Decor (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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

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 Elephant’s Child.     

This week's prompts are:

1. Pounded
2. Pearl
3. Secret
4. Tense
5. Challenge
6. Human 
   

And/or

1. Middle
2. Taken
3. Button
4. Rare
5. Intelligence
6. Praise 
   

There's something about the boys.  Each child is a RARE PEARL, and the girls are special in their own way, i couldn't do without them.  The boys, though, they are something.  What, i'm not always sure.

Last night, #2 Son POUNDED his way across the porch in those steel-toe boots of his and came crashing in asking, "Is it here?  Is my package here?"

His package from the Pepper Palace (yes, really) was here.  This was something he'd been waiting for, and he'd TAKEN time from work to come by and get it.

"This," he announced, as he dug a small bottle out of the MIDDLE of the packing peanuts in a good sized box, "is the hottest pepper sauce in the world.  Tabasco is 45,000 on the Scoville heat scale, this is 7.2 million."

And why, i asked, would you want this stuff?

"Oh, I tried it once.  Dipped the very edge of a toothpick in and put it on my tongue, it had me on the floor crying for almost an hour.  It was awesome!"

Son, i said, i thought you had more INTELLIGENCE than that.

"Aw, c'mon, mom, it's fun, and I'm going to have fun with this."

Please do not tell me, i noted, that you are going to SECRETly slip this on people.

"Well, no.  They'll know what they're in for.  It won't stop them, they think they're up for the CHALLENGE."

As i shook my head he asked, "Are Dad and Uncle JI [a/k/a Brother-in-Law] here?"

Of course, i said, but the last thing i need is for you to try to slip that to your uncle.

He laughed, "Oh, that would be funny!"

No, i said, don't push his BUTTONs, he just gets crankier.

"He's so TENSE, maybe this would loosen him up!" he joked.

He went in and spoke to his Dad and Uncle for a few moments, then came back out shaking his head.  "Is Uncle JI getting worse?" he asked.

Yes, i noted.  More set in his ways, and sometimes less able to deal with emotions and people.  It's the Asperger's.

"Yeah, I noticed.  Anyway, I gotta go.  This sweet little bottle and I have stuff to do."

What is it about us HUMANs that we have to invent stuff like this.  Maybe i don't want to know.   PRAISE the Lord i don't ever have to taste it.

By the way, be careful what you order from Pepper Palace.

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

Today is:

Battle Day -- Falkland Islands

Be Someone's Pillow While You Watch TV Night -- a good idea, i guess, especially if it is cold

Bodhi Day (Rohatsu) -- Buddhism (especially among Zen Buddhists, and in Japan, a celebration of the Buddha's enlightenment)

CARICOM-Cuba Day

Constitution Day -- Northern Mariana Islands; Romania; Uzbekistan(Konstitutsiya Kuni)

Dia de las Playas -- Uruguay (Day of the Beaches, a/k/a Family Day or Blessing of the Waters Day; official opening day of beach season, marked with a ceremonial blessing by a priest, as well as sailing regattas, horse races, and more)

Dita Kombetare e Rinise -- Albania (National Youth Day)

Feast of the Immaculate Conception -- Roman Catholic Holy Day of Obligation; recognized holiday in Andorra; Argentina; Austria; Chile; Columbia; East Timor; Equatorial Guinea(Patrona de Guinea Ecuatorial); Holy See(Vatican City); Italy; Liechtenstein; Macau; Malta; Monaco; Nicaragua(Fiesta de la Griteria); Paraguay; Peru; Portugal; San Marino; Seychelles; Spain; Switzerland; special observances

     Dia de las Playas -- Uruguay (Day of the Beaches, a/k/a Family Day or Blessing of the Waters Day; official opening day of beach season, marked with a ceremonial blessing by a priest, as well as sailing regattas, horse races, and more)

