Cronin & Company

The first step toward freedom of the press

On November 5, 1733, John Peter Zenger published the first issue of the New York Weekly Journal newspaper, sparking a landmark trial for freedom of the press. In the traditional English way of life, those who spoke out against the government could be tried and punished as traitors. Zenger was found not guilty of the charge of seditious libel, specifically because what he printed was true. This began a nationwide movement in America which continued until the close of the Revolutionary War and the establishment of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment.

The Internet turns 40

On October 29, 1969, the first connection was made on what would eventually become the Internet. Known as ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), the system was developed by the Department of Defense, and by the end of the year connected UCLA, the Stanford Research Institute, the University of California-Santa Barbara and the University of Utah. The next year, there were 10 sites, and soon there were applications such as email and file transfer utilities. The @ symbol was adopted in 1972 and a year later, email made of 75% of the traffic on the system. ARPANET was decommissioned in 1990 and the National Science Foundation’s NSFnet became the backbone of the Internet.

How to write a thank you for a gift you dislike

You’ve received a gift that you don’t like at all. Good manners require that you thank the person who gave it to you. The challenge is to convey your appreciation without being insincere. It helps to think of gift-giving as a way that people show they are thinking about one another, not just as a way of acquiring things. Focus on what you can appreciate and leave anything else unsaid.

Here are some possibilities:

Thank the giver for thinking of you. Even if you don’t agree with the thought process, you can show that you appreciate it. “How very thoughtful of you.” “How nice of you to think of me.”

Express appreciation for the time and effort it took to find or create the gift. “Thank you for taking the time away from work to find the cuckoo clock and have it shipped to me.” “I can’t imagine how many hours the scarf must have taken to crochet. Thank You!”

Mention the unique qualities of the gift. A hand-made gift might be “colorful,” “exudes warmth,” “reminds me of home.” An everyday item might qualify as “practical,” “useful,” or “something I needed.” Many unwanted gifts are novel and can be accurately described as “unusual,” “one-of-a-kind,” or by saying, “I’ve never received anything like this before.”

Ask how the giver found the gift. A novel gift might have a story that the giver would enjoy telling. The story might also shed some light on what made the giver decide the gift was appropriate for you. “I’d love to hear how you found this.”

Tell the giver you’re thinking about using the gift. “I have to decide where I’ll put this in my kitchen.”  “I’m going to have to put some thought into exactly how to use it!”

Mention the fun you had opening it. If the wrapping and card were noteworthy, you can mention them as well. “I love opening presents and was delighted when yours arrived.”

Acknowledge that the gift will make you think of the giver. “I’ll think of you whenever I see the seashell picture frame.”  “When I reach for the vegetable juicer, I’ll be reminded of you.”

Everyday Latin

Latin is dead language
Dead as dead can be.
First it killed the Romans
And now it’s killing me.
   —Traditional student’s lament

Now that the study of Latin in high school is a rarity, the student’s lament is seldom heard. But, as many of the baby boomers who took Latin way-back-when know, the ancient language provided a good foundation for building vocabulary and studying the Romance languages: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian. (Many think Romanian is the modern language closest to Latin.). About half of the words in modern English words are of Latin origin. Many common expressions come straight from the Romans:

• Ad libitum (ad lib): freely, without a script
• Alter ego: another self
• Bona fide: in good faith
• Carpe diem: seize the day
• Caveat emptor: let the buyer beware
• Circa: about, approximately
• E pluribus unum: from many, one (still imprinted on some US coins)
• Emeritus: honorary, by reason of merit
• Ex libris: from the books of, from the library of
• Ex post facto: after the fact
• Habeas corpus: legal writ to limit imprisonment by bringing a prisoner into court
• In memoriam: in memory of
• Magna cum laude: with great honor
• Magnus opus: masterpiece or great work
• Mea culpa: my fault
• Non compos mentis: of unsound mind
• Non sequitur: a statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it
• Per annum: per year
• Persona non grata: undesirable person
• Pro bono: for the good, free of charge
• Quid pro quo: a thing for a thing
• Status quo: existing state of affairs
• Terra firma: firm ground
• Via: by way of
• Vice versa: with order or meaning reversed

Sputnik launches the space race

On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to successfully orbit the earth. The event sent shockwaves around the world and caught the U.S. by surprise. Sputnik was little under two feet in diamter and weighed 184 pounds. It circled the earth every hour and thiry-five minutes; its radio signals were rebroadcast by television and radio stations around the world, capturing the public imagination.

Sputnik's launch sparked a massive space effort by the United States, resulting in Neil Armstrong seeting foot on the moon in 1969. It also marked the first small step in what would later become the satellite communications industry. Today, there are an estimated 3,000 working satellites in orbit, carrying signals for radio, television, and wireless applications. There are also some 6,000 pieces of space junk.

“In any color as long as it’s black”

On September 1, 1908, Ford introduced the Model T. Black was the only color available because black paint dried the fastest. Priced at around $900, the car was an immediate hit. Ford sold 10,000 the first year of production. Four years later, the Model T accounted for three out of every four cars sold in the U.S.

By 1927, manufacturing efficiencies reduced the Model T's selling price to under $300. Ford could still afford to pay assembly-line workers $5.00 per day when the prevailing daily wage was $2.35. He had the notion that his workers were potential consumers and they proved him right by buying their own Model Ts.

Neither rain nor snow

On September 5, 1914, the New York Post Office Building at Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets opened. Carved into the stone on the front of the building was the inscription supplied by William M. Kendall of the architectural firm that designed the building, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” The quote, a translation from Herodotus, is not the official motto of the US Postal Service.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

On September 21, 1897, an editorial appeared in The New York Sun. Written by Francis P. Church, Is There a Santa Claus? was his reply to a letter written by 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon. Her father had suggested that she write the newspaper because her friends had told her that Santa Claus did not exist. "If you see it in The Sun, it's so," he told his daughter. Although he may have been evading the question, he gave Francis Church, a former Civil War correspondent who had seen his share of suffering, an opportunity to provide an answer that went beyond a simple reply to a child's question. Even though his piece ran in seventh place on the editorial page, it remains the most reprinted editorial ever run in an American newspaper.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

All the news that's fit to print

On September 18, 1851, The New York Times began publication.  Nicknamed "The Gray Lady," the newspaper was initially titled The New York Daily Times. It was founded by Henry G. Raymond and George Jones as a more sober alternative to the highly partisan New York papers of the day. Adolph Ochs acquired the paper in 1896 and built it into a paper of international scope and reputation. Ochs coined the phrase, "all the news that's fit to print."

First Edition: USA Today

On September 15, 1982, Gannett Corporation published the first issue of USA Today. Promoted as a national newspaper serving the entire U.S. market, the paper featured color photos, large graphs and charts and short articles - a marked contrast to the less colorful coverage of other major papers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

USA Today became well known for its national public opinion polls and for its emphasis on distribution at airports and hotels. It was the first to use satellite transmission to send stories to multiple locations for printing and distribution, allowing it to push back deadlines and include the latest news in each of its sections.