Graduation Day!

Wednesday morning went well, Sweetie and i were heading out of town by about 11am.

You do realize that means we hit Houston traffic right at 4:30pm, right?

Yes, we did, and it isn't nearly as bad as it sounds, especially since we don't have to sit through it every single day.

My friend Grace was more than ready for us to be there by the time we arrived in San Antonio at 9:30pm.  We talked a bit, and then went to bed.

Thursday morning she came with us for breakfast tacos at Carmelita's, then she decided to accompany us to the base visitor center to see if we could get passes.

It turned out to be a good thing that she came.  Because Little Girl had only requested passes for us on Friday, we couldn't apply for simple visitor passes for Thursday.  Grace is a military dependent (her husband is a retired career Airman), so she was able to request a pass for us.

We took Grace back home to work (she works from home), and went back to the base in time to wait for Little Girl's company to finish their graduation ceremony practice.  Once done, i was able to sign her out and we took her to a late lunch.

It was wonderful seeing her, and every time we see her after a separation she hugs me and says, "I'd forgotten how small you were!"  It's become a running joke.

A funny thing happened that evening after i'd signed Little Girl back onto base.  Sweetie and i took Grace out to dinner to thank her for letting us stay at her house.  She mentioned one restaurant, and we went to the strip mall where it was located, got turned around, and walked into the wrong restaurant!  It wasn't until after we were seated that i realized it, but we decided to stay because the menu looked good.  Now i wonder how many people end up in the wrong one because the entrances to those two restaurants are so close.

The graduation ceremony on Friday was beautiful, and Little Girl gave us her duffel bags to take home because she didn't want to lug them on the plane (and i don't blame her, you don't want to lug two huge bags like that around an airport, especially when you have a layover).  We took her for lunch again, and walked a bit on the River Walk, and dropped her at the airport.  She got home last night, and we are driving home today.

It's been a fabulous visit with my friend Grace, and we are proud of Little Girl, who can now start college, and i am tired with another very busy week ahead.

The tired is worth it, she is worth it.

Terrible picture of a terrific Army Medic!

Today is:

Alligator Wrestling Day -- internet generated, and i wonder if a cat that doesn't want its meds counts?

Automatic Toll Collection Day -- the first machine went into use on New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway on this day in 1954

Discovery Day -- Puerto Rico

Equal Opportunity Day / Dedication Day / Remembrance Day -- anniversary of the Gettysburg Address

Family Volunteer Day -- to get families working together to better their communities and the world; get information here 

Fete de S.A.S. le Prince Souverain -- Monaco (National Day)

Flag Day -- Brazil

Garifuna Day/Carib Settlement Day -- Belize

"Have a Bad Day" Day -- for the hidden, or not so hidden, grouch in all of us; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Holidays in the City Grand Illumination Parade -- Norfolk, VA, US (to kick off Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays)

International Games Day @ Your Library -- libraries in many countries are sponsoring a local Games Day, check with yours!

International Men's Day -- Australia; Canada; Ghana; Hungary; India; Ireland; Jamaica; Malta; Singapore; South Africa; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom; United States

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day 
     National Survivors of Suicide Day -- US (by Congressional designation since 1999, and now an international movement; remembering those who have lost loved ones to suicide, especially as Thanksgiving and the holidays are coming)

Liberation Day -- Mali

Natchitoches Festival of Lights -- Natchitoches, LA, US (over 350,000 lights go on every night from now until Jan, 6, with carolers on Friday and Saturday evenings downtown, festivals and events every weekend; come celebrate the season in the Oldest Settlement in the Louisiana Purchase)

National Adoption Day -- US (encouraging us to find a home for every child; many courts finalize thousands of adoptions of children from foster care on this day each year) 

National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day

Nordic Yulefest -- Nordic Museum, Seattle, WA, US (a Scandinavian holiday extravaganza; through tomorrow)

PCS Day and Homeplace Festival -- Waretown, NJ, US (a family affair with country, bluegrass, and traditional music)

Please Maintain Your Focus Today Day -- internet generated, but a good idea

St. Obadiah's Day (Obadiah the Prophet)

Surin Elephant Round-Up -- Surin, Thailand (includes elephant football, elephant tugs-of-war, and parades; through Sunday)

"What Ever Happened to Gary Pucket?" Day -- internet generated, and a fun question to research

Women's Entrepreneurship Day 

World's Champion Duck-Calling Contest and Festival -- Stuttgart, AR, US (pageants for Queen Mallard and Junior Queen Mallard, carnival, and the best duck calling possible; through Nov. 30)

World Toilet Day -- sponsored by the World Toilet Organization (yes, really, to raise awareness of the 2.5 billion people who don't have access to proper sanitation)


Anniversaries Today:

Zion National Park is established, 1919
Women's Christian Temperance Union is founded, 1874


Birthdays Today:

McCaughey Septuplets, 1997
Kerri Strug, 1977
Savion Glover, 1973
Gail Devers, 1966
Terry Farrell, 1963
Jodie Foster, 1962
Meg Ryan, 1961
Allison Janney, 1960
Anne Curry, 1956
Eileen Collins, 1956
Scott Jacoby, 1956
Glynnis O'Connor, 1955
Kathleen Quinlan, 1954
Ahmad Rashad, 1949
Calvin Klein, 1942
Garrick Utley, 1939
Ted Turner, 1938
Dick Cavett, 1936
Jack Welch, 1935
Larry King, 1933
Roy Campanella, 1921
Indira Gandhi, 1917
Peter Drucker, 1909
Tommy Dorsey, 1905
Billy Sunday, 1862
James Garfield, 1831


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Heaven's Gate(Film), 1980
"Rocky and His Friends/Rocky and Bullwinkle"(TV), 1959
The first Automatic Toll Collection Machine, at the Union Toll Plaza in New Jersey, 1954


Today in History:

The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins, 1095
Rabbi Isaiah b Abraham aha-Levi Horowitz arrives in Isreal, 1621
The Jakobinen club forms in Paris, 1794
The Jay Treaty, the first US extradition treaty, is signed with Great Britain, 1794
Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European Americans to cross the continent, 1805
Warsaw University is established, 1816
The St. Petersburg flood, caused by storms, kills 10,000, 1824
The second Canadian railway line, the Montreal and Lachine Railway, is opened, 1847
Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address, 1863
Boss Tweed is convicted, sentenced to 12 years, 1874
Carrie Nation attempts to address the US Senate, 1903
NY receives the first Marconi wireless transmission from Italy, 1911
Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures (anybody want to guess what this eventually became?), 1916
The first issue of Time Magazine is published, with Emperor Hirohito on the cover, 1928
Télé Monte Carlo, Europe's oldest private television channel, is launched by Prince Rainier III, 1954
The first automatic toll collection machine is introduced on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway, 1954
Ford cancels the Edsel, 1959
Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum (the "Ocean of Storms") and become the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon, 1960
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement, 1977
Lt. Gen. Maurice Baril of Canada arrives in Africa to lead a multi-national policing force in Zaire, 1996
Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of the Artist Without Beard sells at auction for $71.5 million USD, 1998
The People's Republic of China launches its first Shenzhou spacecraft, 1999
Claudia Castillo has a successful trachea transplant from stem-cell created organ, 2008
Many nations urge lower fishing rates on the Atlantic bluefin tuna; quota limits on the critically endangered fish are discussed by major fishing nations in Paris, 2010