Small Cares (Cajun Joke) and Sunday Selections

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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.

My friend Di was from a small town, the kind where a bicycle would get a kid pretty well anywhere in town.  Her mother was the church secretary, thus Di grew up in and around the church all of the time.  The bells were mechanized to play whatever hymns were programmed.  Does it surprise any of us to know Di and her friends would reprogram them during the week to play rock 'n roll?

Does it surprise any of us to know everyone in town knew everyone and knew which kids did it?

She loved living out in the country for several years and she took great delight in telling me directions to her place such as, "When you get to the corner where the big pecan trees used to be, take a right!"

The last years of her life she loved living right in the heart of downtown Mobile, which feels a bit like a small town.  You can get to the park, the churches, restaurants, the independent drug store where she got her prescriptions (and they deliver, free!) and groceries all within walking distance or a very short drive or bus ride.  Except for driving "out" of the area to a doctor appointment, she never had to leave her little enclave if she didn't want to.

It was as if her life came full circle.

Boudreaux be on de phone tellin' a new frien' how to get to hims house.

"Once you gets on de highway, you jes' keep comin' 'til you gets to town.  You know you be almos' in town when you see de buildin' dat usta be de gas station, befo' dey done built de new one.  Den you keep goin' an' you goin' see de electric stop 'n go light, an' when you get to dat, back up ... mais, oui, back up, dey won' be de car behin' you! ... back up t'ree houses on de right, an' dat be me!

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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.        

A few Easter photos (there don't seem to be as many Easter decorations this year as last), and other things, including a concert i attended (i am going to mention that one in the next Ten Things of Thankful).

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Today is

Education and Sharing Day -- in honor of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994)

Feast of Acan -- Ancient Mayan Calendar (god of wine, whose name means either "belch" or "groan", depending on your source -- although both seem apt, one during the celebration, the other after; date approximate)

Great Lovers Day -- you don't have to be a Cassanova to celebrate the great lovers in your life!

International Children's Book Day -- on the birth anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen, sponsored by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People)

Malvinas Day -- Argentina (honors veterans of the Falklands War)

National Ferret Day -- US (The American Ferret Association)

National Love Your Produce Manager Day -- with its own Facebook page 

National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday -- Western Christian

     Semana Santa -- Holy Week in Spain and Spanish speaking areas; special celebrations:

          Mexico -- through the country, but especially in Chiapas, with processions, costumes, and even fireworks, music, dance, and syncretic rituals

          Seville, Spain -- with hundreds of shuffling penitents in their hoods making the torch lit processions through the town; through Easter)

Reconciliation Day -- as recommended by columnist Ann Landers, use today to reach out and mend a broken relationship

Sizdehbedar -- Iran (Nature Day)

Spring Fever and Medical Aid Appeal -- Fairy Calendar

St. Francis of Paloa's Day (Patron of boatmen, mariners, naval officers, sailors, travellers, watermen; Amato, Italy; Calbria, Italy; Fossato Serraita, Italy; Sant'Agata di Esaro, Italy; against fire, plague, and sterility)

St. Urban of Langres' Day (Patron of barrel makers/coopers, gardeners, vine dressers/vine growers/vintners; Dijon, France; Langres, France; against alcoholism, blight, fainting, frost, storms)

Taily Day, Scotland (engage in pranks related to your tail end, a second day of April fooling)

Thai Heritage Conservation Day -- Thailand

Unity of Peoples of Russia and Belarus Day -- Belarus

World Autism Awareness Day -- UN

Anniversaries Today:

Napoleon Bonaparte marries the Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, 1810

Birthdays Today:

Bethany Joy Galeotti, 1981

Christopher Meloni, 1961

Pamela Reed, 1953

Ron "Horshack" Palillo, 1949

Camille Paglia, 1947

Emmylou Harris, 1947

Linda Hunt, 1945

Leon Russell, 1942

Dr. Demento, 1941

Marvin Gaye, 1939

Jack Webb, 1920

Charles White, 1918

Alec Guinness, 1914

Buddy Ebsen, 1908

Max Ernst, 1891

Walter Chrysler, 1875

Emile Zola, 1840

Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, 1834

Hans Christian Anderson, 1805

Giovanni Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, 1725

Charlemagne, 742

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Nickelodeon(TV Cable Channel), 1979

"Dallas"(TV), 1978

"2001: A Space Odyssey"(Film), 1968

"As the World Turns"(TV), 1956

"The Edge of Night"(TV), 1956

Symphony No. 1 in C major(Beethoven Op. 21), 1800

Today in History:

Mehmed II begins his siege of Istanbul/Constantinople, 1453

Juan Ponce de Leon becomes the first European to set foot in Florida, 1513

"American Farmer," the first successful agricultural journal, begins publication, 1819

Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for president of the US, 1870

The first Easter egg roll is held on the White House lawn, 1877

Puerto Rico is given limited self rule by the US Congress, 1900

The first full time movie theater, the "Electric Theater," opens in Los Angeles, 1902

The Titanic undergoes sea trials under her own power, 1912

President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany, 1917

Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia, 1930

Charles Lindbergh turns over the $50,000 ransom for his kidnapped son, 1932

The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London, 1962

Argentine forces sieze the Falkland Islands, beginning the Falklands War, 1982

Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province (British Columbia), 1991

Israeli forces surround and besiege the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated, 2002

Three widows and two daughters of Osama bin Laden were charged with illegally living in Pakistan; they were sentenced with 45 days in jail and fined $114 each, 2012

The Arms Trade Treaty, the first-ever bill to regulate the global trade in conventional weapons, is passed by the U.N. General Assembly, 2013

Eurozone unemployment reaches a high of 12%, 2013

NASA states goals to go back to the Moon by 2024, and by 2033 to be sending astronauts to Mars, 2019

A new study published in Science Magazine suggests that the same meteor impact that wiped out the dinosaurs also created South America's rain forests, 2021