Divided

As i stand here trying to decide what to write about Veterans' Day that hasn't been written before, and much better than i could ever do it, i'm torn.

My mind keeps straying back, my eyes drawn to the images, of the typhoon.

Then i start remembering the hurricanes.

This area gets hit hard, but we have resources.  We go a few weeks without electricity, we live off of canned goods and use bottled water if we have to, and we go on, usually with insurance money to help us if we had a devastating loss.

The Philippinos were hit by a storm as big as, if not bigger than, anything that's ever hit the US, and they've lost more people than we ever have.  There's nothing left to rebuild in some places, and the looting has begun as people get desperate for water and food.

The typhoon isn't through, either -- it's heading toward the mainland, and has already started to batter Vietnam.

Then there's the new storm brewing that might take the exact same path.  We had people here who managed to escape with only minor damage to their homes from Hurricane Katrina, only to have Hurricane Rita follow three weeks later and finish the job.  It's looking to be the same scene there, only worse.

It's a day to honor and remember those who have served in the military, and i don't want to minimize it.

It's just hard for me to concentrate on that when the scenes in the news play to some of the worst memories i have.

While you are remembering veterans today, if you have time, and want to, remember the people who are suffering from devastating loss in the Philippines and Asia.  If you have resources to share, there are a good many groups already trying to bring aid.  (Be careful there.  Scum come out of the woodwork with stuff like this, trying to divert your hard earned money that you want to use to do good into their own pockets because they are slime that cannot properly earn their own living.  Give to charities you know and recognize, and on their websites that you type directly into the address bar on your browser, not from a link in an email.)



Today is:

Armistice Day/Poppy Day/Remembrance Day/Veterans Day

Bonza Bottler Day™

Canadian Western Agribition -- IPSCO Place, Regina, SK, Canada (Canada's premier agriculture showcase; through Saturday)

Constitution Day and King's Birthday -- Bhutan

Day of Remembrance of the Volhvs/Einherjar Feast -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (Norse "Feast of the Fallen")

Death/Duty Day

Fasching/Karneval -- Germany; Netherlands (official beginning of next year's pre-lent celebration starts on 11/11 at 11:11, when the Council of Eleven, in colorful fools caps, meet to plan the upcoming festivities)

Four Ones Day -- it is 11/11, after all

Heir to the Throne Day -- Tuvalu (Prince of Wales birth anniversary celebration)

Hollantide Day a/k/a Hallow-tide -- Isle of Mann (season of All Saints, first day of Winter, celebrated in conjunction with Martintide, the Feast of St. Martin of Tours)

Independence Day -- Angola(1975); Poland(1918)

Independence of Cartagena City -- Colombia

Lacplesis -- Latvia (Remembrance Day)

Lunantishees Day -- Ireland (Fairies who guard the blackthorn trees, cutting a branch today, the old calendar's November 1, means bad luck.)

National Sundae Day

National Young Readers' Week -- US, sponsored by Pizza Hut's BookIt! Program and the Library of Congress

Old November Eve -- In the old calendar, this was actually All Hallows Eve

Origami Day -- Japan

Pepero Day -- South Korea (similar to a Valentine's Day, when couples exchange Pepero brand cookie sticks)

Pocky and Pretz Day -- Japan (see Pepero day, but substitute the Japanese brand cookie sticks)

Republic Day -- Maldives

Singles Day -- China (Guang Gun Jie, literally "bare sticks day", celebrating the single life on the calendar date that has the most 1's)

St. Martin's Day a/k/a St. Martin of Tours's Day (Western), Martinmas (Old England) (Patron of beggars, cavalry, equestrians, geese, horses, innkeepers, Pontifical Swiss Guards, quartermasters, reformed alcoholics, riders, soldiers, tailors, vintners/wine growers and makers; against alcoholism, impoverishment; highly celebrated through Sweden, Switzerland, and the island of St. Martin/St. Maarten and Patron of over 25 diocese, cities, and countries around the world)
     Beggar's Day -- Netherlands (children act as beggars on St. Martin's Day, similar to trick-or-treat in English speaking countries)
     Martinigians -- Sursee, Switzerland (a celebration of the day in front of Town Hall)
     St. Maarten Day -- Sint Maarten

St. Menas of Egypt's Day (Patron of falsely accused people, peddlers, traveling merchants)

Veterans of Foreign Wars Day -- Federated States of Micronesia

World Orphans Day -- originally an initiative of The Stars Foundation; cannot find a current sponsor, although there is a Facebook page for this day


Anniversaries Today:

Vietnam Women's Memorial is dedicated, 1993
Route 66 is established by the US Highway System, 1926
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery is dedicated, 1921
Washington becomes the 42nd US State, 1889


Birthdays Today:

Leonardo DiCaprio, 1974
Peta Wilson, 1970
Calista Flockhart, 1964
Demi Moore, 1962
Marc Summers, 1951
Bibi Andersson, 1935
Jonathan Winters, 1925
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1922
Alger Hiss, 1904
Pat O'Brien, 1899
George Patton, 1885
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, 1821
Abigail Smith Adams,1744


Debuting/Premiering Today:

First public performance of "God Bless America", 1938



Today in History:

The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Maxentius and Licinius to be Augusti, while rival contender Constantine I is declared Caesar of Britain and Gaul, 308
41 pilgrims land in Massachusetts, sign Mayflower Compact, 1620
Massachusetts passes 1st US compulsory school attendance law, 1647
Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = ƒ(x), 1675
The F.H.C. Society, also known as the Flat Hat Club, is formed at Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, Virginia, as the first college society in the US, 1750
Chrysanthemums are introduced into England from China, 1790
British and Canadian forces defeat a larger American force, causing the Americans to abandon their Saint Lawrence campaign, 1813
Mary Edward Walker, the 1st Army female surgeon, is awarded the Medal of Honor, 1865
The Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act is enacted in Australia, giving the government control of indigenous people's wages, their terms of employment, where they could live, and of their children, effectively leading to the Stolen Generations, 1869
The 11/11/11 cold wave: Many cities in the U.S. Midwest broke their record highs and lows on the same day as a strong cold front rolled through, 1911
The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery, 1921
Prime Minister Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the first recognized Greek Republic, 1924
U.S. Route 66 is established, 1926
Patent number US1781541 is awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator, 1930
The Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia is opened, 1934
Kuwait's National Assembly ratifies the Constitution of Kuwait, 1962
NASA launches Gemini 12, 1966
Antigua and Barbuda joins the United Nations, 1981
The General Synod of the Church of England votes to allow women to become priests, 1992
New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is dedicated at the National War Memorial, Wellington, 2004
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II unveils the New Zealand War Memorial in London, United Kingdom, commemorating the loss of soldiers from the New Zealand Army and the British Army, 2006
The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) sets sail on her final voyage to Dubai, 2008