Only in 2020 Would Azaleas Bloom in November (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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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 to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by Margaret Adamson and her friend Sue Fulcher, with some pictures by her friend Bill Dodds, and are posted by Elephant's Child.       

            

This week, the prompts are:

botanic

gathering

finger

port

canine

elastic band

and/or

department

prose

stable

wink

chandelier

pirouette

Frank watched in amazement as the woman turned a PIROUETTE under the CHANDELIER at the GATHERING that was a fundraiser for the BOTANIC garden.

He was standing outside near the STABLE, using binoculars to look into the ballroom at the home on the outskirts of town, a home investigators like himself from the police DEPARTMENT seldom had a reason to frequent unless there was a serious problem.  It was a bit muddy from the recent rains, so he'd put on huge galoshes that were too big for him, and was using some tight ELASTIC around the tops to hold them on.  His feet were going numb, and a CANINE that lived on the property was snoozing nearby, snoring up a storm and reminding him of how much he hated that sound.  His father had always snored like that, and denied it vehemently.

While it wasn't strictly necessary that he be here watching, as Mort was wearing a hidden mic and everything was being recorded, he'd grown fascinated with how Mort was gaining the trust of this woman who was a primary suspect in her husband's death.  He'd asked his brother to stay in town a while, and they'd figured out a way for him to meet and befriend her.

"Frank, you provide the PROSE of a meeting, and I will provide the poetry of nurturing a friendship and attempt to find out what I can about her, her late husband, and what really happened," Mort had said.

With his FINGER in several pies around town, Mort had managed to score tickets to this fundraiser, and Frank's superiors had spoken to the owners of the home that was hosting, thus his current position with damp neck and numb toes.

The next morning, Mort was a bit distracted at the debriefing.  "The PORT they served was magnificent!  And why didn't you tell me she was a ballerina with the local troupe when she was younger?"

"Mort," Frank said with a sigh, "you're not supposed to fall in love with her, you're supposed to be gathering information on her.  It's possible she killed her husband!"

"Ah, brother, please remember," Mort answered with a WINK, "I may be a stand-up comedian, but that is a type of actor.  A good actor convinces his audience, a great actor can even almost fool himself."

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Today is:

Armistice Day/Poppy Day/Remembrance Day/Veterans Day

Bonza Bottler Day

Constitution Day and King's Birthday -- Bhutan

Day of Remembrance of the Volhvs/Einherjar Feast -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (Norse "Feast of the Fallen")

Death/Duty Day

Fasching/Karneval -- Germany; Netherlands (official beginning of next year's pre-lent celebration starts on 11/11 at 11:11, when the Council of Eleven, in colorful fools caps, meet to plan the upcoming festivities)

Four Ones Day -- it is 11/11, after all

Hollantide Day a/k/a Hallow-tide -- Isle of Mann (season of All Saints, first day of Winter, celebrated in conjunction with Martintide, the Feast of St. Martin of Tours)

Independence Day -- Angola(1975); Poland(1918)

Independence of Cartagena City -- Colombia

Lacplesis -- Latvia (Remembrance Day)

Lunantishees Day -- Ireland (Fairies who guard the blackthorn trees, cutting a branch today, the old calendar's November 1, means bad luck.)

National Sundae Day

Old November Eve -- In the old calendar, this was actually All Hallow's Eve

Origami Day -- Japan

Pepero Day -- South Korea (similar to a Valentine's Day, when couples exchange Pepero brand cookie sticks)

Pocky and Pretz Day -- Japan (see Pepero day, but substitute the Japanese brand cookie sticks)

Republic Day -- Maldives

Singles Day -- China (Guang Gun Jie, literally "bare sticks day", celebrating the single life on the calendar date that has the most 1's)

