Landings

"Hi, mom?  I've got good news and bad news."  #1 Son was calling from work, and i held my breath, hoping the good outweighed the bad.

"The bad news is, they are transferring me to another store, and so it's going to be a longer drive to work over in the next town.  The good news is, it's going to finally be the management position they've been wanting to put me in!"

Congratulations! i said with relief.

"I'm on my way home, but I couldn't wait to tell you," he said.

Good! i said, i'm glad you didn't wait, and i'll see you in a little while.

Not long after the call, Little Girl came in from her very first job interview, to which she had driven herself!  (Yes, i know, she's not such a little girl any more, but the name stays, i'm too attached to it.)

How did it go? i asked.  When do you start?  (Yes, i'm optimistic.)

"It went well, I think," she said.  "It turns out the company policy is for everyone to be interviewed by both managers, and only one was on duty today, so I go back Friday for my second interview.  Meanwhile, they'll do the background check."

That makes sense, i noted.  She is applying to a place that caters to children eating  pizza and playing on all of the equipment and games, so it makes sense that they have to really check out all potential employees.

"The hardest question the manager asked was, 'What do you think will be the hardest part of working here?'" she said.  "At first, I wasn't sure what to say, but I told him I would imagine it gets hard  when the place is very, very crowded and busy, and that if games got broken and there were complaints it could be difficult, but other than that I wasn't so sure what to say."

Those times are probably difficult, i said.  And the fact is, kids are dirty, so the place probably needs constant cleaning, and that can get tiresome, i added.

Around then, Young Jacob came in and said, "Now that I'm back living with my Grandmother, I'm going to be moving the pool table in about two weeks!"

His pool table has taken up the majority of the downstairs room for quite some time, as he had no room for it in his trailer.

That's great! i said.

"Yeah, as soon as I get paid, some guys are going to come get it, refurbish it, and move it.  I'm going to put an A/C in the garage, and be able to practice again!"

You do love playing pool, don't you? i asked.

"Yeah, and now that I'm living with my Grandmother, I can do it again.  I like the trailer, and I liked living over there by my friend Pine, but Festus is enjoying the trailer now and I'm glad to be in a bigger place.  All she asks is that I tend the lawn and take the garbage out, and pay $100 a month."

It sounds like all of these kids, my own and the ones we've "adopted", are landing in places where they should be, and i'm glad.

Today is:

Absolutely Incredible Kid Day -- Camp Fire USA encourages everyone to send a note or letter to a young person today, telling him/her exactly what an incredible kid s/he is

Commemoration of the Victory over Kadhafi -- Libya

Companies That Care Day -- national event that encourages employers to highlight and expand their employee and community initiatives, and recognize the people who make their companies successful 

Corn Dog Day -- some sites say the 20th; #2 Son will celebrate both days, if i can afford that many corn dogs

Cumbre Tajin -- Veracruz, Mexico (Tajin Summit, alternative therapies, art, music, and dance; through Monday)

Festival of Houses and Gardens -- Charleston, SC, US (a rare opportunity to explore the private homes and gardens of historic Charleston; through Apr. 19)

Greater Dionysia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (largest festival to Dionysos, lasting five days; date approximate

Kashubians' Unity Day -- among Kashubians in northern Poland

Let's Laugh Day -- a holiday spread by ecard companies, because any day is a good day for a laugh

Mojoday -- Discordianism

National Chocolate Caramel Day

Oil Nationalization Day -- Iran

Pet Passport Day -- today in 2000, the UK passed the pet passport law, allowing pets into Great Britian without quarrantine if they met certain criteria

Poultry Day -- a day to honor the role poultry plays in our lives

Quinquatria -- Roman Empirical Calendar (celebration of Minerva and Mars, especially the birthday of Minerva today; through the 23rd)

See If You Can Find Someone Who Remembers Honey West Day -- internet generated trivia question

Swallows Return to San Juan Capistrano Day -- despite what you think, the bird you saw there yesterday was not a swallow, the natives will tell you

St. Joseph's Day (Patron of bursars, cabinetmakers, carpenters, civil engineers, confectioners, craftsmen, dying people, emigrants, expectant mothers, families, fathers, happy death, holy death, house hunters, immigrants, interior souls, laborers, married people, Oblates of St. Joseph, people in doubt, people who fight communism, pioneers, protection of the church, social justice, travellers, unborn children, wheelwrights, workers; Universal Church; over 50 cities, diocese, and countries; against doubt and hesitation)
     As Patron of fathers, his day is also Father's Day in Belgium, Bolivia, Honduras, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
     Valencia, Spain has it's biggest day of the Las Fallas Festival today, with the fireworks.

Time Zone Day -- US Congress passed the Standard Time Act to sort out the fact that different states and cities used different times, with no rhyme or reason

Ultimate Sport Show -- Grand Rapids, MI, US (sports enthusiasts from around the US and Canada gather for buying and selling equipment, seminars, demonstrations, and displays; through Sunday)

Zimbor-Quattor's Revenge Week begins -- Fairy Calendar


Birthdays Today:

Michael Bergin, 1969
Bruce Willis, 1955
Glenn Close, 1947
Clarence "Frogman" Henry, 1937
Ursula Andress, 1936
Phyllis Newman, 1935
Renee Taylor, 1935
Phillip Roth, 1933
Ornette Coleman, 1930
Patrick McGoohan, 1928
Brent Scowcroft, 1925
John Joseph Sirica, 1904
Earl Warren, 1891
Edith Nourse Rogers, 1881
Charles M. Russell, 1864
William Jennings Bryan, 1860
Albert Pinkham Ryder, 1847
Wyatt Earp, 1848
Sir Richard Burton, 1821
David Livingstone, 1813
Thomas Mckean, 1734
William Bradford, 1590


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Kate and Allie"(TV), 1984
"A Child of Our Time"(Oratorio), 1944
"Amos and Andy"(Radio), 1928
"Faust"(Opera), 1859
"Die Braut von Messina"(Schiller Play), 1803


Today in History:

A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China, 1279
Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men, 1687
The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000, 1863
Pluto is photographed for the first time but is not recognized as a planet, 1915
Eight American planes take off in pursuit of Pancho Villa, the first United States air-combat mission in history, 1916
The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time, 1918
Willie Mosconi sets a world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. The record still stands today, 1954
Gumby makes his debut, 1957
The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000 and said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is discovered by then teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence exactly 102 years after its destruction, 1965
Texas Western becomes the first college basketball team to win the Final Four with an all-black starting lineup, 1966
India and Bangladesh sign a friendship treaty, 1972
The United States House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN, 1979
Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating the Falklands War with the United Kingdom, 1982
Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses and of electoral fraud, following a turbulent presidential election, 2002
A cosmic burst, GRB 080319B, that is the farthest object visible to the naked eye is briefly observed, 2008
After two decades of being closed due to civil war, the Somali National Theater reopens in Mogadishu, 2012
The papal inauguration ceremony for Pope Francis is held in St. Peter's Square, 2013