Voting, Adopting a Teacher, and More Legal Kerfluffles, a Random and Happy Tuesday

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

The first thing on my plate today is to go vote.  If you live where there's an election going on anywhere, and you are eligible to do so, please go vote if you didn't do the early voting or mail in ballot.  There are a lot of people in this world who would dearly love to have the opportunity, so if you do, don't pass it up.

Image from govote.org

Then there's the ladies' circle meeting, and we are bringing gifts for the local elementary school teacher we have "adopted" for the school year.  We had this same teacher last year, and she liked what we did for her so much she asked our circle to please adopt her again!

Last month we brought enough crayons and markers (she's a 3rd grade teacher) to get her kids through the school year.  This month, we are making her a goodie basket of her favorite things.  She likes dark chocolate so i got her one of those dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's that weighs just over a pound -- i figure that may hold her for a while.

Like this, only bigger!

Dr. D was in rare form yesterday.  The morning began pleasantly enough, but i should have known it would take a turn for the worse when we had to deliver some legal papers downtown.

She came back to the car in a huge huff.  "The Huns have taken over!" she said.  "The receptionist at the City Attorney's office was sitting there eating her bacon and egg breakfast right there at her desk, and the young lady who she referred me to was wearing scruffy jeans and flip flops!  In an office!  And they wouldn't let me leave the papers with them!  I am so insulted!  I'm a taxpayer in this city, and that is my office, and they are representing it very poorly!"

Somehow i don't think Dr. D has anything like this to worry about.

Her attorney met her on the steps, and then the sparks really flew.  She was not happy with "that insolent pup!" and when he tried to call her later, she wouldn't answer.  "I'm still eating my lunch!" she yelled at the phone.

When i jokingly pointed out to her that i was washing the lunch dishes and she was in fact done eating, she said with a laugh, "Well, I'm still eating lunch where he is concerned!"

At least by that time she could laugh about it.  She was doing much better when she calmed enough to tell me all about her childhood Christmas trees.

As i've noted before, her Grandfather's family owned the Cotton Exchange in New Orleans before The Great Incivility (as his generation called the Civil War).  He went into banking afterward and owned a lot of land, including timber land.  He and his wife would take Dr. D and her brother, then only tots, to go find the perfect tree each year out on his timber land.  She remembers the big saw he and her Grandmother would use to cut the tree, soaking it in water in a bucket for a few days, the glass ornaments, the tinsel made of lead in long strands, the "angel hair" spun glass used to cover the tree stand.

Probably a lot like this one.

As for what mischief she will get into next week, well, her daughter will be in town by Friday, so i'm sure that by next Monday there will be tales to be told.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Basketball Day -- birth anniversary of James Naismith

Birth of Tiamat -- Ancient Babylonian Calendar (mother of gods, goddess of primeval chaos; date approximate)

Constitution Day -- Dominican Republic; Tajikistan; Tatarstan, Russian Federation

Electric Razor Day -- Jacob Schick patented the first electric razor on this day in 1937

Finnish Swedish Heritage Day -- Finland

Fish Returning Days begin -- Fairy Calendar (the fairies borrow centuries old fish in sealed crystal boxes from each other, and why they prefer each others or what they do with them, they will not tell)

Green March Day -- Morocco; Western Sahara

Gustavus Adolphus Day -- Sweden

Halfway Point of Autumn

International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict -- UN

International End Gossip Day -- the founder of this didn't want to be gossiped about, and left no trace

Marching Band Day -- birth anniversary of John Philip Sousa

Marooned Without A Compass Day -- internet generated; how's your sense of direction?

Melbourne Cup Day -- Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia (154th running)

National Nachos Day / I Love Nachos Day

Saxophone Day -- birth anniversary of Adolphe Sax 

St. Illtyd's Day (Abbot, reputed cousin of King Arthur)

St. Leonard's Day (Patron of barrel makers/coopers, blacksmiths, captives, childbirth, coal miners, coppersmiths, greengrocers, horses, imprisoned people, locksmiths, miners, porters, P.O.W.'s, prisoners; Castelmauro, Italy; Conegliano, Italy; Kirkop, Malta; against burglaries, robberies/robbers)

Birthdays Today:

Ethan Hawke, 1970

Pat Tillman, 1976

Rebecca Romijn, 1972

Thandie Newton, 1972

Ethan Hawke, 1970

Kelly Rutherford, 1968

Lance Kerwin, 1960

Maria Shriver, 1955

Nigel Havers, 1949

Glenn Frey, 1948

Sally Field, 1946

Mike Nichols, 1931

Walter Perry Johnson, 1887

James Naismith, 1861

Ignace Paderewski, 1860

John Philip Sousa, 1854

Cesare Lombroso, 1835

Adolphe Sax, 1814

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire(Movie), 2005

"Good Morning America"(TV), 1975

"The Phil Donahue Show"(TV), 1967

"Meet The Press"(TV), 1947

Today in History:

Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca becomes the first known European to set foot in Texas, 1528

Spain grants independence to the Dominican Republic, 1844

Scenes of Clerical Life, the first work of fiction by the author later known as George Eliot, is submitted for publication, 1856

Canada celebrates its first official, national Thanksgiving Day, 1879

Mohandas Gandhi is arrested while leading a march of Indian miners in South Africa, 1913

Colonel Jacob Schick patents the first electric razor, 1928

Edwin Armstrong presents his paper "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation" to the New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers (hello, FM radio!), 1935

Parker Brothers acquires the forerunner patents for MONOPOLY from Elizabeth Magie, 1935

Plutonium is first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility, 1944

The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies and calls for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation, 1962

Cuba and the United States formally agree to begin an airlift for Cubans who want to go to the United States, 1965

Green March begins: 300,000 unarmed Moroccans converge on the southern city of Tarfaya and wait for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross into Western Sahara, 1975

Australians vote to keep the Head of the Commonwealth as their head of state in the Australian republic referendum, 1999

Sweibodzin, Poland announced the world's largest statue of Jesus, called Christ the King, has been completed, 2010

Officials crack down on foreigners working illegally in Saudi Arabia and over 16,000 are arrested, 2013