Responsibilities (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy's Poetry Day, and Brian's Thankful Thursday

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It is the curse of the super responsible, this thinking you have to do it all, and all by yourself.

When Grandpa was 12, he became "the man of the house," and went out and got a job delivering newspapers, plus would get summer jobs and after school jobs, and did so all the way through medical school so he could take care of his mother, aunt, and sisters.

He built the largest medical practice of his specialty in NOLA by working hard and was and is on boards of a medical nature as well as others; yes, at almost age 90, he's still working hard to improve how medicine is practiced and make sure doctors in the area are trained well.

Grandma is on hospice care at home, and she continues to decline, she's on oxygen now and takes nothing in except the meds she is given, she seems to be in less pain.

Grandpa has a huge board event for the medical school which is very important to him this evening, but he was conflicted about going because he feels responsible for taking care of Grandma and doesn't feel like he should have to ask for help, it's his responsibility alone.

Once my Sweetie and i clean Ms. SE's house today, i will go down there and relieve him of duty for the evening so he can go to his event, we keep reminding him we can be responsible, too, he raised us right.

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Curse.     

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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!

Seasonal fences continue.

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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my poem:    

Oh, yes, I am a biker chick

We love the open road,

Just him and me, wild and free,

we've dropped our worry load!

Oh, yes, I am a biker chick,

I’ll proudly wear the name,

this motorcycle mama

is riding on to fame!

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Angel Brian's Family of Brian's Home - Forever hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

Today i am thankful the hospice nurse called and told me Grandpa has a meeting tonight he should not miss (he's the chairman of a board) but he was conflicted about leaving Grandma, so i am going to go to NOLA and be in the room with her the whole time he is gone and he won't have to worry.

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Today is:

Cayenne Festival -- French Guiana (celebration of the capital city)

Conflict Resolution Day -- Association for Conflict Resolution   

Day of Homage for the late King Father -- Cambodia (Norodom Sihanouk)

Dine with TV Dinners on the Floor Night -- probably started by someone who wanted to see how many websites would be crazy enough to even list this

Feast of the Three Noble Ladies -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (female pharoahs; date approximate)

Fete Nationale de l'Evacuation -- Tunisia (Evacuation Day, celebrates the day all foreign military finally and fully left)

Get Smart About Credit Day -- sponsored by the American Bankers Association   

Get to Know Your Customers Day -- third Thursday of every quarter

Global Handwashing Day -- International (scrub up! prevent the spread of germs)

Guangzhou Autumn Trade Fair -- Guangzhou, China (through Nov. 15)

Ides of October -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also on this date

     Harvest Festival of Mars

     Ludi Capitolini (games in honor of Jupiter)

     Winter's Day

International Credit Union Day -- World Council of Credit Unions   

Mahakiki -- Hawai'ian New Year Season (a four-month season where warfare is forbidden and many ceremonies take place; begins around the time of the first sighting of the Pleiades in the Northern Hemisphere)

Mertz of All Possible Mertzes -- internet generated and on the day "I Love Lucy" premiered; i guess Fred and Ethel were the definition of what a Mertz should be!

National Cake Decorating Day -- again, because every website gives a different date

National Cheese Curd Day

National Chicken Cacciatore Day

National Grouch Day -- sponsored by Alan Miller, chairman of the board of NAG (National Association of Grouches)

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day -- US  

National Mushroom Day

National Roast Pheasant Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Sri Lanka

Newspaper Week -- Japan

Poetry Day -- birth anniversary of the Roman poet Virgil

Preaching of the Lion Sermon -- St. Katharine Cree Church, London, England (Sermon dating back to the 1640's in commemoration of a gift for the poor made by Sir John Gayer, who was delivered from a lion while in Turkey)

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day -- Canada; NSW, Australia; UK; US   

Rectification Day -- Burkina Faso

Rainbow Pickling Day -- Fairy Calendar

Sewing Lovers' Day -- internet generated, as those who love to sew deserve a day to celebrate

