Dogs, Because (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday

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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!

My original intent was to get photos of several dogs this weekend, but for reasons too complicated to explain, i only ended up with Dog, instead of Dogs.  Jock was happy enough to comply (sometimes) with my getting pictures, and i hope he's awww-worthy enough by himself.

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Sparks is the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, who wanted us to post something positive and uplifting at the start of the week.  While she no longer blogs, i like to post an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.     

Since my poetry topic has to do with chocolate, and i try (if possible) to match the inspiring quote/Spark to our poetry theme, i couldn't stop with one quote this week.

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Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is on a blog semi-break and her poetry is sorely missed, we hope she comes back soon.   Charlotte/Mother Owl participates, and now Karen at Baking in a Tornado is jumping in at least once a month, too.  Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let Diane know!

This week the theme is Chocolate Milk Shakes.                         

In my poor college years i worked for

a hamburger restaurant chain,

and it offered for liquid refreshment

soda and a big milkshake machine.

A gentleman came in and ordered

the usual fast food fare

then asked if we could dish up

a serving of ice cream there.

I had to tell him truly,

we didn't have that choice,

and while at first i stammered,

in a moment i found my voice.

We have an excellent option,

i told him with a smile,

we have delicious milkshakes

and serve them up with style!

You can have one in vanilla,

though some think that flavor's bland,

i disagree and find at times

it really can be grand.

We also have strawberry

that often hits the spot,

it's the flavor of early summer

and i like it an awful lot.

Third, we have a chocolate one,

that should come as no surprise,

for most of us that flavor

always takes the top prize.

He thanked me for explaining

and chose a chocolate shake,

and now i'm feeling inspired

to make one for old time's sake!

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Today is:

Defender's Day -- Maryland, US (marking the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, which event inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner", current national anthem of the US)

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 2, Interdependence (sponsored by We, the World)  

Gahambar Paitishahem -- Zoroastrian Calendar (five-day feast of bringing in the harvest)

International Day for South-South Cooperation -- UN

National Chocolate Milkshake Day

National Day of Encouragement -- US (no matter where you live, encourage someone today)

Programmers Day -- Russia, and among programmers around the world (on the 256th day of the year)

     some sites call this "Thank a Programmer Day"

St. Alibe's Day (Patron of wolves; Cashel, Ireland; Emly, Ireland; Munster, Ireland)

St. Guy's Day (Patron of bachelors, epileptics, horned animals, laborers, sacristans, sextons, work horses; for protection of outbuildings, sheds, and stables; Anderlecht, Belgium; against epilepsy, hydrphobia/rabies, infantile convulsions, and rabid dogs)

Video Games Day -- an unofficially declared day for kids to thank their parents for indulging their love of games

Wakes Monday -- Abbots Bromley, England; related festival

    Abbots Bromley Horn Dance -- Abbots Bromley, UK (a/k/a Antler Dance or Ceremony of the Deermen; uses deer horns from the 11th Century, and a traditional dance, tune, and circuit around the neighboring farms, and includes a fair)

Anniversaries Today:

Winston Churchill marries Clementine Hozier, 1908

Elizabeth Barret and Robert Browning elope, 1846

Robert Schumann marries Clara Wieck, 1840

Birthdays Today:

Emily Rossum, 1986

Jennifer Hudson, 1981

Yao Ming, 1980

Benjamin McKenzie, 1978

Amy Yasbeck, 1963

Rachel Ward, 1957

Joe Pantoliano, 1954

Peter Scolari, 1954

Gerry Beckley, 1952

Barry White, 1952

Maria Muldaur, 1943

Linda Gray, 1940

George Jones, 1931

Ian Holm, 1931

Dickie Moore, 1925

Irene Dailey, 1920

Jesse Owens, 1913

Ben Blue, 1901

Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. 1892

Maurice Chevalier, 1888

H.L. Mencken, 1880

Charles Dudley Warner, 1829

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Captain EO(3-D Film), 1986

"Taxi"(TV), 1978

"Maude"(TV), 1972

"The Monkees"(TV), 1966

"Bonanza"(TV), 1959

"Lassie"(TV), 1954

"Quadrille"(Play), 1952

"The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major/Symphony of a Thousand"(Mahler symphony), 1910

Today in History:

Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen, 1609

The first submarine is tested in London, 1624

Turkish troops besieging Vienna are overthrown after 2 months by Poland's King Sobieski, 1683

First Black Masons Lodge is formed, 1787

Switzerland becomes a Federal State, 1848

The "Cleopatra Needle" is installed in London, 1878

Charles Leroux, world famous parachutist with 238 successful jumps, perishes in his attempted jump in the Bay of Reval, 1889

The world's first female police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, is appointed by the LAPD, 1910

Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France, 1940

Jack Kilby demonstrates the first integrated circuit, 1958

Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly-scheduled TV program presented in color, 1959

Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup, 1974

Indonesia is hit with an 8.1 earthquake, 1979

Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica, 1988

Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, 2005

Iran finally agrees to release U.S. hiker Sarah Shourd, arrested there in 2009, on bail and permit her to leave the country, 2010

The "Lamb of God" panels of the Ghent Altarpiece, one of the most often stolen artworks in history, are secretly removed for restoration, 2012

NASA's Voyager 1 space probe becomes the first manmade object to reach interstellar space, 2013

The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, completes his last shift as a pilot in the RAF, and officially retires to perform Royal and community work, 2013

The discovery of the oldest known human drawing, a 73,000-year-old marking on stone found in Blombos Cave, South Africa, is published, 2018

In tribute to the late artist Christo, his unfulfilled project is completed and Paris's Arc de Triomphe is covered in fabric, 2021