Bowled Them Over, Again

Last year, as a morale booster, The Big Boss where Sweetie works decided to take everyone bowling.  It worked so very well, that he did it again.

Sweetie broke out his Hawaiian shirt again, at their request.

The famous shirt.  From Hawaii, too.

Every team had specific shirts or symbols this time, picked by the team captains.

Decor added.

This year, Sweetie was able to actually bowl, not just cheer others on and give pointers.  As with last year, they ate and joked and laughed and teased and had a lot of fun.

The captain of Sweetie's team, Ms. A, is apparently a terrible bowler.  Even though she had several good people on her team, they didn't win.  Her method, as described by Sweetie, is walk up to the line, swing the ball back and forth in both hands and just wildly pitch it.  Most of them end up as gutter balls, of course.  That's okay, she has fun laughing at herself, too.

Mr. Harold remembered his lesson from last year, and did very well again.  Young Jacob admitted, "I'm terrible at it, but I had fun and got to eat a lot of cheese sticks."

The winning team gets a day off next week, as per last year.  It seems this will become a tradition.

It's been way too long since i've been bowling.  Maybe soon.


Today is:

American Diabetes Association Alert Day -- a day to remind people about how serious the illness is, and what the risk factors are

Ann Arbor Film Festival -- Ann Arbor, MI, US (independent digital, 16mm and 35mm films, including experimental film; through Sunday)

Anniversary of the Arengo and the Feast of the Militants -- San Marino

Annunciation of the Virgin Mary -- Roman Catholic Christian
     Lady Day/Quarter Day -- England; Ireland; Wales (traditional New Year's Day)
     Varfrudagen -- Sweden (waffle day)

Day of the Shining Ones of Heaven move Upstream -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Einmanudur Month Begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (Lone Month, the month dedicated to young men)
     Yngismannadagur -- Young Men's Day

Festival of King Amenhotep I -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (rituals depicting his death and burial, performed for the Deir-el-Medina workforce; date approximate)

Hilaria -- Ancient Roman Empire ("Day of Joy", honoring Attis)

Independence Day -- Cyprus; Greece(1821)

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade -- UN

International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members -- UN

International Waffle Day -- based on Sweden's tradition of having waffles on Annunciation Day

Medal of Honor Day -- US (first one awarded this date in 1963)

Mother's Day -- Slovenia

National Agriculture Day -- agday.org (if you eat, thank a farmer!)

National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy -- Greece; US

National Lobster Newburg Day

National Pecan Day -- anniversary of George Washington's planting of Pecan trees at Mt. Vernon in 1775

National Waffle Day -- possibly also International Waffle Day, depends on the site you search

Numbskulls and Clodhoppers' Dance -- Fairy Calendar (i know a couple of people who qualify on both counts; i need to find out how to buy tickets!)

Old New Year's Day -- until 1751, British Empire

Revolution Day -- Greece (anniversary of the revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1821)

Sacrifice to Kronos -- Ancient Greek Calendar (private sacrifices to Kronos; date approximate)

Shunki-Korei-Sai -- Shinto (rite to honor ancestral spirits)

St. Dismas' Day ("Dismas" is the name given to the unnamed "Thief on the Cross", crucified next to Jesus according to Biblical accounts, and who repented; Patron of condemned/death row prisoners, funeral directors/undertakers, penitent criminals, prisoners, reformed thieves; Merizo, Guam)

Struggle for Human Rights Day -- Slovakia

The Tichborne Dole - in Alresford, Hampshire, UK; since 1150, a gallon of flour is given to every resident by the Tichborne family head on this day, to avoid a curse

Tolkien Reading Day -- sponsored by The Tolkien Society on the anniversary of the fall of Sauron


Birthdays Today:

Danica Patrick, 1982
Lee Pace, 1979
Sheryl Swoopes, 1971
Sarah Jessica Parker, 1965
Marcia Cross, 1962
John Stockwell, 1961
Mary Gross, 1953
Paul Miles, 1952
Bonnie Bedelia, 1948
Elton John, 1947
Bonnie Bedelia, 1946
Paul Michael Glaser, 1943
Aretha Franklin, 1942
Anita Bryant, 1940
Gloria Steinem, 1934
James Lovell, 1928
Eileen Ford, 1922
Simone Signoret, 1921
Howard Cosell, 1920
Norman Borlaug, 1940
David Lean, 1908
Bela Bartok, 1881
Arturo Toscanini, 1867
Gutzon Borglum, 1867


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Barrymore"(Play), 1997
"Cagney & Lacey"(TV), 1982


Today in History:

The first Easter, according to calendar-maker Dionysius Exiguus, 31
According to legend, Venice, Italy is born today at noon, 421
Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France, leading to his death on April 6, 1199
Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scotland, 1306
Sir Walter Raleigh renews Humphrey Gilbert's patent to explore North America, 1584
Henry Hudson embarks on an exploration for Dutch East India Co., 1609
Lord Baltimore founds Catholic colony of Maryland, 1634
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christian Huygens, 1655
Mount Etna in Sicily erupts, destroying Nicolosi, killing 20,000, 1669
The Slave Trade Act becomes law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire, 1807
The Swansea and Mumbles Railway in England, then known as the Oystermouth Railway, becomes the first passenger carrying railway in the world, 1807
Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for publishing the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism, 1811
Greeks revolt against the Ottoman Empire, beginning the Greek War of Independence, 1821
In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 garment workers, leading to factory reform laws, 1911
The Georgian Orthodox Church restores its autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811, 1917
The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 1948
The European Economic Community is established (West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), 1957
Canada's Avro Arrow makes its first flight, 1958
Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully complete their 4-day 50-mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, 1965
The first fully functional space shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch, 1979
The world's first wiki, a part of the Portland Pattern Repository, is made public by Ward Cunningham, 1995
The European Union's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease, 1996
Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged Belarusian presidential election, clash with riot police, 2006
In southwest China, environmental and health concerns among residents are raised when 1,000 dead ducks pulled from the Sichuan River, 2013