On this day, December 23rd

By Diane Forrest

Today is one of those rare days that isn’t much of a holiday, or awareness day, well except for Festivus.  So I thought I would look around to see if anything else happened on this day in history.

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According to history.com, on this day in 1783, following the signing of the Treaty of Paris, General George Washington resigns as commander in chief of the Continental Army and retires to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia

"Having now finished the work assigned to me, I retire from the great theatre of action; and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take any leave of all the employments of public life."

General Washington's respite proved extremely brief. He was unanimously elected to the first of two terms as president of the United States in 1788.

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Also on this day in 1946, television actress Susan Lucci was born.  For those who don't know her, she played the part of Erica Kane, on the daytime drama All My Children from 1970 to 2011.  One of her claims to fame is her numerous nominations for Best Actress award for her role in this series, and finally after 18 consecutive nominations, she finally won the coveted award.  Not only has Susan played the role of Erica most of her life, she has also guested on other shows, and starred in a Christmas movie, Ebbie, a story about a female Scrooge, and this is one of my favorite Christmas Movies. Susan also is a writer and business owner.  She also has her own line of hair care products, perfumes, lingerie and skin care, called The Susan Lucci Collection.

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Sadly on this day, the world lost a funny entertainer, who made the world a happier place.  In 2000, Billy Barty passed away at the age of 76.  This was amazing in itself, since Mr. Barty suffered from dwarfism and can sometimes have a shorter life span He was only 3 feet 9 inches tall.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie Foul Play, with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn, depicted Billy as a Bible salesman, and Goldie pushed him out the window where he ended up in a barrel, and rolled down the streets in San Francisco.  He began acting at the age of three, and continued until his death.

So...today, there is nothing you need do, but if you want, you can think about Billy Barty, and watch Foul Play, or celebrate with Susan Lucci, and watch some Days of our Lives, or even go out somewhere and spend a dollar.