Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Still Open, Thank Goodness for the A to Z Challenge, a Wordless and Words for Wednesday Post

***********************************
  
To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.     

***********************************




Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     




***********************************




Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by Elephant's Child.   

This week's prompts are:

  1. Justice,
  2. Mark,
  3. Game,
  4. Sleeping,
  5. Rivers,
  6. Human.

And/or






“If there was any JUSTICE in the world, we’d all still only travel by way of these beauties!” MARK said in a tone hushed with awe.

He was standing next to a beautiful old locomotive, pointing out things and squealing like a kid when they got to the caboose.

Building his dream model railroad at home wasn’t a GAME to him, it had been serious business.  He’d saved up for a long time to take a cross country trip by rail, and SLEEPING in the sleeper car had been almost impossible for him the first night just from the sheer excitement of being there.

As the train crossed RIVERS and mountains, he’d been glued to the window as much as he possibly could.

Now here at the railroad museum he’d traveled so far to visit, he was in his element, a veritable HUMAN question mark as he asked every person who worked there to tell him everything they could about everything to do with trains.  Much of it he knew, but he also knew there was more to learn, and he wanted to learn as much as he could while there.

One taciturn older man, who had been an engineer on a train in his younger days, had finally climbed up on top of one of the cars to “work on something,” the something being getting away from Mark’s incessant questioning!

When it was finally time to head home, Mark knew he’d come back someday.  His life work might involve engineering of another kind to make his living, but loving the rails would be what gave spice to his life.


***********************************



Today is:

Chemists Celebrate The Earth Day -- promoting public awareness of the important contribution of chemists

Discovery Day -- Brazil (landing of Cabral in 1500)

Earth Day

Festival of Jupiter and Juno -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day -- Girl Scouts of the USA  

Granary Offering to Renenutet -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (offering to the Lady of Granaries; date approximate)

International Mother Earth Day -- UN

Lela's Holiday -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (honoring the goddess-daughter, Lela)

National Bookmobile Day -- US, on the Wednesday of National Library Week

National Jelly Bean Day

Queen Isabella Day -- Spain and some US states (birth anniversary of Isabella I of Castille)

St. Epipodius of Lyon's Day (Patron of bachelors, betrayal victims, torture victims)

Thank Your School Librarian Day -- US, on the Wednesday of National Library Week

Walpurgis celebrations begin -- through May 1, Norse, Scandinavian, and Germanic celebrations (remembering the sacrifice of Odin upon the World Tree Yggdrasil
    Yggdrasil Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar

Yom HaShoah -- Judaism (Holocaust Remembrance Day; began sunset yesterday, ends at sunset today)


Birthdays Today:

Amber Heard, 1986
Francis Capra, 1983
Daniel Johns, 1979
Kim Elizabeth, 1978
Eric Mabius, 1971
Chris Makepeace, 1964
Byron Allen, 1961
Ryan Stiles, 1959
Peter Frampton, 1950
John Waters, 1946
Jack Nicholson, 1937
Glen Campbell, 1936
Aaron Spelling, 1928
Charlotte Rae, 1926
Yehudi Menuhin, 1916
Eddie Albert, 1906
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, 1891
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, 1870
Immanuel Kant, 1724
Queen Isabella, 1451


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Avengers: Endgame(Film), 2019
"The Who's Tommy"(Rock musical), 1993
"Le Triomphe de Plutus/Money Makes the World Go Round"(Play), 1728


Today in History:

Portuguese navigator Pedro Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil, 1500
President George Washington attends a performance of Rickett's, the first circus in the US, 1793
Thomas Stevens sets out from San Francisco on the first round the world journey by bicycle, 1884
The Oklahoma land rush begins at noon; thousands rush to claim land, and the towns of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed within hours with populations of over 10,000 each, 1889
Pravda begins publication in St. Petersburg, 1912
The Germans begin using poison chlorine gas as a chemical weapon, 1915
British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world, 1969
The first Earth Day is celebrated, 1970
The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is dedicated, 1993
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan's war record, 2005
Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War, 2006
The Pope, Benedict XVI, becomes the first pontiff to participate in a televised interview session, 2011
The Paris Agreement on climate change is signed in New York, 2016

23 comments:

  1. This is a lovely use of the prompts - and I hope Mark gets his wish.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the way you used the words :) and the pictures too of course.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those lovely old trains - why is it that modern and efficient equals ugly? - and a lovely story about a more than hobby. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah ... the beauty of steam locomotives. Times gone by.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice photos and also prompts :-)

    Have a safetastic week I added you to my linkypoplets :-) 😷😷

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm not sure I care for the juxtaposition of "bachelors, betrayal victims, torture victims"...
    just sayin'

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good train story. Mom says traveling on trains is so much fun, but these days it is nearly impossible to find trains where you can really travel on.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mimim

    I have a semi-fascination with wanting to travel by train and even sleeping on one like your character but I'll probably never do it. Being in a closed up container like that for a long time would get the better of me and I fear that I'd quickly lose the thrill of my fantasy trip. I'll just continue to enjoy trains from afar. Good story! Happy A2Zing. Stay well, my dear! ;)

    Cathy's Pinup Girl Art Sketch Series 'S'

    ReplyDelete
  9. You reminded me of when I was a kid and we sometimes travelled on the actual steam locomotive with the driver and fireman! Can't imagine health and safely spoilsports allowing that these days!

    S is for ...


    ReplyDelete
  10. I have always loved traveling by train! Great post Mimi! Stay safe and healthy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love those old steam trains! When we are away for a few days we always look to see if there are any restored trains running trips.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Not everyone has a washer and dryer. I'm happy it's open for those that need it can keep their clothes clean.

    Love your use of the prompts. Hubby feels the same about trains and rails.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. Big hug. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  13. There is just something about trains, especially those old locomotives.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I enjoy the story. I too would love to take a cross country trip on a train.

    ReplyDelete
  15. That was really a good story! I don't think I want to go to that laundry!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great story. I bet it would be fun to sleep on a train.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Masterful job with the words, Mimi!
    I have a student in my class who's a 'Mark'. A good thing when other students don't want to say anything. But also keeps other students from saying anything. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great use of the words, messymimi! I love it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great use of the prompt and no words.

    Happy #WW. Do join us too if you please:

    https://natashamusing.com/2020/04/on-a-lockdown-food-trail-wordless-wednesday-natasha-musing/

    ReplyDelete
  20. Trains ~ especially the old fashioned ones are always intriguing ~ Great use of the prompt ~ thanks ^_^

    Be Well,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Combining a laundry with an internet cafe is a practical idea, unless you get lint flying around and clogging the electronics.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think you must have linked in the wrong post or perhaps I have missed the fences. HAve a good weekend and stay safe.

    ReplyDelete
  23. A very nice post, always enjoy them. Thank you :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for meandering by and letting me know you were here!
Comments on posts more than a week old are moderated.
If Blogger puts your comment in "spam jail," i'll try to get it hauled out by day's end.