Take notes on the command line is part of Short Circuit's Console Program Basics selection.
Invoking NOTES without commandline arguments displays the current contents of the local NOTES.TXT if it exists.
If NOTES has arguments, the current date and time are appended to the local NOTES.TXT followed by a newline.
Then all the arguments, joined with spaces, prepended with a tab, and appended with a trailing newline, are written to NOTES.TXT.
If NOTES.TXT doesn't already exist in the current directory then a new NOTES.TXT file should be created.

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. NOTES.
 
       ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
       INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
       FILE-CONTROL.
           SELECT OPTIONAL notes ASSIGN TO "NOTES.TXT"
               ORGANIZATION LINE SEQUENTIAL
               FILE STATUS note-status.
 
       DATA DIVISION.
       FILE SECTION.
       FD  notes.
       01  note-record       PIC X(256).
 
       LOCAL-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  note-status       PIC 99.
           88  notes-ok      VALUE 0 THRU 9.
 
       01  date-now.
           03  current-year  PIC 9(4).
           03  current-month PIC 99.
           03  current-day   PIC 99.
 
       01  time-now.
           03  current-hour  PIC 99.
           03  current-min   PIC 99.
           03  current-sec   PIC 99.
 
       01  args              PIC X(256).
 
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       DECLARATIVES.
       note-error SECTION.
           USE AFTER STANDARD ERROR PROCEDURE ON notes.
 
           DISPLAY "Error using NOTES.TXT. Error code: " note-status
           .
       END DECLARATIVES.
 
       main.
           ACCEPT args FROM COMMAND-LINE
 
*          *> If there are no args, display contents of NOTES.TXT.
           IF args = SPACES
               OPEN INPUT notes
 
               PERFORM FOREVER
*                  *> READ has no syntax highlighting, but END-READ does.
*                  *> Go figure.
                   READ notes 
                       AT END
                           EXIT PERFORM
 
                       NOT AT END
                           DISPLAY FUNCTION TRIM(note-record)
                   END-READ
               END-PERFORM
           ELSE
               OPEN EXTEND notes
 
*              *> Write date and time to file.       
               ACCEPT date-now FROM DATE YYYYMMDD
               ACCEPT time-now FROM TIME
               STRING current-year "-" current-month "-" current-day
                   " " current-hour ":" current-min ":" current-sec
                   INTO note-record
               WRITE note-record
 
*              *> Write arguments to file as they were passed.
               STRING X"09", args INTO note-record
               WRITE note-record
           END-IF
 
           CLOSE notes
 
           GOBACK
           .