Climbing the "Curtains" (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Blessed Memorial Day (Poetry Monday)

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

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

This kitten thinks she's part monkey and keeps trying to climb her cage.

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

 Sparks, the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, is on hiatus, so here's an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.     

CheerfulCook

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

Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is on a blog break and is sorely missed.   Charlotte/Mother Owl participates, and now Karen at Baking in a Tornado is jumping in at least once a month, too.  Spike's Best Mate often leaves a wonderful poem in the comments on one of our blogs.

This week the theme is Memorial Day, and i wrote this as free verse.                         

My friends, i cannot wish you

A "happy" day today,

Instead, i wish you blessings,

The blessing of the memories

Of those who fought to keep us free

And never came home.

The memories hurt, but

They are a blessing because

It would hurt more if we forgot.

To all those who know first hand

The pain of an empty place at the table,

Who have a folded flag on the mantle,

Today know that i am humbled by

Their sacrifice and yours.

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

Today is:

Bicycle Race Day -- anniversary of what is supposed to have been the first bicycle race ever, at the Parc de Saint-Cloud, Paris, in 1868

Dia de Castilla-La Mancha -- Castile-La Mancha, Spain

Doha Document for Peace in Darfur Commemoration -- Sudan

Feast of the Visitation of Mary -- Christianity (Mary's visit of her cousin Elizabeth, chronicled in Luke 1:39-56)

"Make My Day" Day -- birth anniversary of Clint Eastwood

Memorial Day -- US and Territories (obs.)

     Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day -- US (on observed Memorial Day, an interfaith encouragement to pray and work for permanent peace in the world)

National Heroes' Day -- Turks and Caicos Islands (a/k/a James Alexander George Smith "Jags" McCartney Day)

National Macaroon Day

Royal Brunei Malay Regiment Day / Royal Brunei Armed Forces Day -- Brunei

Save Your Hearing Day -- because once it is gone, you will regret it; on the anniversary of the concert by The Who which set a Guiness World Record for loudest rock concert in 1976

Speak in Complete Sentences Day -- be a good example!

Spring Bank Holiday -- UK

     Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling and Wake -- Cooper’s Hill, England (ancient tradition -- pre-Roman -- of rolling a large wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down the hill; winner of the races to catch it wins the cheese, and the rolling is now always held on the Monday Spring Bank Holiday)

     Tetbury Woolsack Races -- Gumstool Hill, Tetbury, England (this formerly important wool producing town still holds races up and down the hill, from the Royal Oak Pub up to the Crown Pub and back; part of traditional Whitsuntide folklore customs, which is now always held on the Monday Spring Bank Holiday)

St. Petronilla's Day (Patron of mountain travellers; against fever)

Take This Job and Shove It Day -- birth anniversary of Johnny Paycheck

This Day (again) -- Fairy Calendar

What You Think Upon Grows Day -- Stephanie West Allen wants you to remember the power of positive thinking

World No Tobacco Day -- WHO 

World Parrot Day

Birthdays Today:

Jonathan Tucker, 1982

Colin Farrell, 1976

Phil Keoghan, 1967

Brooke Shields, 1965

Lea Thompson, 1961

Chris Elliot, 1960

Roma Maffia, 1958

Kyle Secor, 1958

Gregory Harrison, 1950

Tom Berenger, 1950

John Bonham, 1948

Sharon Gless, 1943

Joe Namath, 1943

Johnny Paycheck, 1941

Terry Waite, 1939

Peter Yarrow, 1938

Clint Eastwood, 1930

Patricia Roberts Harris, 1924

Prince Rainier of Monaco, 1923

Denholm Elliott, 1922

Don Ameche, 1908

Norman Vincent Peale, 1898

Fred Allen, 1894

Walt Whitman, 1819

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Survivor"(TV), 2000

"Seinfeld"(TV), 1990

"Beatlemania"(Musical), 1977

Today in History:

Rameses II (The Great) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, BC1279

A devastating earthquake strikes Antioch, Turkey, killing 250,000, 526

Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans, 1223

Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary, 1669

The Godiva procession through Coventry begins, 1678

The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions, 1759

In Australia, Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains, 1813

In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, 1866

Dr James Moore of the UK wins the first recorded bicycle race, a 2k velocipede race at Parc de St Cloud, Paris, 1868

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes, 1884

Arrival at Plymouth of Tawhiao, King of Maoris, to claim protection of Queen Victoria, 1884

Over 2,200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1889

The Union of South Africa (predecessor of the Republic of South Africa) is created, 1910

The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles, 1927

A 7.1 magnitude Earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan, 1931

The Republic of South Africa is created, 1961

The Ancash earthquake causes a landslide  that buries the town of Yungay, Peru, 1970

In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30, 1971

The Muppet Movie, Jim Henson's Muppets' first foray into the world of feature length motion pictures, is released, 1979

The burning of Jaffna Library, Sri Lanka, is one of the violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the twentieth century, 1981

Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead, 1985

Athena 98.4 FM, the first legal private radio station in Greece, starts broadcasting, 1987

Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was Deep Throat, 2005

Asteroid 1998 QE2, an asteroid measuring nearly 1.7 miles across, and its moon, pass within 3.6 million miles of the earth, 2013

The Danish government bans garments that cover the face, including the niqab and burqa, 2018

Clear as Frozen Food (Cajun Joke), and Sunday Selections

 ***********************************

Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus is no longer hosting a Silly Sunday blog hop, do not expect me to quit telling Cajun jokes, especially as it has now become a habit.

Grandma loves to save stuff in the freezer, and Grandpa loves to get rid of stuff in the freezer.  He does that by waiting until he's sure Grandma has forgotten about whatever it is and then he sends it home with me.

