It Starts With Watermelon

Since all of us love and crave watermelon, i bought one this weekend, and it led to a typical way i start my day -- with Bigger Girl bringing up more in the morning that i can easily digest before coffee.

"I'm going to have watermelon for breakfast!" she said, heading for the fridge.  Coming back with it so she could cut off a portion, she then asked, "Wasn't that what Darling Dear was craving in the movie Lady and the Tramp?"

Yes, i said, that and something else.

"Oh, yeah, watermelon and chop suey!" she said.

Did they have chop suey then? i wondered.  Years  ago i heard that it was a relatively recent dish that actually started because a Chinese chef couldn't get enough authentic ingredients or something.

"No, I think it's been around long enough, I read something about the Chinese workers who were building railroads in the mid-1800s were eating it."

So, of course, i did what you have to do in such a situation, and consulted the receptacle of all information, true or not, and searched Wikipedia.

It turns out the dish does actually have roots in China, and was around plenty long enough ago to not be an anachronism in that movie, go figure.

As we read about chop suey, Bigger Girl continued talking.

"Eating watermelon reminds me of a lady in Canada who calls herself 'Watermelon Girl.'  She makes YouTube videos and was once arrested for trying to sell pot laced ginger snaps on a nude beach.  They were individually wrapped and had ingredient labels and everything, too!"

What happened? i asked.

"The judge's words were, 'I have dealt with 3 homicides today, let her go!'"

Yes, i can see how, after dealing with 3 homicides, someone selling properly labeled pot ginger snaps wouldn't move the needle much, i noted.  Heaven knows they couldn't have said they didn't know what was in them, with them labeled and all.

"Exactly!" she said.  Dry wit is lost on her, but i keep trying.

This however, is why i start most mornings wondering how i get into these conversations and why i'm thinking about odd topics off and on all day.

It all starts with watermelon.


Today is

Alexandra Rose Day -- in the tradition started by Queen Alexandra over 100 years ago, roses and rose emblems are sold in London and the UK, with the money going to smaller charities that are not usually in the national spotlight; also by tradition, the Lord Mayor of London buys the first rose

Arbor Day -- Philippines

Color TV Day -- CBS broadcast the first program in color on this day in 1951

Elf Thumping Day -- Fairy Calendar (no details on what the Elves thump, and no, no one is allowed to thump an Elf!)

Fast of Shiva Asar B'Tammuz -- Judaism (a day of fasting and mourning the destruction of the tablets by Moses, the disruption of Temple services in 423BCE, and the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem right before the Temple was destroyed in 70AD)

Feast of the Optional Holiday -- pick one, and celebrate it or don't, your option!

Festival of Ranting and Vaporing -- sponsored by The Daily Bleed

Global Beatles Day -- read about the meaning of this day, and why this date was picked, here

Gotanshin Sai -- Kitano Tenmangu, Kyoto, Japan (festival to commemorate the birth of Lord Sugawara, with ceremonies to ward off summer infections)

Independence Day -- Mozambique(1975)

Leon Day -- Noel spelled backward, the turning poing on the calendar when Christmas starts getting closer; those who make Christmas/Noel gifts need to start thinking about their projects

Ludi Taurii -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Games of the Bull, a two day festival held once every five years)

National Catfish Day

National Columnists' Day -- on the fourth Tuesday of June each year, set aside some time to thank your favorite newspaper columnists, whether local or syndicated

National Fried Okra Day

National Strawberry Parfait Day

Sense of Humor in Bed Appreciation Day -- i'm not touching this one

Shab e-Barat -- Bangladesh (Night of Records)

Slovenian Sovereignty Day / National Day -- Slovenia

Statehood Day -- Croatia

St. Eurosia's Day (a/k/a Orosia; Patron of Jaca, Spain; against bad weather)
     Fiesta de Santa Orosia -- Jaca, Spain

St. Molaug's Day (Patron of Argyll, Scotland; against mental illness)

Windjammer Days -- Boothbay Harbor, ME, US (the premier maritime event on the coast of Maine, with something for everyone; through tomorrow)



Anniversaries Today:

Virginia becomes the 10th US State, 1788


Birthdays Today:

Scott Terra, 1987
George Michael, 1963
Sonia Sotomayor, 1954
Jimmie Walker, 1949
Phyllis George, 1949
Carly Simon, 1945
June Lockhart, 1925
Sidney Lumet, 1924
George Orwell, 1903


Today in History:

The Book of Concord or Concordia, the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, is published, 1580
Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy, from the University of Padua, 1678
Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Hungary, 1741
Lucien B. Smith of Ohio patents the first version of barbed wire, 1867
Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, 1876
Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated the first President of Ireland, 1938
The Diary of Anne Frank is published, 1947
The Berlin airlift begins, 1948
The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea, 1950
CBS broadcasts the first color television signal, 1951
First live global satellite television programme – Our World, 1967
Mozambique achieves independence, 1975
Microsoft  is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington, 1981
Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia, 1991
Kim Campbell is chosen as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and becomes the first female Prime Minister of Canada, 1993
An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir, 1997
The Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat erupts resulting in the death of 19 people, 1997
The Harvard School of Health Study concludes that since 1980 the number of adults with diabetes has doubled, 2011