Get with the Beet?

"Please keep your eyes out for my black cargo pants," Red-headed Alec was asking #1 Son.  "I can't find them anywhere, and I'll need them for work."

Could they be in the clean pile right there? i asked, pointing to clothes i had taken out of the dryer and folded the day before.

"No, I looked there," he said, and #1 Son, looked at the pile and said, "Wait!  Those are mine!"

Well, they had to belong to someone, i noted, then grinned and added, someone who conveniently leaves them to be folded by the next person who needs to use the dryer!

"I do that?" #1 Son said, also grinning.  Then he turned back to Red-headed Alec.  "Hey, Nicky and I are going to see that band [here he mentioned a name i wouldn't recognize as a band name in a million years], they're going to be in New Orleans.  Do you want to come?"

"Nah, I'm saving up my money for getting the car my Grandmother promised she'd help me with," he said.  "Besides, they aren't my favorite."

"Yes, and I know you aren't as fond of what you are hearing now as you used to be."  #1 Son said this as Sweetie cranked up another Beatles tune.

"You are right!" Red-headed Alec answered.  "I used to think their music was okay, but I hear it so much in this house, I've come to not like it much!"

"We should start a band," #1 Son said.  "We could call them the B8tles, with the number 8 instead of the vowels!"

"No, that wouldn't work," Red-headed Alec said.

"Sure it would!" he responded.  "Wait!  We'd call it the Beetles Battle B8tles!  We'd mess up the Beatles' music by playing it mixed with some of our favorites!  It would make the  parents nuts!"

Just don't make me sit here and watch your father's reaction, was my request as they laughed and started what they call a knuckle-battle.  It's like a fist bump with a vengeance.

"I'll at least beat you in knuckle-battle!" Red-headed Alex said.

"Yes, you will, because I'm quitting now!" #1 Son said, rubbing his sore knuckles.  "Remind me to only play with my brother, because I can always beat him!  In fact, I could break his knuckles!"

Please, no, not again! i said.  That's not something any of us need a second dose on, thankyouverymuch.

Crazy boys, it always comes down to muscles, doesn't it?

Today is

Arrephoria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (ceremony for the two girls chosen to weave the new robe for Athena's Statue and care for her sacred olive tree during the next year; date approximate)

Birthday of Prince Henrik -- Denmark

Coal Miner Days -- Sparwood, BC, Canada (festival and fun! through Sunday)

Corn on the Cob Day

Fandens Fodselsdag(The Devil's Birthday) -- Denmark (traditional date when contracts between masters and servants expired, making them free to renew or renegotiate or sever ties; it was also considered The Devil's Birthday because taxes and rents came due!)

Glenn Miller Birthplace Society Festival -- Clarinda, IA, US (come celebrate the music of an era; through Sunday)

Holiday of the Happy Gnomes -- Fairy Calendar (grumpy Gnomes are not allowed to attend this holiday!)

Hug Holiday -- some internet sites have this one, and since hugs are good for mental health, indulge!

King Kamehameha Day -- Hawaii, US

Career Nursing Assistants' Day 

National German Chocolate Cake Day

Rites of Matralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (honoring of Mater Matua, goddess of dawn and childbirth, by women who had been married once) related observance:
     Day Sacred to Fortuna Virgo (Fortune the Virgin, the day marriage robes of girls were dedicated to this goddess)

Show-Me State Games -- Colombia, MO, US (Olympic-style sports festival for all ages and skill levels, to encourage people to develop their physical and competitive abilities to the height of their potential through participation in fitness activities; through Sunday, and again July 17-19 and 24-26)

St. Barnabas the Apostle's Day (Patron of Antioch; Cyprus; Marbelia, Costa del Sol, Spain; Marino, Italy; invoked as a peacemaker; against hailstorms) a/k/a Barnaby Bright Day or Long Barnaby*

Superman Celebration -- Metropolis, IL, US (only in Metropolis, right? through Sunday)


*Under the Julian calendar, June 11, St. Barnabas' Day, was the longest day of the year --
Barnaby Bright, Barnaby Bright,
The longest day
And the shortest night


Anniversaries Today:

Henry VIII marries Catherine of Aragon, 1509


Birthdays Today:

Shia LeBeouf, 1986
Joshua Jackson, 1978
Caroline Quentin, 1961
Dr. Mehmet Oz, 1960
Hugh Laurie, 1959
Joe Montana, 1956
Peter Bergman, 1953
Adrienne Barbeau, 1945
Jackie Stewart, 1939
Chad Everett, 1936
Gene Wilder, 1933
William Clark Styron, Jr., 1925
Vince Lombardi, 1913
Jacques Cousteau, 1910
Jeannette Pickering Rankin, 1880
Richard Georg Strauss, 1864
John Constable, 1776
Ben Jonson, 1572


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"American Idol"(TV), 2002
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial(Film), 1982
"Main Street Electrical Parade"(Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida), 1977
"Rock 'n' Roll Music"(Beatles' UK album release), 1976
A Day at the Races(Marx Brothers film), 1937


Today in History:

Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes, BC1184
Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paves way to the creation of the Principalía, 1594
The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence, 1776
Russian  explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska, 1788
The first American stove patent is granted to Robert Haeterick, 1793
The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia, 1892
New Zealand annexes the Cook Islands, 1901
Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the Triple Crown, 1919
Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island, 1962
Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington become the first women to receive the rank of general in the U.S. Army, 1970
Cassini-Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe, 2004
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes an official apology to Canada's First Nations for residential school abuse that isolated native children from their homes, families, and cultures for a century, 2008
Ancient Korean royal books looted by French troops in 1866 are returned to South Korea; 1,000 officials and locals celebrate the return of the 297-volume 'Oegyujanggak' books, 2011
Winds in southwestern Western Australia of up to 140km/h batter the area and leave more than 170,000 homes without power, 2012