Six Sentences and Good Fences

"Wow, that must have been a shock," Alex said in a rather subdued voice.

"My music professor from college died a couple of weeks ago.  As much as I wanted to travel back to the campus for the funeral, there was too much going on at work for me to take time off, and now this shows up in the mail," he gestured to the pile of papers he had loosely gathered back together.

The yellow of the mailing envelope stuck out from under the white papers, and Alex deftly slipped it out from the bottom without ruffling them.  "Curious, the return address is Grandma and Grandpa's address here in town!"

"Professor Denarius never left anything to chance; whoever was instructed to mail it was told, I'm sure, to use that address in case I had moved."

Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Slip. 

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Gosia, of Looking for Identity, has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World.  Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.

The fence looks rather solid from here.

Looks can be deceiving.

Today is:

Annie Oakley Days Festival -- Greenville, OH, US (keeping alive the legacy of "Little Miss Sure Shot" with a shooting contest today as well as a pilgrimage to her grave, then tomorrow starts the Melodrama performances, ugly boot contest, Family Fun Games, and more; through Sunday)

Barbie-in-a-blender Day -- while i get why we do it to Barbie, what did your blender do to deserve this?  originally thought of by Freeculture.org, to defend our rights to comment on cultural icons, whether they are trademarked/copyrighted or not 

Berne Swiss Days Festival -- Berne, IN, US (Swiss food, dancing, yodeling, a stein-toss, and lots more family fun; through Saturday)

Bugs Bunny Day -- the "wascally wabbit" made his debut in A Wild Hare, released on this day in 1940

Calgary Folk Music Festival -- Calgary, AB, Canada (one of Calgary's biggest and most fun festivals; through Sunday)

Cuti Bersama 2017 -- Indonesia

Day of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus -- date on the Julian Calendar, these are the legendary saints who, upon persecution by the Emperor Decius and being walled up in a cave to die as martyrs, instead slept for over 200 (in the Koran, yes, they are mentioned there, it is 300) years; based on an even more ancient legend and the prototypes of Rip Van Winkle; related observances 

     National Sleepy Head Day -- Finland (the last person in the house to wake on this day is awakened with water, either thrown on him/her or the person is thrown into water; in honor of the story of the Saints of Ephesus)

     Seven Sleepers Day -- Ancient Latvian Calendar

     Siebenschlafer -- Germany (a weather prognostication day, if it rains today, there will be rain for seven weeks more)

Dodge City Days -- Dodge City, KS, US (a celebration of Western heritage, this year's theme is "This Ain't Our First Rodeo"; through Aug. 7)

First Sermon of Lord Buddha -- Bhutan

Great Texas Mosquito Festival -- Clute, Texas, US (Annual salute to the fact that if you can't beat 'em, and when it's mosquitoes, you can't, you might as well celebrate 'em.  There's something for all ages, including the Skeeter Beaters Baby Crawl, a Mosquito calling contest, and a Mr. & Mrs. Mosquito Legs Contest, plus games, rides, carnival food, and more; through Saturday)

Iglesia Ni Cristo Day -- Philippines

International Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo -- Grand Isle, LA, US (hurricanes have tried to derail this celebration, but they come back better than ever each time; through Saturday)

Ipip Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (festival for working on the king's tomb; date approximate)

Jose Celso Barbosa Day -- Puerto Rico

National Blunt Object Day -- this one is just weird, and no one wants to take the blame for starting it, either

National Chili Dog Day

National Creme Brulee Day

National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day -- US

National Scotch Day

Nova Scotia Bluegrass and Oldtime Music Festival -- Bible Hill, NS, Canada (Canada's longest running bluegrass festival and a great event for the whole family; through Sunday)

Over-The-Moon Night (Cows and Spoons) -- Fairy Calendar

Rockhound Gemboree -- Bancroft, ON, Canada (expeditions to prime mineral locations as well as dealers, demonstrations, swapping, and the chance for rockhounds to have a great time; through Sunday)

St. Pantaleon's Day (Patron of bachelors, physicians, torture victims; against tuberculosis)

Take Your Houseplants For a Walk Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, which claims doing this will orient them to their position on the earth and make them healthier (some websites mistakenly call it take your pants for a walk day!)

Victory Day -- North Korea

Walk on Stilts Day -- at your own risk always; sponsored by Bill "Stretch" Coleman, the Nine Foot Clown, who encourages everyone to walk on stilts to foster a chance to develop self-confidence, master balance and coordination, enjoy the challenge, and celebrate daring accomplishments at all ages 

War Martyrs' and Invalids' Day -- Vietnam

Birthdays Today

Ashlyn Sanchez, 1996

Cheyenne Kimball, 1990

Courtney Kupets, 1986

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, 1977

Alex Rodriguez, 1975

Maya Rudolph, 1972

Triple H, 1969

Julian McMahon, 1968

Maureen McGovern, 1949

Peggy Fleming, 1948

Betty Thomas, 1947

Bobbie Gentry, 1944

James Victor, 1939

Gary Gygax, 1938

Jerry Van Dyke, 1931

Norman Lear, 1922

Leo Ernest Durocher, 1905

Joseph Bert "Joe" Tinker, 1880

José Celso Barbosa, 1857

Alexandre Dumas, fils, 1824

Queen Hatshepsut, BC1508

Today in History

Siward, Earl of Northumbria invades Scotland to support Malcolm Canmore against Macbeth of Scotland, who usurped the Scottish throne from Malcolm's father, King Duncan; Macbeth is defeated at Dunsinane, 1054

Jesuit priest Francis Xavier's ship reaches Japan, 1549

The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports, 1663

A Royal Charter is granted to the Bank of England, 1694

The Russian Navy defeats the Swedes atthe Battle of Grengam, 1720

The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (later renamed Department of State), 1789

Robespierre is finally arrested, 1794

The Atlantic Cable is successfully completed, allowing transatlantic telegraph communication for the first time, 1866

Researchers at the University of Toronto led by biochemist Frederick Banting announce the discovery of the hormone insulin, 1921

The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny, 1940

RMS Titanic, Inc. begins the first expedited salvaging of wreckage of the RMS Titanic, 1987

A pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, GA, US, during the Summer Olympics, 1996

Photograph negatives purchased at a garage sale prove to be early works by photographer Ansel Adams, 2010
The first Przewalski’s horse (whose wild populations were believed extinct in 1969) is born via artificial insemination at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute as part of a worldwide effort to rebuild the wild herds, 2013