St. Teresa of Avila's Day (Founder of the Reformation of the Discalces[Barefoot] Carmelites; Patron of lace makers/workers, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, sick people; Amos, Canada; Berzano di Tortona, Italy; Pozega, Croatia; Spain; against bodily ills, headaches, sickness, the death of parents)

Teacher's Day -- Brazil

White Cane Safety Day -- US (celebrating the achievements of the blind/visually impaired, and recognizing the white cane as the symbol of their independence)

Wishbones for Pets begins -- US program asking professional pet sitters to gather pet supplies and donations for homeless pets through Thanksgiving

World Rural Women's Day/International Day of Rural Women -- UN; related observance

     Mother's Day -- Malawi

Birthdays Today:

Paige Davis, 1969

Sarah Ferguson, 1959

Emeril Lagasse,1959

Tanya Roberts, 1955

Tito Jackson, 1953

Richard Carpenter, 1946

Victor Banerjee, 1946

Jim Palmer, 1945

Penny Marshall, 1942

Linda Lavin, 1937

Lee Iacocca, 1924

Mario Puzo, 1920

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., 1917

John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908

Marty Mann, 1904

P.G. Wodehouse, 1881

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, 1872

John L. Sullivan, 1858

Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844

Publius Vergilius Maro / Virgil, 70BCE

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Untouchables"(TV), 1959

"I Love Lucy"(TV), 1951

"Abe Lincoln in Illinois"(Play), 1938

To Have and Have Not(Publication date), 1937

"La Mer/The Sea"(Debussy orchestral composition), 1905

Today in History:

Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals, 533

Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine," is staged in Paris, 1581

Asser Levy is granted a butcher's license for kosher meat in New Amsterdam, 1660

The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon marks the first human ascent, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, (tethered balloon), 1783

George Washington takes the first formal presidential tour, of New England, 1789

Napoleon Bonaparte is exiled to the Island of St. Helena, 1815

Child labor law takes 12-year-olds out of the work force, 1874

Edison Electric Light Company is incorporated, 1878

Koln cathedral is completed, 633 years after it was begun, 1880

The German dirigible "Graf Zeppelin' lands in Lakehurst, NJ, 1928

LaGuardia Airport opens, 1939

Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time, 1946

The start of the 2500-year celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia, 1971

The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England, 1987

Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL, 1989

Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1990

The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ThrustSSC (United Kingdom), exactly 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere, 1997

The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn, 1997

NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io, 2001

China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission, 2003

The final breakthrough occurs on the east bore of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps, now the world's longest railway tunnel, 2010

Actress Alyssa Milano tweets "If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’", prompting a flood of replies across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, 2017

The government of Thailand issues an emergency decree banning public gatherings amid the increase in pro-democracy protests and criticism of the king, 2020

Businessman Daniel Noboa, 35, becomes the youngest person ever elected President of Ecuador, 2023

What's Behind the Drawer That Won't Close (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, Catsynth, Keith, and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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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, Sean Jeating is providing the prompts which will appear on River's blog.

This week's words/prompts are:

1.children  

2.couple  

3.emancipated  

4.fun  

5.idyll

and/or:

1.happen  

2.just  

3.moment  

4.peaceful  

5.things

use either list or both, or mix and match, just have fun.

Charlotte's colour of the month is Smoky Rose

Back in the late 1950’s when women weren’t quite so EMANCIPATED as today, and most young ladies were steered into the jobs of nurse/secretary/teacher, a young lady in Jackson, Mississippi decided nurse was the job for her.  She graduated from high school and her parents put her on the train to New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) where she had arranged to enroll in the three year program at the Charity Hospital School of Nursing to earn her RN.

While in school, she caught the eye of a young gentleman in medical school, and she actually tried to avoid him, jumping on an elevator to get away but he was quick and followed her, securing a date.

