Laugh Lessons (Ten Things of Thankful)

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

Have you read the funny papers lately?

Last week i talked about how i am thankful for the daily newspaper, and i mentioned the funnies, or comics as some call them.  That is my favorite part of a paper, as i can count on a laugh or several while perusing them.

All week i’ve been thinking about the comic strips, old and new, that i enjoy, and i realize i am thankful for lessons learned from what people used to call “the funny papers.”

Thank you, Blondie, for starting your catering business and reminding me that you are never too old to start something new if it’s something you love and are passionate about.

Thank you, Garfield, for showing me that if you keep trying to do the same thing all of the time, you will become nothing but a poor parody of your own former self.

Thank you, Family Circus, for helping me keep my sanity and look for the funny parts in raising children.

Thank you, Baby Blues, for showing the hard parts of child rearing, like the days you just want to hide in bed, with humor, thus helping me get out of that bed and back into the game.

Thank you, Dennis the Menace and Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes, for reminding me, on days when my children did not behave, that it could always be worse.

Thank you, Dilbert, even when my work is hard (like cleaning baseboards with a toothbrush last Thursday!) you make me grateful i do not work in cubicle-land.

Thank you, Beetle Bailey, for showing me that when i get a chance to relax, i need to really stop and relax and enjoy it with relish.

Thank you, Leroy and Loretta of The Lockhorns, and Flo and Andy of Andy Capp, for the lessons in what not to do when you are married!

Thank you, Jump Start, for showing that family should stick by family even when it gets crazy.

Saving the best for last, thank you, Peanuts:  Charlie Brown, for never giving up but always going back to the pitcher’s mound; Lucy, for owning your crabbiness; Linus, for not caring what others thought of your need for a blanket; and Snoopy, for showing me that it’s okay to be Joe Cool, even if only in your own mind.

Our hostess Josie Two Shoes keeps the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop, well, hopping!  If you are thankful for a lesson learned from an unlikely place, or anything else, come join the fun.  List your gratitudes and thankfuls and link up.  The more, the merrier!

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Today is:

Amun in the Festival of Raising Heaven -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Bear Tie Ball -- Chicago, IL, US (the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation's black tie fundraiser)

Chinese New Year Parade -- San Francisco, CA, US (North America's largest Chinese community celebrates the Lunar New Year in style)

Clam Chowder Cook-Off -- Santa Cruz, CA, US (if you love clam chowder of any variety, this is the place for you; through tomorrow)

Dragobete -- Romania (lover's day, and the day birds choose a mate, also considered by locals as the first day of spring)

Flag Day -- Mexico

Giving of Shoes -- Fairy Calendar

Gregorian Calendar Day -- Gregory XIII issued the Papal Bull requiring Roman Catholics to adopt his calendar reform on this day; the effective date of adoption was to be Oct. 4, 1582

International Sword Swallowers Day   

Iseseisvuspaev/Independence Day -- Estonia(1918)

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)

National Artist Day -- Thailand

National Tortilla Chip Day

N'cwala -- Zambia (Thanksgiving festival, celebrated with traditional dance, music, and specially brewed beer)

Nylon Toothbrush Day -- the first ones went on sale this date in 1938

Obnoxious Day -- probably started as a joke, the only ones who benefit from this day are the ecard companies

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)

Regifugium -- Ancient Roman Calendar (flight of the king)

Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen Tournament -- Japan; snowball fighting (yukigassen) at its best, through tomorrow

St. Æthelberht of Kent's Day (first Christian King of the Anglo-Saxons; some have his day listed tomorrow instead)

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

Anniversaries Today:

Hadassah is founded, 1912

Western Washington University is established, 1899

The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America, 1893

Birthdays Today:

Billy Zane, 1966

Kristin Davis, 1965

Eddie Murray, 1956

Paula Zahn, 1956

Steven Jobs, 1955

Alain Prost, 1955

Helen Shaver, 1951

George Thorogood, 1950

Edward James Olmos, 1947

Rupert Holmes, 1947

Barry Bostwick, 1945

Joe Lieberman, 1942

James Farentino, 1938

Renata Scotto, 1937

Michel Legrand, 1932

Mark Lane, 1927

Stephen Hill, 1922

Abe Vigoda, 1921

Chester W. Nimitz, 1885

Honus Wagner, 1874

Winslow Homer, 1836

Wilhelm Karl Grimm, 1786

Ibn Battutah, 1304

Emperor Toba of Japan, 1103

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Peer Gynt"(Play), 1876

"Rinaldo"(HWV 7), 1711

"L'Orfeo"(SV318), 1607

Today in History:

St. Francis of Assisi, age 26, receives his vocation in Portiuncula, Italy, 1208

In the first imperial coronation by a pope,Charles V is crowned by Clement V, 1530

Pope Gregory XIII, by decree, institutes what is now known as the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the older Julian Calendar, 1582

L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance, 1607

The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, 1711

The US Supreme Court first declares a law unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison), 1803

London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute, 1804

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West, 1831

William Otis of Pennsylvania patents the steam shovel, 1839

The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, 1868

Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached, 1868

The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries, 1875

China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty, 1881

Chicago is selected to host the Columbian Exposition, 1890

Rudolf Diesel receives a patent for the diesel engine, 1893

Hudson Motor Car Company is founded, 1909

National Public Radio is founded in the United States, 1970

The United States Olympic Hockey team completes their Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal, 1980

Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, 1981

A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II, 1983

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, 1989

The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church, 1996*

Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea, 2007

Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years, 2008

Final launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, 2011

Pope Francis creates a second Secretariat with the power to audit any Vatican agency at any time, 2014

*The Romans counted Feb. 24 twice in leap years, instead of adding Feb. 29; that continued in many places until 1996