     Festa da Conceição da Praia -- Salvador da Bahia, Brazil (syncretic celebration of Yemanjá, Queen of the Ocean and the Immaculate Conception)

     Festival of Lights -- Lyon

Festival of Tiberinus -- Ancient Roman Empire (guardian of the Tiber River)

Mother's Day -- Panama

National Chocolate Brownie Day

National Students' Day -- Bulgaria (studentski praznik)

Popeye Day -- birth anniversary of his creator, Elzie Crisler Segar

 Pretend to Be A Time Traveler Day -- although some sites say this day was actually cancelled in 2015, others suggest dressing up as if you are from a dystopian future and running up to people, asking them what year it is, when they answer say, "Then there's still time!" and dash off.  Just don't get arrested if you try it at home, okay?    

Santa Marian Kamelen -- Guam (Our Lady of Camarin Day)

Shalako Festival -- Hopi and Zuni Native Americans (dates of main festivals and dance ceremonies vary by area, but usually the weekend nearest the 49th day after the 10th full moon)

St. Kliment Ohirdski -- Macedonia (St. Clement of Ohrid's Day)

Take It In the Ear Day -- a bizarre and unexplainable internet generated holiday; and by the way, your ENT will tell you not to put anything in your ear that is smaller than your elbow

Virgin de Caacupe -- Paraguay (Nuestra Senora de Caacupe/Our Lady of Miracles of Caacupe, patroness of Paraguay)

Winter Flowers Day -- internet generated, a day to find and enjoy whatever flowers are still blooming right now

Anniversary Today:

American Federation of Labor founded, 1886

Birthdays Today:

Ian Somerhalder, 1978

Dominic Monaghan, 1976

Sinead O'Connor, 1966

Teri Hatcher, 1964

Ann Coulter, 1961

Kim Basinger, 1953

Sam Kinison, 1953

Gregg Allman, 1947

Mary Woronov, 1946

Jim Morrison, 1943

"Red" Berenson, 1941

James Galway, 1939

James MacArthur, 1937

David Carradine, 1936

Flip Wilson, 1933

Maximilian Schell, 1930

Sammy Davis, Jr. 1925

Richard Fleischer, 1916

Lee J. Cobb, 1911

James Thurber, 1894

Elzie Crisler Segar, 1894

Diego Rivera, 1886

Jean Sibelius, 1865

Willam C. "Billy" Durant, 1861

Eli Whitney, 1765

Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542

Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus), Roman writer, BC65

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"(Musical), 1949

"Green Grow the Lilacs"(Musical; precursor to "Oklahoma"), 1930

Today in History

Daitokuji temple, Rinzai line, established in Kyoto by Daito Kokushi, 1326

Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room, the second public library of Europe, 1609

The Mexican border town Ciudad Juárez is founded by Fray García de San Francisco, 1659

Margaret Hughes becomes the first actress to appear on an English public stage, playing the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello, 1660

Vienna's Ring Theater is destroyed by fire, killing over 600, 1881

The American Federation of Labor is formed by 26 individual craft unions, and Samuel Gompers is elected its first president, 1886

The Japanese military police launch a violent suppression of the religious sect Oomoto, 1935

The Chinese Nationalist government moves from mainland China to Formosa, 1949

John Lennon is murdered, 1980

The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1991

The Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations, 2004

Kirsty Williams is elected the first female leader of a political party in Wales, the Welsh Liberal Democrats, 2008

With the second launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first privately held company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft, 2010

Japan's Gvernment apologizes to Canada for the treatment of its POWs during WWII, 2011

Egyptian President Morsi agrees to not expand his powers but declares the referendums on a new constitution will be enacted, 2012

In Kiev, Russia, protestors topple the last surviving monument to Lenin, 2013

The Vienna State Opera stages its first show by a female composer, Olga Neuwirth’s “Orlando,” 2019

Sanna Marin becomes Finland's youngest-ever Prime Minister at the age of 34, 2019