Questions Not to Ask

Do not ask why there is fishing line on the bookshelf. You might get an answer, such as, that it beats leaving it on the back of the toilet where the cat might knock it off.

Do not ask why the cleaning up of #1 Son's room (he got bitten by his once-every-6-months-cleaning-bug) resulted in a doubling of the number of plates in the cabinet, and made bowls, of which we only had one left, suddenly appear.

Do not ask why Sweetie bought himself 12 new pair of socks this summer, and now only has 3 left, but there is a proliferation of a family of sock puppets living on top of the piano.

Do not ask how much to cook for dinner around here. Just cook, then count noses and hope you have enough plates, or they will have to eat in shifts.

Do not ask why we are having homemade soups 3 nights a week right now, just eat. And while you're not asking that, don't ask where the leftovers went, either.

Finally, do not ask about my sanity. It got lost a long time ago, somewhere with my marbles and my ability to speak without having to interrupt myself to tell someone to cut it out (whatever "it" happens to be at that moment).


Today is:

Anne and Samantha Day -- celebrating the lives of Anne Frank and Samantha Smith, a day to work and pray for world peace

Beetle Banquet and Badger Ball -- Fairy Calendar

Chipmunks Day -- the day, in 1958, when Alvin, Simon, and Theodore hit #1 with "The Chipmunk Song"

Dongzhi Festival -- East Asia (solstice festival)

First Day of Winter / Winter Solstice / Solar New Year (Shortest daylight hours of the year)

Hopi and Zuni Soyala New Year Festival -- Hopi and Zuni Native Americans (through Jan. 10; a time of purification and renewal)

Mother's Day -- Indonesia

National Date Nut Bread Day

National Haiku Poetry Day -- US

National Unity Day -- Zimbabwe

Sanghamitta Day -- Neopagan

Santa Claus Flight Clearance Day -- US FAA (they make sure he's cleared to fly, with his de-icing system, Terrain Avoidance Warning System for low-altitude flight, and special seat belt extension in good working order)

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's Day (Mother Cabrini, Patron saint of immigrants)

Unity Day -- Zimbabwe

Yalda continues -- Iran

Yule/Jul/Jol Festivals begin -- various calendars, religions, countries and observances, both ancient and modern
Yule -- Wicca/Pagan, northern hemisphere
Litha -- Wicca/Pagan, southern hemisphere

Ziemassyetki -- Ancient Latvian Calendar


Birthdays Today:

Jordin Sparks, 1989
Maurice Gibb, 1949
Robin Gibb, 1949
Steve Garvey, 1948
Diane Sawyer, 1945
Joe Pyne, 1925
Barbara Billingsley, 1922
Gene Rayburn, 1917
Lady Bird Johnson, 1912
Giacomo Puccini, 1858


Today in History:

A serious earthquake strikes Innsbruck, 1689
The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies, 1790
The first freight train is operated in Roorkee, India, 1851
Jules Janssen flies in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse, 1870
The first string of Christmas tree lights is created by Thomas Edison, 1882
Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan, 1885
French officer Alfred Dreyfus court-martialed for treason, triggers worldwide charges of anti-Semitism (Dreyfus later vindicated), 1894
Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity, 1956
Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany, 1989
Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63, 2001