A to Z: S is for SissyCat

Humph, the lady wants me to talk to strangers.  She should know better by now, I get grumpy around people I don't know.  My name is SissyCat, but don't let that fool you.  If the other two dogs hadn't jumped into the fray I would have taken that German shepherd instead of him getting my leg.

I like to sit so that it's hard to tell my left front leg is gone. 

Anyway, now they've nicknamed me Tripod and I own Red-headed Alec, although that fuzzy headed friend of his, Festus, thinks it's fun to call me Dopirt.  He's a bit on the odd side.

Actually, I own Red-headed Alec now, but I used to own a girl who is a friend of this family.  She couldn't take care of me and sort of abandoned me here.  I got lucky, it's a good place.

A favorite spot where I can see outdoors.

The one thing I don't like about this place is Mikey.  Link tries to mess with me, but he's a kid compared to me and I can let him know who's the boss.  Mikey jumps me, though, and I resent it.  The lady who feeds watches out for me and makes him leave me alone most of the time.

Always looking behind my back for Mikey.

They let me outside each day to eat grass, which I love.  I don't go after dogs any more, because I can't jump on their backs and give them what-for with only three legs. I used to attack people, too, but I've realized these people like me and won't hurt me, and as I said, they let me in the front yard to eat grass and chase shadows.

Nom!  The best grass grows over here at the corner of the house.

In some ways I resent being a cat, people seem to get all of the breaks.  The lady who feeds and sits outside with me says to just be glad I don't have to pay bills.  I guess it is a good life, even if I do only have 3 legs now.

It's so nice, sitting outdoors.

Today is

American Quilter's Society Quilt Show -- Paducah, KY, US (auction, workshops, and prizes for the best quilts; through Saturday)

Chemists Celebrate The Earth Day -- promoting public awareness of the important contribution of chemists

Discovery Day -- Brazil (landing of Cabral in 1500)

Earth Day

Festival of Jupiter and Juno -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day -- Girl Scouts of the USA

Granary Offering to Renenutet -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (offering to the Lady of Granaries; date approximate)

International Mother Earth Day -- UN

Lela's Holiday -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (honoring the goddess-daughter, Lela)

National Jelly Bean Day

Peppercorn Ceremony -- St. George, Bermuda (commemorates the renting of what is now the Old State House by the Masonic Lodge to the governor of Burmuda for the cost of one peppercorn per annum)

Polk County Ramp Tramp Festival -- Polk County, TN, US (come out and celebrate with the 4-H club the ramp, a local wild leek, and enjoy the Bluegrass music and games; through Saturday)

Queen Isabella Day -- Spain and some US states (birth anniversary of Isabella I of Castile)

St. Epipodius of Lyon's Day (Patron of bachelors, betrayal victims, torture victims)

USA Film Festival -- Dallas, TX, US (major showcase of new studio and indie films; through Sunday)

Walpurgis celebrations begin -- through May 1, Norse, Scandinavian, and Germanic celebrations (remembering the sacrifice of Odin upon the World Tree Yggdrasil
     Yggdrasil Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar

Yom HaZiKaron -- Israel (Memorial Day; ends at sunset)

Yom Ha'Atzmaut -- Israel (Independence Day; beings at sunset, through tomorrow sunset)


Birthdays Today:

Amber Heard, 1986
Francis Capra, 1983
Daniel Johns, 1979
Kim Elizabeth, 1978
Eric Mabius, 1971
Chris Makepeace, 1964
Byron Allen, 1961
Ryan Stiles, 1959
Peter Frampton, 1950
John Waters, 1946
Jack Nicholson, 1937

Glen Campbell, 1936
Aaron Spelling, 1928
Charlotte Rae, 1926
Yehudi Menuhin, 1916
Eddie Albert, 1906
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, 1891
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, 1870
Immanuel Kant, 1724
Queen Isabella, 1451


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Who's Tommy"(Rock musical), 1993
"Le Triomphe de Plutus/Money Makes the World Go Round"(Play), 1728


Today in History:

Portuguese navigator Pedro Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil, 1500
President George Washington attends a performance of Rickett's, the first circus in the US, 1793
Thomas Stevens sets out from San Francisco on the first round the world journey by bicycle, 1884
The Oklahoma land rush begins at noon; thousands rush to claim land, and the towns of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed within hours with populations of over 10,000 each, 1889
Pravda begins publication in St. Petersburg, 1912
The Germans begin using poison chlorine gas as a chemical weapon, 1915
British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world, 1969
The first Earth Day is celebrated, 1970
The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is dedicated, 1993
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan's war record, 2005
Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War, 2006
The Pope, Benedict XVI, becomes the first pontiff to participate in a televised interview session, 2011