St. Martin's Day a/k/a St. Martin of Tours's Day (Western), Martinmas (Old England) (Patron of beggars, cavalry, equestrians, geese, horses, innkeepers, Pontifical Swiss Guards, quartermasters, reformed alcoholics, riders, soldiers, tailors, vintners/wine growers and makers; against alcoholism, impoverishment; highly celebrated through Sweden, Switzerland, and the island of St. Martin/St. Maarten and Patron of over 25 diocese, cities, and countries around the world)

     Beggar's Day -- Netherlands (children act as beggars on St. Martin's Day, similar to trick-or-treat in English speaking countries)

     Martinigians -- Sursee, Switzerland (a celebration of the day in front of Town Hall)

     St. Maarten Day -- Sint Maarten

St. Menas of Egypt's Day (Patron of falsely accused people, peddlers, traveling merchants)

Veterans of Foreign Wars Day -- Federated States of Micronesia

Anniversaries Today:

Vietnam Women's Memorial is dedicated, 1993

Route 66 is established by the US Highway System, 1926

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetary is dedicated, 1921

Washington becomes the 42nd US State, 1889

Birthdays Today:

Leonardo DiCaprio, 1974

Peta Wilson, 1970

Calista Flockhart, 1964

Demi Moore, 1962

Marc Summers, 1951

Bibi Andersson, 1935

Jonathan Winters, 1925

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1922

Alger Hiss, 1904

Pat O'Brien, 1899

George Patton, 1885

Victor Emmanuel III, 1869

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, 1821

Abigail Smith Adams,1744

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Shadowlands"(Play), 1990

An Early Frost(TV movie), 1985

"Prisoner of Second Avenue"(Play), 1971

"La Plume de Ma Tante"(Revue), 1958

"God Bless America(Song, first public performance)", 1938

"The Tinker's Wedding"(Synge play), 1909

"Society"(Thompson play), 1865

Today in History:

The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Maxentius and Licinius to be Augusti, while rival contender Constantine I is declared Caesar of Britain and Gaul, 308

41 pilgrims land in Massachusetts, sign Mayflower Compact, 1620

Massachusetts passes 1st US compulsory school attendance law, 1647

Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = ƒ(x), 1675

The F.H.C. Society, also known as the Flat Hat Club, is formed at Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, Virginia, as the first college society in the US, 1750

Chrysanthemums are introduced into England from China, 1790

British and Canadian forces defeat a larger American force, causing the Americans to abandon their Saint Lawrence campaign, 1813

Mary Edward Walker, the 1st Army female surgeon, is awarded the Medal of Honor, 1865

The Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act is enacted in Australia, giving the government control of indigenous people's wages, their terms of employment, where they could live, and of their children, effectively leading to the Stolen Generations, 1869

The 11/11/11 cold wave: Many cities in the U.S. Midwest broke their record highs and lows on the same day as a strong cold front rolled through, 1911

The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery, 1921

Prime Minister Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the first recognized Greek Republic, 1924

U.S. Route 66 is established, 1926

Patent number US1781541 is awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator, 1930

The Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia is opened, 1934

Kuwait's National Assembly ratifies the Constitution of Kuwait, 1962

NASA launches Gemini 12, 1966

Antigua and Barbuda joins the United Nations, 1981

The General Synod of the Church of England votes to allow women to become priests, 1992

New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is dedicated at the National War Memorial, Wellington, 2004

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II unveils the New Zealand War Memorial in London, United Kingdom, commemorating the loss of soldiers from the New Zealand Army and the British Army, 2006

The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) sets sail on her final voyage to Dubai, 2008

A strike intended to shut down Nepal's general elections November 19th, is orchestrated by an alliance of 33 opposition parties, 2013

The captain of the South Korean ferry which sank in April is found guilty of gross negligence and sentenced to 36 years in prison, 2014

An Italian appeals court overturns a manslaughter conviction against 6 scientists for failing to give adequate warning of a deadly earthquake, 2014

The leaders of China and Japan meet for formal talks after more than two years of severe tension over a territorial dispute, 2014