(Please note this young man managed to date every young lady in the School of Nursing in the class year ahead of her, her class year, and the class year behind her.  Yes, every one.  He had charm to spare.)

One date led to another and eventually, after a few twists and turns (he was, after all, still dating around), it led to them becoming a COUPLE, marriage bells, and three CHILDREN.

Their lives had the usual ups and downs, times of FUN and times of stress, no IDYLL, no looking at their lives through Smoky Rose colored glasses, but a normal doctor and his wife and family life.

Of course, THINGS don’t just go on “as usual” forever, there really is no “as usual” for the most part.  About 4 1/2 years ago, she got up in the night to use the restroom and JUST as she was standing up, she experienced a moment of light-headedness and fell.

It did HAPPEN in such a way that she did not break any bones (almost a miracle for a woman in her 80’s), but she got whiplash.

Her life has been on a downhill trajectory ever since.

Of course, many of you have by now guessed i am speaking of Grandma (my mother, called Grandma on my blog from the beginning because the kids were young when i started this and i was the mother, she was the grandmother, now i’m the grandmother and she’s the great-grandmother).

The past few days she has started to slide quickly.  We began hospice at home less than a month ago, and now she has not had anything by mouth except liquid medicines since this past Saturday, her right side is totally stiff and she is often unresponsive.

She’s on liquid pain medicine every two hours and an anti-anxiety medicine every 4 hours, and if she does respond to a question (which is becoming less often), she says she’s not hurting, so we hope the meds are keeping her comfortable.

All of my children who live in the state are planning to come see her this weekend, and I am starting to wonder if she will make it that long.

I’m on standby to go down there any time, all my clients have been told they may not have me this week depending on what happens, and of course all of them are amazing people who have said they totally understand.

We are hoping and praying when the MOMENT comes her passing will be PEACEFUL.

Please think good thoughts or prayers for us and if you suddenly don’t see me blogging or visiting, know i’m thinking of you, but just busy with the round of life which comes to us all.

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Today is National Pet Obesity Awareness Day, because about half of pets in the US are overweight or obese. 

Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere for the event badge.        

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Today is:

Be Bald and Be Free Day -- Wellcat Holidays wants everyone who is "shiny" to be proud of it! 

Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day -- at your own risk! sponsored by Susan E. Schwartz of "Teddies Are The Answer"

Chisinau Day -- Chisinau, Moldova

Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence -- US (students around the nation are asked to sign the Pledge Against Gun Violence)       

Dessert Day -- another one?

Doburoku Matsuri -- Shirakawago, Japan (unrefined sake festival and harvest festival; through the 19th)

Emergency Nurses Day

Festival for the Penates -- Ancient Roman Calendar (gods of the storeroom)

Flag Day/Jour de la Proclamation de la Premiere Republique -- Madagascar (flag adopted this day in 1958)

Liberation Day -- Yemen

Mega Kenka Matsuri -- Hyogo, Japan (Roughhouse Festival, wrestling for a blessing; through tomorrow)

Mother's Day -- Belarus

Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Day -- Tanzania (climax of the Uhuru Torch Race)

National Chocolate Covered Insect Day -- i'll pass, sorry

National Dessert Day

National Education Day -- Poland

National Fossil Day -- US (National Park Service information) 

National Frump Day -- National FRUMPS of America (to honor the frugal, responsible, unpretentious, and mature people everywhere)

National Stop Bullying Day -- use #NationalStopBullyingDay to post on social media (begun in 2009 by eighteen 6th grade students at St. Stanislaus Kostka School, now a nationwide movement)

National Take Your Parents To Lunch Day -- US (sponsored by Kiwi Magazine, encouraging parents to go to school and have lunch with the children, learning what goes into a healthy lunch) 

Republic Day / October Revolution Day -- Yemen

SAVE Today -- US (Stop America's Violence Everywhere, a day created in 1995 by the American Medical Association Alliance)

