Hours and Hours

"Hi, mom!"  Bigger Girl has been mostly absent, between work and school, but her finals are over and she's actually coming home occasionally.

It's good to see you! i said.

"Guess what!  Vera helped me order a new computer, and for our $400 budget she got me a rebuilt Lenovo with a spare battery and a warranty!  And Miss Lizzie and I are going to take PepperJack to get his heartworm preventive shot on Saturday, and my friends are making a movie and because my summer semester is over I have time to help them!"

That's great, i said.  What's this movie about?

"It's going to be a horror flick, about a guy who is psychologically tormented by a monster that appears to him as dozens and dozens of women's hands reaching for him.  You know what that means, right?"

What? i asked.

"It means I need to get all of my female friends together so that we can film the scenes where he sees the hands!  They need all my friends, as many as we can get together."

That ought to be interesting, will you bribe them all to come? i asked.

"Yes, I'll feed them, and that will get them!  It's an advantage to have starving college students as friends!"

Not all of them are students, though, i noted.

"No, but close enough, all in that age.  Oh, and Miss Lizzie has loaned Vera an air mattress so she won't have to sleep on the hard cot that hurts her back so much!  She says that as soon as her veterans disability comes through, she wants to buy a bed.  She is only 24 and walks with a cane, she really needs a good bed.  And rehab for her knee so she can get trained as a mechanic.  She doesn't want to stay on disability long, just long enough to recover and get training so she can work."

That's the best way, i noted, then added, So, now that your summer class is over, what are your plans?

"Well, work each day for a couple of more weeks, but other than that, I'm free!  I have hours and hours each day to just do what I want!  Oh, and I want to spend some of those hours doing the chores I haven't been getting to while i've been working and studying."

Sounds great, i said.

"Hours and hours!" she was gloating as she wandered upstairs.

She's going to enjoy them.




Today is

Always Live Better Than Yesterday Day

Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival -- Davenport, IA, US (fifteen bands at 3 venues and a great time for all; through Sunday)

Blessing of the Waters -- Whitstable, Kent, England (ceremony dating back to 1657, this event is held to appease the cruel seas and give thanks for its bounty; held during the community's annual Oyster Festival)

Brat Days -- Sheboygan, WI, US (celebrating bratwurst and more; through Sunday)

Cotton Candy Day

Emancipation Day -- Bermuda (first day of the Cup Match)

Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola -- (Founder of the Jesuits, especially revered in Spain; Patron of retreats, soldiers, and the Society of Jesus which he founded; Basque country; Bilbao, Spain; Bizkaia, Spain; Gipuzkoa, Spain; Guipuscoa, Spain; Guipúzcoa, Spain; Spiritual Exercises (by Pope Pius XI); Vizcaya, Spain)

First Sermon of Lord Buddha -- Bhutan

Hachinohe Sansha Taisai -- Hachinohe City, Japan (one of the most elaborate neputa festivals, through Aug. 4)

International Ranger Day -- the International Ranger Federation wants us to honor wildlife rangers around the world, and remember those killed in the line of duty

Jump for Jellybeans Day

Ka Hae Hawai'i Day -- Hawai'i (State Flag Day)

Lammas Eve / Lughnassad Eve

Lithasblot -- Norse harvest festival with a "blot", or offering, to the gods, celebrated through tomorrow

Loki and Sigyn's Day - Asatru / Norse Pagan (aka Devoted Couples Day)

Make Homemade Ice Cream and Invite the Neighbors Over Day -- summer's almost over, make the most of the days we have left!

Moby Dick Marathon -- aboard the last US wooden whaler, the Charles W. Morgan, Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT, US (through tomorrow, from noon to noon, a marathon reading of Moby Dick in honor of Melville's birthday)

Mountain Dance and Folk Festival -- Asheville, NC, US (celebrating the cultural heritage of the southern Appalachian Mountains; through Saturday)

Mutts' Day -- because mutts deserve a day as much as purebreds do!

National Chili Dog Day

National Raspberry Cake Day

Rockhound Gemboree -- Bancroft, ON, Canada (expeditions to prime mineral locations as well as dealers, demonstrations, swapping, and the chance for rockhounds to have a great time; through Sunday)

Satchmo Summerfest -- New Orleans, LA, US (because one jazz festival in this city is never enough; through Sunday)

St. Germanus' Day (Patron of Auxerre, France)

St. Joseph of Arimathea's Day -- Eastern Orthodox Church (Patron of funeral directors)

Uncommon Instruments Day -- go find a few new musical instruments you didn't know about, you might become a fan


Birthdays Today

Eric Lively, 1981
Dean Cain, 1966
J.K. Rowling, 1965
Jim Corr, 1964
Wesley Snipes, 1962
Bill Berry, 1958
Michael Biehn, 1956
Barry Van Dyke, 1951
Evonne Goolagong, 1951
Gary Lewis, 1946
Geraldine Chaplin, 1944
Susan Flannery, 1943
France Nuyen, 1939
Ted Cassidy, 1932
Don Murray, 1929
Curt Gowdy, 1919
Milton Friedman, 1912


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Living Daylights(Film), 1987
"The Shadow"(Radio), 1930


Today in History

Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide, BC30
The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji, 781
Thessalonica falls to the Arabs, who destroy the city, 904
The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect, 1492
On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus
becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad, 1498
Aurangzeb is proclaimed Moghul emperor of India, 1658
The Treaty of Breda ends the Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1667
Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers, 1703
The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Marquis de Lafayette  "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States," 1777
First U.S. patent is issued to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process, 1790
Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city, 1856
The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Australia, 1865
The radio mystery program The Shadow is aired for the first time, 1930
Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius in Persepolis, 1938
First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio, 1954
At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning because of rain, 1961
The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy, 1970
Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover, 1971
NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo, 1976
A rare, class F4 tornado rips through Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage, 1987
Georgia joins the United Nations, 1992
Fidel Castro hands over power temporarily to brother Raúl Castro, 2006
Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end, 2007
U.S. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps wins a record 19th Olympic medal, with gold in the 4x200metres freestyle relay, 2012