Satisfying Their Thirst (Six Sentence Story) and Good Fences

State law supposedly said that any piece of property not on your local tax rolls after 10 years became part of the state capital city, and was taxed by and governed by the laws of that city. 

The little bit of land had been ignored for years, and upon finding out this little known law while doing some research, he also looked for the owners of that property and found it to be, after all of this time in the possession of no one one particular, the capital city itself.

He bought the land for a song plus the bit of back taxes, because the capital city had no use for it, and began building, reminding the local council that this piece of land was actually part of the state capital city, over 200 miles away.  They blustered and fussed, but found out he was right, they could not stop him.

He kept building, and told everyone they were going to be very happy with the results when he was finished. 

Indeed, the day he opened his liquor store in the middle of that dry part of the state, people lined up for hours to get in.

Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Dry.  (The above is supposed to be a true story, although i have my doubts.)

***********************************

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.

Please note that Gosia might be taking a blog break now, but i'm posting a fence anyway because i like to.

A fence above the waterfall at our favorite vacation spot.

Today is:

A Room of One's Own Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, for all of those who just want a space to call their own; on the birth anniversary of Virginia Woolf

Around the World in 72 Days -- this date in 1890, Nellie Bly broke the fictional Phileas Fogg's record and went around the world in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds

Big Rock Day -- discovery of the Cullinan diamond (3,106 carets) this day in 1905

Clashing Clothes Day -- "officially" (although i'm not sure who declared it) on the 4th Thursday of January, but some people seem to celebrate it every day

Conversion of St. Paul -- Christian

    Observe the Weather Day -- a beautiful St. Paul's Conversion day means a prosperous year, precipitation means an expensive year, clouds mean much loss of livestock, and wind means war looms in the year ahead

Dydd Santes Dwynwen -- Wales (For St. Dwynwen, Patron of lovers, especially Welsh lovers, and sick animals; the Welsh Valentines Day)

Feriae Sementivae -- Ancient Roman Calendar (a Feast of Spring, asking protection for seeds sown in the fall, and those to be sown in spring)

Festival of Constructive Energy -- another internet generated day with no explanations

Get to Know Your Customers Day -- on the 4th Thursday of each quarter

G. F. Betico Croes Day -- Aruba

IV Nurse Day -- US (sponsored by the Infusion Nurses Society)  

January 25 Revolution Day -- Egypt

Luanda City Day -- Luanda City, Angola

Macintosh Computer Day -- debuted this day in 1984

National Irish Coffee Day

National Voters' Day -- India

Old Disting -- Norse Calendar (date approximate; a market day held at the same time as a sacrifice to the female powers.)

Robert Burns' Night -- Scotland; Newfoundland (celebrated with a Burns' Supper and reciting poetry)

    Dinner Party Day -- for Bobby Burns, of course

Sounkyo Ice Festival -- Hokkaido, Japan (snow and ice sculptures that are almost too good to be true, through March 20)

St. Ananias of Damascus' Day (Saint who baptized St. Paul)

Winter Carnival -- St. Paul, MN, US (a tradition over 100 years in the making; through February 10)

Winter-een-mas -- a holiday for gamers, begun by Tim Buckley; through the 31st

Women's Healthy Weight Day -- on the Thursday of Healthy Weight Week, encouraging women to strive for a healthy weight and lifestyle  

Anniversaries Today:

Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, 1533 (secret wedding)

Moscow University is established, to coincide with St. Tatiana's Day, 1755

Birthdays Today:

Alicia Keys, 1981

Ana Ortiz, 1971

China Kantner, 1971

Dinah Manoff, 1958

Leigh Taylr-Young, 1945

Etta James, 1938

Corazon Aquino, 1933

Dean Jones, 1931

Edwin Newman, 1919

Florence Mills, 1896

Virginia Woolf, 1882

William Somerset Maugham, 1874

Robert Burns, 1759

Robert Boyle, 1627 (O.S. date)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Rent"(Musical), 1996

M*A*S*H*(Film), 1970

One Hundred and One Dalmatians(Cartoon film), 1961

"Metamorphosen, Study for 23 Solo Strings"(Strauss composition), 1946

"The Guiding Light"(Radio), 1937

"R.U.R./Rossum's Universal Robots"(Play), 1921 (the word "robot" enters the world lexicon)

"Wedding March"(Mendelssohn, Op. 61), 1858

"La Cenerentola"(Rossini Opera), 1817

Today in History:

Founding of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1554

Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1573

The Treaty of Utrecht marks the beginning of the Dutch Republic, 1579

Eliakam Spooner of Vermont patents the first seeding machine in the US, 1799

The first US engineering college opens, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Troy, NY, 1825

Sojourner Truth addresses the First Black Women's Rights Convention, in Akron, Ohio, 1851

Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" is first played, at the wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia, 1858

The soda fountain is patented by Gustavus Dows, 1870

Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company, 1881

Bilu, a Russian Zionist organization, forms, 1882

Nellie Bly beats Phileas Fogg's time around world by 8 days (72 days), 1890

The first US transcontinental telephone call is made when Alexander Graham Bell in NY calls Thomas Watson in SF, 1915

The League of Nations is founded, 1919

The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games, 1924

At the Hollywood Athletic Club the first Emmy Awards are presented, 1949

The first scheduled transcontinental flight in the US takes place, an American Airlines flight from California to New York, 1959

The Clementine space probe launches, 1994

Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile, 1995

During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country, 1998

Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star, 2006

Tropical cyclone Oswald makes landfall in Queensland, Australia, causing mass flooding, 2013
A British rowing team becomes first female crew and first crew of four to cross the Pacific, San Francisco to Cairns in 257 days, 2016