Six Sentence Story: Cleave

It's a funny, old-fashioned word, cleave, in it's meaning to cling to something closely, to actively join with someone or something, and i wonder sometimes if many of us in our culture really understand it as a long term commitment word.

A friend of mine was talking about a possible pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but her husband would prefer that they go to Italy, as Terra Santa can be a dangerous place right now.

My first thought was that i would be afraid to go there right now, i have family and friends there, and i am always concerned for them.

Many people there have a custom that when they are going to leave the house, they say something that loosely translates as "let's do party!"  By that they mean, whether they are leaving for work, school, the store, a walk, or a trip around the world, they stop and have a small celebration, hugging, singing, and enjoying each other for a few minutes, as they know it may be the last time they ever see each other.

They understand what it means to cleave to one another.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Cleave.

Today is:

Aspirin Day -- Bayer received its US patent for the medicine on this day in 1900

Bear Tie Ball -- Chicago, IL, US (the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation's black tie fundraiser; this year's theme is "Mission Possible")

Day of Selene -- Ancient Greek Calendar (goddess of the moon, date approximate)

Equirria -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Cavalry Horse Festival)

Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows/Gabriel Possenti (Patron of clerics, students, young people; Abruzzi, Italy; Catholic Action)

Independence Day -- Dominican Republic(1844)

International Sword Swallowers Day 

Katsuyama Sagicho -- Katsuyama, Japan (Chinese influenced fire festival held the last weekend of every February; large stages are built and decorated, then burned the next day)

Majuba Day -- South Africa (celebration of the Boers victory at Majuba Hill)

National Kahlua Day

National Strawberry Day -- no, i don't know why this isn't in June, when the berries are best; maybe the person who put it here had too much Kahlua

No Brainer Day - this day is for me! created by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith, "America's Premier Eventologist"

Open That Bottle Night -- time to finally drink that bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion; after all, the final Saturday in February only comes once a year (sponsored by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of The Wall Street Journal)

Parke County Maple Fair -- Rockville, IN, US (pancake meals, a Covered Bridge Art Assn. show, and more; this weekend and next)

Polar Bear Day -- as declared by Polar Bears International

Read Five Pages in the Dictionary Day -- internet generated, and am i the only one who likes the idea?

Runic Half Month Tyr commences (cosmic pillar)

St. Galmier of Lyon's Day (Patron of locksmiths)

Swamp Cabbage Festival -- LaBelle, FL, US (also called Hearts of Palm, gear up for two days of food, entertainment, and family fun)

The Hop -- Fairy Calendar

Threepenny Day -- Eton College, England (By the last will of two Provosts in the 16th century, each boy receives a threepenny piece on this day -- enough to buy half a sheep back then.)


Anniversary Today:

African Burial Ground National Monument is established, 2006



Birthdays Today:

Josh Groban, 1981
Chelsea Clinton, 1980
Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas, 1971
Grant Show, 1963
Adam Baldwin, 1962
Michael Bolton, 1953
Alan Guth, 1947
Mary Fran, 1943
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, 1942
Howard Hesseman, 1940
Ralph Nadar, 1934
Elizabeth Taylor, 1932
Joanne Woodward, 1930
Ariel Sharon, 1928
John Connally, 1917
James Thomas Farrell, 1904
John Steinbeck, 1902
Gene Sarazen, 1902
Marian Anderson, 1897
David Sarnoff, 1891
Hugo La Fayette Black, 1886
Alice Hamilton, 1869
Ellen Terry, 1847
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807
Constantine I, 272


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What Makes Sammy Run?"(Musical), 1964
Road to Utopia(Film), 1946


Today in History:

The first Russian Embassy arrives in London, 1557
The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland, 1560
Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci, 1626
Jews are expelled from Austria by order of Leopold I, 1670
The Pacific island of New Britain is discovered, 1700
Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire, 1812
The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti, 1844
Composer Robert Schumann is saved from a suicide attempt in Rhine, 1854
Russians shoot at Poles protesting Russian rule of Poland, 1861
The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships, 1870
Charlotte E. Ray becomes the first African American woman to earn a law degree, from Howard University, 1872
Lord Kitchener opens Khartoum-El Obeid (Nyala) railway, 1912
Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14, 1940
The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over, 1964
The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota, 1973
People magazine is published for the first time, 1974
U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated", 1991
A Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, 2002
The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years, 2007
Central Chile is hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, 2010
Wikileaks begins releasing 5 million emails from Stratfor, a private intelligence company, 2012
At Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his farewell address, 2013