Saturday, April 21, 2012

So i'm all ready to post about something i find inspirational and that i really am glad someone pointed out to me, and then i get the phone call that makes me angry through and through.

It's not the kittens that the guy found under his house, and that his Jack Russel
Terror Terrier kept trying to get. He was nice, and his family would have kept the kittens if they hadn't been able to find a place for them, even though they were totally new to kittens on the verge of weaning. Those i was glad the rescue and i could help with.

It's the ones the lady on the other side of his small town ended up with when some guy in a truck drove into her neighborhood and threw out of the window before driving out. Not even close to weaned, i can hear the (deleting very unholy language here) person thinking to himself that they would fend for themselves, they weren't his responsibility even though he refuses to spay his cat.

He got his wish, whatever it was, they aren't on him now, but i hope when he dies the Almighty appears to him as a mama cat.

Well, i'm not going to let it totally derail me from what i wanted to post, because it would give him too much power.

Many of us decry the terrible state of penmanship among young people these days, and with good reason. Some of it is deplorable, with youngsters not even able to leave a simple note for another person.

People are fighting this trend, though, and some young people are rising to the challenge of learning good handwriting skills, including Annie Clark.

Annie was born in China seven years ago, and is one of the 6 children her parents have adopted from that country (they also have 3 biological children). She has been in the US since age 2, and just received a national award for penmanship for children at her grade level.

So? Annie was born without hands, and holds her writing implement between the stumps of her forearms.

Her family are heroes, and she is going to grow up to be a very special person indeed. You can read the full story here. It may cheer you as much as it cheered me.



Today is

Administrative Professionals Day (original date)

Aggie Muster -- Texas A&M University

Alfred G. "Alferd" Packer Day -- Colorado

Auctioneers' Day (mistakenly noted here last Saturday; lashes with a wet noodle for me!)

Birthday of Rome -- Rome, Italy

Feast of Wadjet (a/k/a Udjet or Buto) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Feria Nacional de San Marcos -- Mexico (through the May 13; feast of San Marcos, with rodeos, bull fights, folk dancing, parades, mariachi and muchos mas)

First Day of Rivdan -- Baha'i

Grounation Day -- Rastafari (one of the Rastafarian's most important festivals, in honor of Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica)

Heroica Defensa de Veracruz -- Mexico (Heroic Defense of Veracruz)

Homecoming of the Elves -- Fairy Calendar (Singing Festival)

Husband Appreciation Day (mistakenly noted here last Saturday; lashes with a wet noodle for me!)

Inauguration of Brasilia, Distrito Federal -- Brazil

International Creativity and Innovation Day

International Marconi Day -- a 24-hour amateur radio event annually near the birth anniversary of Marconi

Iroquois Corn Planting Ceremony -- Iroquois Native Americans (through the 24th)

John Muir Day -- US

Kartini Day -- Indonesia (honoring a leader who helped emancipate women)

Kindergarten Day -- Germany; US (birth anniversary of Friedrich Froebel, in 1782, who began the first Kindergarten in Germany in 1837)

Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival -- Warner Robins, GA, US (come celebrate arts and crafts made "The Way Things Used To Be"; through tomorrow)

National Chocolate-Covered Cashew Truffle Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Kenya

Parilia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (shepherd's festival of Pares, goddess of herders)

Record Store Day -- celebrated by independent record stores everywhere (mistakenly noted here last Saturday; lashes with a wet noodle for me!)

Queen's Birthday -- Falkland Islands

San Jacinto Day -- Texas, US

Spinach Festival -- Alma, AK, US

St. Anselm of Canterbury's Day

St. Bueno Gasulsych's Day (Patron of diseased cattle, sick animals, and sick children)

Teach Your Daughter to Volunteer Day (mistakenly noted here last Saturday; pull out the wet noodle one more time!)

Tiradentes Day/Brasilia Day -- Brazil (honors Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, called "tooth puller", who fought for Brazilian independence)

World Creativity and Innovation Day

World's Biggest Fish Fry -- Paris, TX, US (parades, arts and crafts, auto show, and 10,000+ pounds of catfish; through the 29th)



Birthdays Today:

Robert Smith, 1959
Andie Macdowell, 1958
James Morrison, 1954
Tony Danza, 1951
Iggy Pop, 1947
Charles Grodin, 1935
Elaine May, 1932
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, 1926
Anthony Quinn, 1915
John Muir, 1838
Charlotte Bronte, 1816
Catherine the Great, 1729
Jan van Riebeeck, 1619


Today in History:

Traditional date for the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus, BC753
Marc Antony continues to battle the senators who assassinated Julius Caesar in the Battle of Mutina, which he loses, BC43
Henry VIII ascends the throne of England, 1509
Hernan Cortez lands in Veracruz, 1519
The Maryland Toleration Act is passed, granting religious freedom to all in that colony, 1649
Catherine the Great ends noble privileges in Russia, 1785
Tiradentes, leader of the independence movement in Brazil, is executed, 1792
Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat Mexican troops under Santa Ana, winning the Battle of San Jacinto and the independence of Texas, 1836
The first train crosses the first bridge over the Mississippi River, crossing from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa, 1855
Alexander Douglas patents the bustle, 1857
Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i' faith, declares his mission, 1863
The first firehouse pole is installed in a firehouse in NYC, 1878
The Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen)is shot down, 1918
The first Aggie Muster is held, a remembrance of fellow Texas A&M graduates who had died in the previous year, 1922
Brasilia is officially inaugurated as the capital of Brazil, 1960
In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang, 1989
Alexander Wolszczan announces his the discovery of extrasolar planets, 1994
The ashes of Timothy Leary and Gene Roddenberry are launched into orbit, 1997
By order of an Egyptian court, the name of Egypt's former President, Hosni Mubarak, is stripped from public spaces, schools and streets, 2011

1 comment:

  1. I did read about this girl and her penmanship award, and I was very inspired by it.

    ReplyDelete

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