Guys’ Night
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History December 8 - 14.
When Blue and I are home alone because Anonymous is traveling, we get pizza for what we like to call “Guys’ Night.”
Food is the primary motivator for Blue. He’s not into sticks or chasing squirrels. He’s not a golden retriever who walks around with a toy or a shoe in his mouth. He is, however, very interested in what you are doing with your hands, if they are moving in a way that suggests that you are carrying food.
Blue is fed twice daily, and because we spoil him, he is given numerous treats between meals and before he goes to bed. During Advent, he receives an extra treat for the entire month from the Trader Joe’s Advent calendar for dogs. This year, it features chicken bites.
But there is no bigger treat in Blue’s world than pizza crust.
Blue loves the crusts of pizza. Look at how locked in Blue gets when it’s “Guys’ Night.”
Since I am writing about pizza, we ordered pizza on Saturday, and blamo – “Guys’ Night.”
Fortunately, Blue doesn’t have a preference for his pizza; his palate is not defined. There’s no reason to share expensive pizza crust with him, especially since we feed him expensive dog food that is delivered to our house.
And while there are times when he doesn’t eat this expensive, specially delivered food, he never wastes pizza crusts.
The brand of pizza we brought into the office is the topic of this week’s history essay.
Tom and James Monaghan were brothers who were born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their father died when they were young, and they lived in an orphanage until their mother could take care of them. This left a significant impression on the two boys, who were determined to be self-reliant. They would eventually enlist in the army and return home to attend the University of Michigan, which was an unfortunate choice, but it could have been worse – it could have been the University of Cincinnati.
Tom and James scrounged up around $500 to purchase a pizza place called DomiNiks in Ypsilanti, just eight miles east of Ann Arbor. James quickly realized he wanted no part of the pizza business and instead traded his share of the business for Tom’s Volkswagen.
Tom approached the venture in the opposite manner – he wanted to create a world-class pizza company and took the initial steps toward that goal when he opened the first Domino’s Pizza on December 9, 1960.
So “Guys’ Night” featured Dominos.
And my Blue Bear couldn’t be happier.
Look at how he dives into eating the terrible Dominos:
This iteration of “Guys’ Night” could also be described as “Gluttony Night,” or “OH MY GOODNESS AM I FULL Night,” but as always, Blue and I had a good time.
Okay, let’s highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events mark their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here’s what I got:
1. NASA’s Galileo spacecraft made its first flyby of Earth on December 8, 1990. NASA launched Galileo a year before into the Earth’s orbit, and it finally made its flyby. It would eventually get to Jupiter, becoming the first space probe to do so. Twenty years later, on the same date, December 8, SpaceX became the first private company to launch and orbit a spacecraft. Then, 15 years later, our civil servants were launched into orbit by SpaceX’s founder.
2. John Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980. The co-lead vocalist of the British rock band, The Beatles, moved to New York City in 1971. After returning late at night from a photography session to say goodnight to his son and continue their date night with his wife, he discovered that someone was waiting for him. Mark David Chapman, who had been stalking him all day outside his residence, shot him four times in the back. Lennon was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Chapman hung around waiting for the police to arrive, reading his copy of The Catcher in the Rye, which he explained inspired him to kill Lennon because the novel’s protagonist “disliked adult phonies.” The following March, the country would experience the president of the United States being shot because another crazy guy wanted to impress an actress. What’s with murders and wannabe murderers and fiction?
3. Apple made its initial public offering on the US stock market on December 12, 1980. Apple produced 4.6 million shares and initially priced them at $14. The price per stock increased to $22 and finished at $29. All the shares sold out immediately, and the company’s valuation was $1.7 billion. Apple hit $4 trillion in market value this past October. I need to get the glass protector on my iPhone fixed because it’s cracked and annoying. I asked Anonymous to help fix it, along with sewing a torn jacket, and getting me a wingback chair. It’s a long story.
Our Christmas tree was delivered over the weekend, which means when Anonymous gets back home, she will spend a big chunk of time decorating it. I can’t wait!
She is so meticulous and intentional in her approach to this project. Due to our travel schedule last year, we didn’t put up a tree, but we’re back to the tree-decorating tradition this year, and I’m very excited. There is something about sitting in the dark and admiring a fully lit tree. This year’s edition is easily the biggest tree we have ever received in the five years living here. I’ll show you the finished product soon.
I’ll see you on Friday, when I share what one Ohio senator wants to do to me. Appreciate your support of Okay History and hope you have a great week!
Okay,
Chris
