Do you believe in dragons?

With today being appreciate a dragon day, I thought I would ask.

My Sweetie would say yes, based on a Biblical reference, and the fact that our ancestors may have mistaken dinosaur fossils for the remains of dragons.

Those who dream, and write, and are creative would say of course. You can meet many such in various books, from those that view them as part of the animal kingdom to those that give them sentience and personalities.

Some people would point to the Komodo Dragon. This endangered reptile may not breathe fire, but like the traditional dragons of lore their mouths can kill, with poison and bacteria galore. They are fierce and amazing, though I wouldn't want to meet one in person outside of a zoo enclosure.

For me, when I think of dragons, I think of one of my favorite stories from girlhood, Professor Diggins' Dragons.

Professor Diggins is beloved by the whole university, and his lectures on marine biology are legendary. Yet he speaks more and more about dragons. So the university administration sends him to spend a summer at the shore, and he takes some of the neighborhood kids to live in the bus/camper with him.

While there, he gently and with humor teaches them about finding and slaying dragons, which in his mind means conquering yourself.

If you ever get the chance, it is a fun book, written at about middle school level.


Today is:

Appreciate a Dragon Day

Book Publisher's Day

Concordia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of harmonious relations)

Festival of All Fairies -- Fairy Calendar

Haru-No-Yabuiri, Japan (Day of No Work for the Overworked, an extra day off for those who worked over the holidays.)

Hot and Spicy Food International Day

National Fig Newton Day

National Good Teen Day

National Nothing Day

National Work At Home With Your Spouse Day (Isn't the divorce rate high enough as it is?)

Religious Freedom Day

St. Priscilla's Day (Patron saint of widows.)

There's No Business Like Show Business Day


Birthday's Today:

Kate Moss, 1974
Sade, 1959
Debbie Allen, 1950
John Carpenter, 1948
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, 1947
Ronnie Milsap, 1944
A.J. Foyt, 1935
Dizzy Dean, 1911
Ethel Merman, 1908
Frank Zamboni, 1901
Harry Carey, Sr., 1878
Andre Michelin, 1853


Today in History:

The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Casesar Octavian by the Roman Senate, BC27
The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison, 550
A great storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German island of Strand and the city of Rungholt, 1362
The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy, 1412
The first grammar of a modern language, in the Spanish language, is presented to Queen Isabella, 1492
Columbus returns to Spain from his first voyage, 1493
English parliament passes laws against Catholicism, 1581
The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid, 1605
The Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks, 1776
The refrigerator car is patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit, 1868
The Pendleton Act creates the basis of US Civil Service system, 1883
The British explorer Ernest Shackleton finds magnetic south pole, 1909
The British House of Commons accepts Home-Rule for Ireland, 1913
Writer Maksim Gorki returns to Russia, 1914
The first photo finish camera installed at Hialeah Race track in Hialeah Florida, 1936
Benny Goodman refuses to play Carnegie Hall when black members of his band were barred from performing, 1938