St. Callistus' Day (Patron of cemetary workers)

St. Donatian of Rheims's Day (Patron of Bruges, Belgium; Rheims, France; West Flanders, Belgium)

St. Petca Paraskeva's Day (Patron of embroiderers, needle workers, spinners, weavers, and all who do needlework of any kind)related observance

     Petkouden -- Bulgaria

Svetitskovloba/Living Pillar Cathedral -- Georgia (celebration of the first Christian church in Georgia)

Tavistock Goose Fair -- Tavistock, Devon, UK (known locally as the Goosey, dating back to 12th-century Michaelmas fairs, this original livestock fair is now mostly a fun festival)

Vinternatsblot, a/k/a Haustblót -- Asatru (to bid Winter welcome; at the approximate date of the start of winter in the Old European Calendar of the Norse

World Standards Day -- International

Birthdays Today:

Usher, 1978

Natalie Maines, 1974

Greg Evigan, 1958

Harry Anderson, 1952

Sir Cliff Richard, 1940

Ralph Lauren, 1939

John Dean, 1938

Gary Graffman, 1928

Roger Moore, 1927

Charles Everett Koop, 1916

John Wooden, 1910

Eugene FRodor, 1905

e.e. cummings, 1894

Lillian Gish, 1893

Dwight Eisenhower, 1890

Eamon De Valera, 1882

Francis Lightfoot Lee, 1734

William Penn, 1644

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Rescue from Gilligan's Island(TV film), 1978 (the first TV film follow up of a TV series)

Winnie-The-Pooh(publication date), 1926

Today in History:

William the Conqueror wins England in the Battle of Hastings, 1066

Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence, 1322

Mary, Queen of Scots, goes on trial for conspiracy against Elizabeth I of England, 1586

Massachusetts enacts the first punitive legislation against the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), 1656

Rabbi Judah Hasid & Chayim Molocho arrive in Jerusalem, 1700

Henry Blair receives a patent for a corn planter, becoming the first black to obtain a US patent, 1834

The 15th and the last military Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate resigns in Japan, returning his power to the Emperor of Japan and thence to the re-established civil government of Japan, 1867

George Eastman patents paper-strip photographic film, 1884

Theodore Roosevelt is shot while campaigning in Milwaukee on the "Bull Moose" ticket, 1912

The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne, is first published, 1926

Ethel Merman makes her Broadway debut in "Girl Crazy", 1930

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers, 1956

Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first Canadian Monarch to open up an annual session of the Canadian Parliament, presenting her Speech from the Throne in Ottawa, Canada, 1957

The Cuban Missile Crisis begins when a U.S. Air Force U2 Reconnaissance pilot takes pictures of Soviet missiles being installed in Cuba, 1962

The city of Montreal, Quebec, begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid-transit system, 1966

The first live telecast from any manned spacecraft, the Apollo 7, 1968

The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, The Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and the Foreign Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in the establishment of the Oslo Accords , 1994 

Indonesian rights groups applaud the end of a Suharto-era law that bans books deemed 'offensive' or a 'threat to public order,' 2010

A colony of stromatolites is discovered at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, 2011

The Spanish government says it will impose direct rule on Catalonia after the region voted for independence in a referendum, 2017

The Booker Prize is awarded jointly to Margaret Atwood for "The Testaments" and

Bernardine Evaristo for "Girl, Woman, Other:" Evaristo is the first black woman to win, 2019

A copy of William Shakespeare's First Folio sells for a record $9.98 million at auction in New York, 2020

The journal "Nature" publishes details of the world's first room-temperature superconductor, created at the University of Rochester, NY, 2020

An annular solar eclipse, complete with the "ring of fire," dazzles viewers across parts of the US, Mexico, and Central and South America, 2023

In a referendum, Australia votes against altering its constitution to give indigenous communities more rights, 2023

NASA's Europa Clipper launches on a mission to investigate the subsurface ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa, 2024