When the Stars Line Up

There are times when you try to move heaven and earth, and somehow it seems to work out. 

My friend Script and her husband are coming to Natchez, which is just a hop up the road for us.  They are leaving the cold of Canada to be someplace where they can see flowers at Easter.

Azalea blooms make a nice change after cold and snow.

This presented me with the opportunity to get away for a quick visit, if i could line up the stars correctly and get the time off.

One problem has to do with the fact that Easter week is very busy at the bakery, and we will be doing night frosting.  It's not just the holiday, there are a lot of wedding scheduled during Spring Break, so we have a lot of special orders, too.

Another is that most people want their houses cleaned very regularly.

Ms. G, my sometimes Wednesday person, is often amenable to skipping a week.  In fact, she sometimes already has too much to do and skipping is her idea.  She was amenable.

By agreeing to work extra on Monday and giving my hours on Wednesday to one of the other bakery workers, a student who is almost always up for the chance to earn a few extra dollars, i got the Wednesday of a holiday week off.

It's a minor miracle.  If it all holds together, the weather should be beautiful so Script and i will meet and talk and laugh and catch up and probably have a meal together somewhere.  She has always wanted to see Rosemont Plantation, and it's not far from Natchez, so we will probably do that, too.

Keeping my hopes up that it all works out, as i've needed a mental break, and this will do nicely.

Today is:

Birkebeinerrennet -- Rena to Lillehammer, Norway (54km ski marathon commemorating the 1205 rescue of infant prince Hakon Hakonsson by ski over this route) 

Commemoration of the Victory over Kadhafi -- Libya

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

Earth Hour -- 8:30pm-9:30pm, your local time; turn off your lights to take a stand against climate change

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

Maple Syrup Saturday -- Appleton, WI, US (please note that, starting now, almost every Saturday has a maple syrup festival or demonstration somewhere in Canada or the US where maple syrup is produced)

Mojoday -- Discordianism

National Chocolate Caramel Day

National Quilting Day -- US, sponsored by the National Quilting Association 

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

Tsechu Festival -- Paro, Bhutan (religious celebration in honor of Padmasambhava, with colorfully dressed monks performing masked rituals; through the 23rd)

Wild Azalea Festival -- White Springs, FL, US 

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