They're Arriving

One by one. They are arriving. Dreaded, expected, awaited with all of the welcome you would give a burglar, appearing in the mailbox with depressing regularity.

The tax forms are arriving.

Those that tell how much you earned -- so depressing! Where did it all go? Those telling you what you gave to charities -- a bit less depressing, except that you really wanted to give so much more. The "friendly" ones reminding you to get your taxes to your CPA early, or to buy the program to help you file now, while you can get a $5 early buyer discount.

Yes, we know it is going to be tax time in the blink of an eye, but can't they at least let us catch our breath over what we spent on Christmas (or on that car we had to buy to replace the wrecked one) before they are in our faces, demanding that we warm up our calculators and start pulling what's left of our hair out?

This year will be especially fun, with having to file for all 4 kids, since they all now earn an income. We were hoping to have enough to start retirement funds for them because they have earned income, but with the car fiasco that is not happening. I hate putting it off, but there it is, they have to eat today first.

So, at least for now, i can put the papers aside as they arrive, and sort them soon. Just don't ask me to define soon. No, i do not mean the night before the tax deadline. The accountant has to have it all by the end of February, so it really will be soon. Just not tonight, i have to go do something less painful, like hand feed these shark kittens that bite, or stick my sore, cracked hands into the wash water in the sink without gloves.


Today is:

Bounty Day -- Pitcairn Island (celebrates the burning of the HMS Bounty in 1790

National Pie Day

National Handwriting Day

National Rhubarb Pie Day

Measure Your Feet Day -- one can only ask...."Why!?!"

Ragwort Dance -- Fairy Calendar (Pixies only)

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day

St. John the Almoner's Day (known for his generosity to the poor, "If we are able to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful we should be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need.")


Anniversaries Today:

The founding of Georgetown University, the first US Catholic college,

1789


Birthdays Today:

Princess Caroline of Monaco, 1957
Antonio Villaraigosa, 1953
Rutger Hauer, 1944
Chita Rivera, 1933
Jeanne Moreau, 1928
Ernie Kovacs, 1919
John M. Browning, 1855
Edouard Manet, 1832
John Hancock, 1737


Today in History:

In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops, 971
The first printing of Ramban's Sha'ar ha-Gemul, 1490
The first printing of the Pentateuch, 1492
The second version of Book of Common Prayer becomes mandatory in England, 1552
What is probably the most deadly earthquake in history kills 830,000 in Shensi Province, China, 1556
Queen Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London, 1571
Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales, 1656
Joseph Pease, a Quaker, is admitted to Parliament on his affirmation, 1833
Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first female physician in the US, 1849
The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1855
Alesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Alesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless an one person dead, 1904
Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American US senator, 1907
Pianist Ignaz Paderewski becomes premier of the Polish government in exile, 1940
Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time, 1943
The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 m (35,798 feet) in the Pacific Ocean, 1960
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, 1986
Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10, 2003