A good time was had by all. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

About 11 years ago, Sweetie got bitten with a bug.  It was an odd bug, but since all of us are a bit odd, this shouldn't come as a surprise.  The bug was wanting to see a particular person inducted into a local hall of fame.

He made a pest of himself to many, trying to find out information, digging up facts, and finally, after a couple of years, finding the man's family, who were no longer local.

After dogging it for years, providing enough information, getting people to write letters of recommendation, and setbacks that might have made other people quit, he finally got his wish.

Yesterday was the big day, the banquet at which this year's nominees were inducted.  The man's family traveled from around the country to be here.  His only child, all four of her children, and four out of her five grandchildren, got into town for the event.

Of course, because it was such a big day, it couldn't go perfectly.

My client yesterday was very late getting back, and i had to wait for her.  By the time i could leave, the whole area was tied up in traffic knots and if it weren't for my two girls, all would have been lost.  They went to the shelter and did my shift, because i could not get over to that side of town from where i was, not and also be ready for the big event in time that evening.

It was one of those nice, formal events where even i dressed up.  (Meaning decent clothes from which i have carefully removed all cat hair instead of jeans-and-a-t-shirt, and lipstick.)

It's one of those in which they serve you a soggy salad and a tiny plate of food for which they charge a huge premium.  And if you think everyone else went hungry, with a steak so small you had to move the spoonful of vegetables on the plate to the side just to see it, imagine how little went into the "vegetarian plate."  The venue also has two other restaurants on site, so i think the point was that you leave hungry so you go spend more at one of those other restaurants.  In that, they were disappointed, at least by us.

Other than that, though, it was a splendid event, and none of the inductees, or their representatives in the cases of the posthumous inductees, spoke forever and a year like i've seen happen.

After such a nice evening, though, we came out of the event so see that one of Sweetie's front tires is dangerously low.  This morning, then, i am back at it, taking a vehicle to Kevin and Lenny, as well as taking Dansig to the vet for another check-up.

 Life's like that.

Today is:

Aloha Festivals Royal Court Investiture and Opening Ceremonies -- Oahu, Hawai'i, US (opening events of the Aloha Festivals, a month long series of free events on every Island celebrating Hawai'ian culture)

Be Late For Something Day -- sponsored by the Procrastinators' Club of America, Inc. (if they can get around to mentioning it in their newsletter, of course)

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta's Day

Braemar Royal Highland Gathering -- Braemar, Scotland (one of the largest gatherings and Highland Games, celebrated for the last 900 years)

Buffalo Wing Festival -- Buffalo, NY, US (two days of celebrating one of this town's favorite foods!)

Festival of Children -- Costa Mesa, CA (weekends through Sept.; a community-wide charity outreach with over 100 stage and hands-on activities through the month)

Freddy Mercury Montreaux Memorial -- Montreaux, Switzerland (annual tribute to the work of Freddie Mercury)

Genesia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (a day of the dead; date approximate)

Gaura Parva -- Nepal

Hassaku-sai -- Matsuo-taisha Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (rituals to ask the gods for mild weather, good harvests and safe homes)

International Bacon Day -- good day for a double decker BLT with grilled onions and Swiss cheese

International Day of Charity -- UN

Janmasthami -- Hindu (birth of Lord Krishna)

Japanese Festival -- St. Louis, MO (celebrating the history, culture, and people of Japan at the Missouri Botanical Garden; through Monday)

Jupiter Stator Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar (commemorates that Jupiter helped Romulus to stop the Sabine invasion under Titus Tatius)

Jury Rights Day -- marking the decision by a jury, in 1670, to not convict William Penn of laws which they considered unjust which would have prohibited him from the practice and preaching of his religion to a peaceably assembled congregation; this decision became the basis of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the US

National Cheese Pizza Day

National Hummingbird Day -- not official, but someone loves them enough to have started this

National Writing Date Day -- a day to make a date with yourself to go to a coffee shop or library or someplace and get some writing done; sponsored by Natalie Marie-Collins) 

Sheriff's Ride Ceremony -- Lichfield, UK (dating back to 1553, the sheriff and his men ceremonially ride the circuit of the boundary of the city; originally on the 8th Sept. every year by order of Queen Mary, now held on the Saturday nearest)

St. Laurence Gustiani's Day (First Patriarch of Venice)

Sts. Zechariah and Elisabeth's Day -- Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches

Teacher's Day -- India

Wag and Carrot Fancying Day -- Fairy Calendar


Anniversaries Today:

John Travolta marries Kelly Preston, 1991


Birthdays Today:

Kim Yu-Na, 1990
Rose McGowan, 1973
Dweezil Zappa, 1969
Kristian Alfonso, 1964
Cathy Guisewite, 1950
Dennis Dugan, 1946
Raquel Welch, 1940
William Devane, 1939
Carol Lawrence, 1934
Bob Newhart, 1929
Arthur C. Nielsen, 1923
John Cage, 1912
Arthur Koestler, 1905
Darryl F. Zanuck, 1902
Morris Carnovsky, 1897
Jesse James, 1847
Johann Christian Bach, 1735


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy"(TV), 1966
"No Mother To Guide Her"(Play), 1905


Today in History:

Peter the Great of Russia imposes a tax on beards, in an attempt to Westernize his people, 1698
The First Continental Congress is assembled in Philadelphia, 1774
The French National Convention initiates the Reign of Terror, 1793
Napoleon surrenders Malta to Great Britian, 1800
Sam Houston is elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas, 1836
The First Opium war begins in China, 1839
James Glaisher, pioneering meteorologist and Henry Tracey Coxwell break world record for altitude whilst collecting data in their balloon, 1862
Sioux Chief Crazy Horse is killed, 1877
The First Labor Day Parade is held in NYC, 1882
The first gasoline pump is delivered to a gasoline dealer in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, 1885
The first legal forward pass in American football is thrown by Bradbury Robinson of St. Louis University to teammate Jack Schneider in a 22–0 victory over Carroll College (Wisconsin), 1906
The French Upper Volta is broken apart between Ivory Coast, French Sudan, and Niger, 1932
The first conference of the Non Aligned Countries is held in Belgrade, 1961
A Palestinian terrorist group called "Black September" attack and take hostage 11 Israel athletes at the Munich Olympic Games. 2 die in the attack and 9 die the following day, 1972
Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay, 1977
The St. Gotthard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel, 1980
The current international treaty defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, came into force, 1991
Tuvalu joins the UN, 2000
For the first time, a browsable, analysable overview of four million functional elements of the human genome discovered to date are made available to the public, 2012