Aline done be lookin' in de freezer fo' to fin' somepin' to cook an' she start axin' her Mère, Clothile, "Mère, what be dis brown stuff in de freezin' bag?"

"Oh," Clothile say, "dat be what left o' de stew.  Oh, wait, non, it might be de gravy..."

An' Aline say, "Okay, don' mind 'bout dat.  What be dis li'l pink somepin wrap in plastic?"

"Well, dat be de leftover chicken we done save fo' de cat, or, well, it could be a po'k chop, but I don' know why we'd jes' save one..."

"Okay," say Aline, "what be dis yellow stuff in de glass dish?"

"I t'ink dat be étouffée, or mebbe corn puddin..."

"Mère!" Aline done fuss.  "How come you don' put you de label on dis stuff when you puts it in de freeze?"

An' Clothile say, "Mais, dat be why I use de glass dish an' de plastic wrap an' de freezin' bags, dey be clear an' I can see what it be in dere!"

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

Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files.  The rules have been relaxed, and it is now simply a showcase for your photos, new or old, good or bad, although nothing rude, please.  It was hosted by River, who still participates, and is now hosted by Elephant's Child.      

Some Memorial Day displays, and some sunsets:

And finally, Mr. BA is growing lettuce again.

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

Today is:

Anguilla Day -- Anguilla

Arrival Day -- Trinidad and Tobago

Dia de Canarias -- CN, Spain (Canary Island Day)

Dia de las Madres -- Nicaragua(Mother's Day)

Einherjar -- Asatru (Modern Norse Pagan) Calendar (a memorial for the war dead in Valhalla)

Feast Day of St. Joan of Arc (Patron of captives, martyrs, opposition of Church authorities, people ridiculed for their piety, prisoners, rape victims, soldiers, WACs, WAVES; France)

Heirloom Seed Day -- While i can't find the history of this one, it's a good one to celebrate, we need to raise awareness of and preserve heirloom seeds

Indian Arrival Day -- Trinidad and Tobago (anniversary of the 1845 arrival of the first Indian laborers to Trinidad)

Lod Massacre Remembrance Day -- Puerto Rico

Loomis Day -- because if we are going to honor Marconi, we should also honor the Washington, D.C., dentist Mahlon Loomis, who patented a wireless telegraphy system before Marconi was even born

Mother's Day -- Algeria; Cameroon; Dominican Republic; France; French Antilles; Haiti; Madagascar; Mali; Mauritius; Morocco; Niger; Senegal; Sweden; Tunisia

My Bucket's Got a Hole In It Day -- this one may be listed on another day as well, since no two sites agree; mercy, just go get a new one already! or go get out your HanK Williams records

National Mint Julep Day

Procession of the Golden Chariot and the Battle of Lumecon -- Mons, Belgium (a horse-drawn coach carrying the relics of St. Waudry circles the town to commemorate the delivery of Mons from plague in 1349, and in the afternoon, the Fraternity of St. George reenact the Battle, with St. George defeating the dragon)

St. Walstan of Bawburgh's Day (Patron of agricultural workers, farmers and farm workers, field hands, husbandmen)

This Day -- Fairy Calendar

Trinity Sunday -- Christian

Water a Flower Day -- no sponsor or reason given for this day, except that the spring rains are slowing and you don't want your garden to wilt

World MS Day  

Anniversaries Today:

Henry VIII marries Jane Seymore, 1536

Birthdays Today:

Blake Bashoff, 1981

Trey Parker, 1972

Wynonna Judd, 1964

Tom Morello, 1964

Ted McGinley, 1958

Colm Meaney, 1953

Stephen Tobolowsky, 1951

Meredith MacRae, 1945

Gale Eugene Sayers, 1943

Michael J. Pollard, 1939

Keir Dullea, 1936

Clint Walker, 1927

Benny Goodman, 1909

Mel Blanc, 1908

Countee Cullen, 1903

Peter Carl Fabergé, 1846

Czar Peter the Great, 1672

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Paperback Writer"(Single release), 1966

"War Requiem"(Britten Op. 66), 1962

"Odisséia de uma raça / Odyssey of a Race"(Villa-Lobos Symphonic poem), 1954

"Prodana nevesta / The Bartered Bride"(Opera), 1866

Today in History:

Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem; the Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall, 70

19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal, 1431

In Florida, Hernando de Soto  lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold, 1539

Publication of La Gazette, the first French newspaper, 1631

The Pennsylvania Evening Post become the first daily paper in the US, 1783&

John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria, 1842

Westminster's Big Ben rang for the first time in London, 1859

Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern "Memorial Day") is observed in the United States for the first time, 1868

New York City's Gilmores Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public, 1879

The Treaty of London, 1913, ends the First Balkan War and Albania becomes an independent nation, 1913

In China protests erupt against the Great Powers infringing on Chinese sovereignty, 1925

A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes, 1948

The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened, 1959

launch of Surveyor 1 the first US spacecraft to achieve landing on an extraterrestrial body, 1966

At the Ascot Park in Gardena, California, daredevil Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined up in a row, 1967

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: the 33-foot high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators, 1989

272 days after the September 11 attacks, closing ceremonies are held for the clean up/recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site in New York City. The last remaining steel beam is removed and transported to the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, 2002

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel pledges to end all nuclear power within 12 years, 2011

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, reveals the latest Dragon space capsule; the craft is reusable and will allow astronauts to control re-entry and landing; the development suggests that full commercialization of the space industry will soon be a reality, 2014

The British Medical Journal publishes two new studies which show eating processed foods leads to an early death and ill health, 2019

The Falcon 9 rocket launches carrying the Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station, making SpaceX the first private company to launch astronauts into space, 2020