Tic Tac Toe

Black and blue toe. Sweetie's.

He has broken his smallest toe again, on the left foot this time.

This is not something to panic over. He has broken the smallest toe on both of his feet no fewer than 15 times, probably more, since we got married nearly twenty-seven years ago. About once a year sounds right, so i'm almost sure it is more.

When it first happened, i would worry and fret and draw hot water in a tub with lots of Epsom salt for him. For the next several days i would continue to do what i could to keep him off of the foot and help it heal.

The first couple of times, i thought it was a fluke. Something unusual. It didn't take me long to realize that he really is that clumsy, and that this would become a somewhat common occurrence.

The drill will go as usual. The Epsom salts will be pulled out and left by the tub. He will wear nothing but flip flop shoes or soft moccasins for a few days. He will limp, and he will harrumph. He will also heal up until the next time he is walking barefoot through the bedroom and accidentally kicks the edge of the dresser or the foot of the sofa.

He will be angry about it for the first day or two, then start laughing about how the furniture just jumps right out and catches his toe. He will also be more careful, for a while at least.

If you come to our place, and you tend to be clumsy at all, watch your toes.

Today is:

Farvardigan -- Ancient Persia, Zoroastrians (10 day festival for the dead before Nowruz, the New Year)

Festival of Life in the Cracks Day -- internet holiday declared because this is where most of us are, and we deserve to be celebrated!

Finnmarkslopet -- Alta, Finland (the world's northernmost dog sled race)

Geinoujotatsu Kigansai -- Kyoto, Japan (ceremonies to the guardian of wisdom and artistry)

Genealogy Day -- begin or continue the journey to learn about your family

Greater Dionysia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (week long spring festival, date approximate)

Harriet Tubman Day -- anniversary of her death in 1913

International Day of Awesomeness -- Celebrate what is awesome about you - always on Chuck Norris' birthday, because no one is more awesome than Chuck

International Fanny Pack Day -- started by someone who really likes the things (although i do admit they come in handy for keeping your money with you at all times when you have a garage sale)

Mario Day -- for gamers, based on the date Mar 10

National Blueberry Popover Day

National Pack Your Lunch Day -- because it's cheaper and healthier

Shiogama Jinja Hote Festival -- Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan

St. Dominic Savio's Day (Patron of boys, children's choirs, choir boys, choirs, falsely accused people, juvenile delinquents, and Pueri Cantores)

St. Kessog's Day (Patron of Scotland)

Tibetan Uprising Day -- Tibetan Independence Supporters

National Week of the Ocean Festival Sea-Son -- Ft. Lauderdale, FL, US (through May 6; includes activities for local schools and a Mother Ocean Day)

Whoopsical Day -- Fairy Calendar



Birthdays Today:

Emily Osment, 1992
Carrie Underwood, 1983
Shannon Miller, 1977
Prince Edward, 1964
Jasmine Guy, 1964
Rick Rubin, 1963
Sharon Stone, 1958
Kim Campbell, 1947
Bob Greene, 1947
Tom Scholz, 1947
Chuck Norris, 1940
James Earl Ray, 1928
Pamela Mason, 1918
Bix Beiderbecke, 1903


Today in History:

The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end, BC241
Jews are excluded from public office in the Roman Empire, 418
King Charles I dissolves Parliament; he calls it back 11 years later, 1629
English Quaker William Penn receives charter from Charles II, making him sole proprietor of colonial American territory Pennsylvania, 1681
French Huguenot Jean Calas, who was wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform, 1762
John Stone, of Concord, Massachusetts, patents a pile driver, 1791
England begins its first modern census, 1801
In St. Louis, Missouri, a formal ceremony is conducted to transfer ownership of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States, 1804
The French Foreign Legion is established by King Louis-Philippe to support his war in Algeria, 1831
Abraham Lincoln patents a device to help free ships in rivers from shallow water; he built a small scale model, but no full-size device was ever built, and makes him the only US president to hold a patent, 1849
Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call by saying "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you," 1876
Commissioner George Scott Railton and seven women officers landed at New York to officially begin the work of the Salvation Army in the US, 1880
Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching, 1891
The Courrières mine disaster, Europe's worst ever, kills 1099 miners in Northern France, 1906
After Bob Fitzsimmons KOs much larger Jim Corbett to win world HW championship he says, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," 1896
China ends slavery, 1910
Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation, 1922
In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.; he later retracts his guilty plea, 1969
Astronomers discover rings around Uranus, 1977
In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted 18 months after seizing power in a coup, 1990
The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5132.52, signaling the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom, 2000
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars, 2006