B.B.

Growing up, we almost always had a dog, a cat or two, and other pets.  In fact, a lot of the time, we had a veritable menagerie.

Then, after we had moved out, the only pet left, the German shepherd named Sasha, died.  Since they were selling the big house and moving into a space half the size, Grandma and Grandpa went without any pets for a while.

It couldn't last, though.  Grandma loves having a dog around, and so they adopted B.B,, which stands for Browned Butter.  She was a chocolate lab, big and somewhat goofy.  She always barked when someone came near the house, and greeted you as if you had just come back from a 10 years absence if you just came in from going out to move the garbage can.

She loved the kids, although, in these last few years, they exhausted her.  When they would come for the weekend, she would go nuts.  She was in hog heaven, or maybe that should be dog heaven, at all the attention and extra food they would sneak to her.  Then, when they left, she would sleep for two days or so to recover.

In these last years, though, she had trouble with arthritis, and needed hip surgery, as so many of those big dogs do.

Last Friday, Grandma and Grandpa took her in to have some things checked out.  They knew it didn't look good, as she had been getting steadily weaker.

She was diagnosed with advanced cancer.  Since she was already over 11 years old with other health trouble, they knew what was the kindest, though most difficult, thing to do.

Rest in Peace, B.B.

Today is:

Awkward Moments Day -- harness the power of humor in life's more uncomfortable situations

Asklepieia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Asklepios; date approximate)

Bindus Diena -- Ancient Latvain Calendar (believed to be the day bears woke from hibernation)

Birthday of Sparky the Fire Dog -- can't confirm the exact date, but Sparky became an official fire prevention mascot in Mar. 1951

Celtic Tree Month Fearn (Alder) begins

Cheikh Al Maarouf Day -- Comoros

Electric Razor Day -- Schick, Inc., marketed the first one today in 1931

Forgive Mom and Dad Day -- because we all make mistakes; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Goddess of Fertility Day -- a modern celebration of all goddesses of fertility

Grandparents' and Grandchildren's Day -- Michigan, US

Jacques de Molay's Day -- death anniversary of the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar

Men's and Soldiers Day -- Mongolia

National Anthem and Flag Day -- Aruba

National Biodiesel Day -- birth anniversary of Rudolph Diesel, who unveiled his engine at the World Fair in 1900

National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day

Oide Matsuri -- Hakui, Japan (horse-back archery; through the 23rd)

Sheelah's Day -- Ireland (probably Sheela Na Gig, goddess of fertility; celebrated the day after St. Patrick's Day by those who say she was either his wife or his mother)

Sheep and Goats (Separation) Day -- Fairy Calendar

St. Anselm of Lucca's Day (Patron of Mantua, Italy)

St. Edward the Martyr's Day

Supreme Sacrifice Day -- an internet generated holiday now used to honor those who have made a supreme sacrifice, all who have given their lives for others

Usajingu Reitaisai -- Japan (offerings to the Kami from the Imperial Household are shared in this very important festival)


Anniversary Today:

Eddie Murphy marries Nicole Mitchell, 1993


Birthdays Today:

Alexei Yagudin, 1980
Dane Cook, 1972
Queen Latifah, 1970
Bonnie Blair, 1964
Vanessa Williams, 1963
Irene Cara, 1959
Brad Dourif, 1950
Kevin Dobson, 1944
Wilson Pickett, 1941
Charlie Pride, 1938
Sashi Kapoor, 1938
F.W. deKlerk, 1936
John Updike, 1932
George Plimpton, 1927
John Kander, 1927
Peter Graves, 1926
William H. Johnson, 1901
Edward Everett Horton, 1886
Rudolph Diesel, 1858
Grover Cleveland, 1837
John Caldwell Calhoun, 1782


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Do I Hear a Waltz?"(Musical), 1965
"Tovarich"(Musical), 1963
"Tales of Wells Fargo"(TV), 1957
"The new Babylon"(Silent Film), 1929
"Verklarte Nacht"(Schonberg, Op. 4), 1902


Today in History:

Crusaders kill 57 Jews in Bury St Edmonds England, 1190
German emperor Frederick II crowns himself king of Jerusalem, 1229
Kraków is ravaged by Mongols, 1241
According to legend, Tenochtitlan is founded on this date, 1325
John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, 1673
Henry Wells and William Fargo form American Express in Buffalo, NY, 1850
Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best hockey team in Canada, 1893
Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience (he served only 2 years), 1922
The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah, for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is held in New York City, 1922
The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern US states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people, 1925
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy kills 26 and causes thousands to flee their homes, 1944
Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space, 1965
The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency, 1968
In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found nearby the Pyramid of Cheops, 1989
White South Africans vote overwhelmingly in favour, in a national referendum, to end the racist policy of Apartheid, 1992
Bosnia's Bosniaks and Croats sign the Washington Agreement, ending warring between the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1994
British Sign Language is recognized as an official British language, 2003
For the first time, a woman served as imam, leading a public, mixed-gender, Muslim congregation in Jum'ah prayer and delivering the sermon, 2005