell.