A to Z: I Concur (Wordlesss Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

(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.) 

To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.     

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts that encourages us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, i am providing the prompts.  You can write your story on your blog and leave a link here, or write your story in the comments, your choice.

Pick words from one list, or both, use them all, or use none.  The whole point is to get us writing, so please have fun with it!

This weeks words are:

gaze

dogs

brave

decisive

wrench

tempt

and/or

bad

shake

scribble

flower

afternoon

camp

"What in the world are you doing?" he asked as she walked back into their CAMP with flowers in her hair.

"I am FLOWER River Moon, a hippie, and I am here to make your AFTERNOON one to remember," she said, trying to keep a straight face, and he tried his best, but after a few seconds, he started to silently SHAKE.

It was too much for both of them, though, and they started to giggle, then to laugh, finally the laughter grew, the way such laughter sometimes does, until it was all out of proportion to the original joke, and they were both rolling on the grass, gasping and trying to catch their breath, as their DOGS GAZEd at them in wonder.

When he could finally speak a little, he said, "Thanks, I needed that," to which she responded, "Me, too."

Until that moment, it had seemed like everything in the universe was conspiring to throw a WRENCH in the works to TEMPT them to abandon their plan to camp out in a park, in a tent, for a whole week.  No giving up and going to a hotel like last time when they both ate some food that had gone BAD and got seriously sick.  The weather was supposed to mostly cooperate (is there any such thing as a camping trip where it doesn't rain at least one day, after all), so there should be no need to evacuate like the time the park had to close due to severe storms and predicted mudslides.

This time they were determined, no matter what, to BRAVE the wilderness and get their first full week of camping under their belts. 

It would take DECISIVEness on their part.  When they arrived at the park, the Ranger had given them a map with directions to their area, but his writing was a SCRIBBLE they could barely decipher.  When they finally, after three times ending up at the wrong site, unloading their gear, then loading it again, gotten to the one they'd been assigned, the tent had collapsed almost as soon as they had erected it, and they'd had to resort to a makeshift tent pole fashioned from a long branch fallen from a tree. 

Things went from bad to worse when one of the dogs had cornered a skunk.

Today, though, today was going a bit better, and she had decided to take a walk in a meadow and make a flower chain to wear, and the resultant calm and laughter had put heart back into them.

They knew it was going to be another great story someday, but this time, the story of a whole plan carried out, not just a portion.

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Today is:

ASPCA Day/Humane Day -- anniversary of founding in 1866

Birthday of Cybele -- Ancient Roman Calendar (great mother goddess)

Commodore Perry Day

Dust the Ceiling Fan Day -- before it gets hot and you have to turn it on and find out you forgot how dusty it gets up there the hard way

Ebertfest/Roger Ebert's Film Festival -- Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL (in the best show biz tradition, the show will go on; through Sunday)

Encourage a Young Writer Day -- can't find out who started this, but it sounds like a great idea

Feast of Bau -- Ancient Babylonian Calendar (date approximate, around the same time of year the Romans honored Cybele)

Feast of Ezekiel the Prophet -- Roman Catholic 

Feast of the Rivers and Seas -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar (mother of Ea[Earth]; date approximate, around the same time of year the Romans honored Cybele)

Founder's Day -- Salvation Army (birth anniversary of the founder, William Booth)

Frances Perkins Day -- US (birth anniversary of the first woman appointed to a Presidential Cabinet position)

Golfer's Day -- US (anniversary of founding of the Professional Golfers' Association of America in 1916)

Iroquois Thunder Ceremony -- Iroquois Native Americans (week long ceremonial thanksgiving for the rain, which brings new growth in spring; date approximate, but most tribes celebrate in mid-April)

National Bookmobile Day -- US, on the Wednesday of National Library Week

National Cinnamon Crescent Day

National Farm Animals Day -- US   

National Siblings Day -- US   

Safety Pin Day -- patented this day in 1849 by Walter Hunt

St. Macarius of Antioch's Day (Patron of plague victims; Ghent, Belgium)

Thank Your School Librarian Day -- US, on the Wednesday of National Library Week

Birthdays Today:

Haley Joel Osment, 1988

Mandy Moore, 1984

Ryan Merriman, 1983

Liz McClarnon, 1981

Shemekia Copeland, 1979

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, 1957

Peter MacNicol, 1954

Steven Seagal, 1952

Paul Edward Theroux, 1941

Joe Don Meredith, 1938

John Madden, 1936

Omar Sharif, 1932

Dolores Huerta, 1930

Max Von Sydow, 1929

Chuck Connors, 1921

Robert Burns Woodward, 1917

Harry Morgan, 1915

Frances Perkins, 1880

Joseph Pulitzer, 1847

William Booth, 1829

James Bowie, 1796

Commodore Matthew Perry, 1794

Hugo Grotius, 1583(O.S. date)

Cybele, Roman goddess (traditional, year unknown)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Entertainer"(Play), 1957

House of Wax(Film), 1951 Note:  first full color 3D film from a major studio

The Great Gatsby(Publication), 1925

Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift/A German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45(Brahms' Requiem), 1868

Today in History:

Halley's Comet and Earth experienced their closest approach to one another when their separating distance equalled 0.0342 AU (3.2 million miles), 837

the lama Deshin Shekpa visits the Ming Dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded with the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma, 1407

The Charter of the Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America, 1606

The first law regulating copyright is issued in Great Britain, 1710

The Mount Tambora volcano in Indonesia begins its peak eruption period that lasts until July 15, 1815

The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town Messolonghi start leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive, 1826

The NY "Tribune" begins publishing under editor Horace Greeley, 1841

The safety pin is patented by Walter Hunt of NYC, who sells the rights for only $100, 1849

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh, 1866

The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska, 1874

The Titanic leaves Southampton, England, 1912

Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos, 1919

Warner Brothers debuts the first 3-D movie, "House of Wax," 1953

Adolf Eichmann is put on trial as a war criminal in Israel, 1961

In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People's Republic of China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a weeklong visit, 1971

A 7.0 earthquake kills 1/5 of population of Iranian province of Fars, 1972

H J Heinz, Van Camp Seafood & Bumble Bee Seafood say they would not buy tuna caught in nets that also trap dolphins, 1989

A rare tropical storm develops in the Southern Hemisphere near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites, 1991

President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces he will suspend the constitution and assume all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis, 2009

Apple, Inc., claims a value of $600 billion making it the largest company by market capitalization in the world, 2012

The Council of Europe suspends Russia's right to vote, 2014

The Hong Kong pro-democracy political party Demosistō is established by activists Nathan Law, Joshua Wong, and Agnes Chow, 2016

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg begins testifying before US Congress about data use and security, 2018