Duck and Cover

The loud "Pop" sound caught me totally off guard. Maybe it shouldn't have, but it did.

A few minutes before, as i went to put stuff in the recycle bin, i had noticed that our garbage can wasn't in its accustomed spot next to the house. That usually means someone -- #2 Son -- is up to something. When i heard the noise, though, at the exact second #1 Son put his car into park after pulling into the driveway from work, all i could think was that somehow the car had made that noise, and that deep feeling of "Oh, no!" set in.

Before i could ask him about it, another sound sent me to the back of the house, where i found the garbage can next to the back of the house, and #2 Son grinning down at me from the roof again, with his pellet rifle.

"Hi, mom!" Cheered dripped out of him. "I was sighting it in, but don't worry, i ran out of pellets, so it wasn't loaded and I'm not shooting at anything."

The mighty hunter strikes again. That also explained the "Pop" noise that he managed to make with such precision timing. No need to track down #1 Son and ask if his car was making odd noises.

After telling him to come down, what did he think he was doing, someone would see him and call the sheriff, he laughed. "Oh, don't worry, mom! I promise, i was hidden, no one was going to see me."

Famous last words, i told him as he climbed down and dragged the garbage can back to the side of the house.

Am i worried? Of course i am. It's why i'm gray headed now. Each and every strand earned by being mom to a kid who is either going to be a famous chef or a jail bird someday.

If you ever visit our neighborhood, and it is a nice one except for the nuts i'm raising, i promise to hide his pop guns so no one has to duck and cover.


Today is

Buttercup Day -- an internet holiday that just sounds fun.

Cellophane Tape Day

Children's Day -- Nigeria

Dia de la Madre -- Bolivia

Down East Spring Birding Festival -- Cobscook Bay, Maine (through the 30th)

Full Flower Moon/Full Corn Planting Moon/Milk Moon

National Death Busters Day -- because Memorial Day weekend in the US has the notoriety of being the most dangerous for driving, with the most traffic fatalities, this day is the reminder to slow down, be safe, and make it to where you are going in one piece.

National Grape Popsicle Day

Slavery Abolition Day -- Guadeloupe; Saint Barthélemy; Saint Martin

St. Bruno's Day

St. Hildebert's Day

Sun Screen Day -- an annual reminder to use that SPF protection, every day!

Throw the B*st@rds Out Day -- whomever is making your life miserable, toss them out! or at least, toss them out of your thoughts for today.

Wig Out Day -- an annual celebration of the wonder of wigs


Birthdays Today:

Joseph Fiennes, 1970
Jeremy Mayfield, 1969
Todd Bridges, 1965
Adam Carolla, 1964
Louis Gossett, Jr., 1936
Ramsey Lewis, 1935
Henry Kissinger, 1923
Christopher Lee, 1922
Sam Snead, 1912
Hubert H. Humphrey, 1911
Vincent Price, 1911
Dolores Hope, 1909
Dashiell Hammett, 1894
Isadora Duncan, 1878
Wild Bill Hickock, 1837
Julia Ward Howe, 1819
Amelia Bloomer, 1818
Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1794


Today in History:

Habeaus Corpus Act, codifying how the writ of habeaus corpus is to be used, passes in UK, 1679
Peter the Great founds St. Petersburg, 1703
In Bolivia, the Battle of La Coronilla, in which the women from Cochabamba fight against the Spanish army, 1812
In Canada, American forces capture Fort George, 1813
Bubonic plague breaks out in San Francisco, California, 1907
The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight, 1919
The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public, 1930
Richard Gurley Drew receives a patent for his adhesive tape, later manufactured by 3M as Scotch tape, 1930
The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon The Three Little Pigs, with its hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?", 1933
In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, , 1937
Toronto's CHUM-AM, (1050 kHz) becomes Canada's first radio station to broadcast only top 40 Rock n' Roll music format, 1957
Australians vote in favor of a constitutional referendum granting the Australian government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous Australians and to count them in the national census, 1967
In Culpeper, Virginia, actor Christopher Reeve is paralyzed from the neck down after falling from his horse in a riding competition, 1995
Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire, 1996
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milosevic and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity, 1999
The May 2006 Java earthquake strikes at 5:53:58 AM local time (22:53:58 UTC May 26) devastating Bantul and the city of Yogyakarta killing over 6,600, 2006