Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Unique "Try Before You Buy" (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, BeThere2Day, 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 David M. Gascoigne (we thank him for the May prompts!) and they will be posted by Elephant's Child.         



This week's prompts are:

 

  • Lions
  • Resources
  • Choice
  • Course
  • Systematically
  • Predator


and/or


  • Occasionally
  • Firestorm
  • Land
  • Sight
  • Reproducing
  • Humans



Charlotte/Mother Owl's colour of the month is May green, if we choose to use it.



HUMANS are funny creatures.


Similar to some of the PREDATOR species, like LIONS, we are fiercely protective of our home territory.


Every year, one family would leave their home territory, packing the car to the gills and take off across the country in one of the great American pastimes, the vacation road trip.


OCCASIONALLY, these would go as planned.  Most often, there was a hiccup.


Every year, like clockwork, the mother would wait until the family was about 50 miles from home, and suddenly gasp, "I left the iron plugged in!  I just know I left the iron plugged in!  The house is going to burn to the ground!  We have to go back so I can unplug the iron!"


Please note, this was back in the days before permanent press or wrinkle free clothes and the irons of that day (the 1950s) did not shut themselves off after a certain amount of time.  The RESOURCES for making phone calls when away from home were limited mostly to finding a pay phone.  Then you'd have to hope you could get your neighbor at home, the one with the spare key to your house for emergencies, and etc.


That was, if you left a key with a neighbor, and if the neighbor wasn't at work when you'd left at seven in the morning, and it was still before noon.


In other words, dad would have no CHOICE but to reverse COURSE, retracing his steps (or his driving, really) over the LAND and miles he'd been so glad to cover and get behind him, because he knew if he didn't turn and go back, even if there was no fire at home there would be a FIRESTORM in the car.


Inevitably, they'd pull into the drive and mom would run in with dad right behind her only to find out that, no, she had not left the iron plugged in after all.


They kept REPRODUCING this scenario year after year, until the one year everything changed and dad became a major vacation-saving hero in the SIGHT of his children (who had also grown weary of this yearly futile ritual).


One year, mom gasped and said, "I left the iron plugged in, I just know it!  Honey, I know, every time before I was wrong, but this time I am absolutely sure I left the iron plugged in.  This time, I just know it and we have to go back and... wait, what are you doing?"


What dad was doing was pulling over to the side of the road.


He got out of the car, took the key and opened the trunk of the car, grabbed the iron he'd packed in there, got back in the car and set the iron in the lap of mom's May green dress.


Then he started the car and they proceeded with their now unhindered vacation road trip.


This scenario was SYSTEMATICALLY reproduced every year thereafter, with dad refusing to budge from the driveway until he was certain that doggone iron was in the trunk of the car, and mom had seen it.


Problem solving at its finest.


(Based on a true story from a Reader's Digest several years ago.)



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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


National Macaroon Day


National Senior Health and Fitness Day -- US (don't let age get in the way of staying healthy!) 


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!


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

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

China's ruling Communist Party announces it will allow married couples to have three children, in effort to boost falling birthrates, 2021

Archaeologists announce the discovery of 100 cuneiform tablets in a Bronze Age city unearthed on the Tigris River, Iraq due to drought, 2022

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

There’s Always Some Kind of Answer, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus 


There's always some kind of answer from Carl, sometimes it just doesn't quite make sense.


I arrived at Carl's just a couple of minutes late yesterday.  Walking Jock has put me out of my usual stride.  It didn't make any difference to him, i still got his lunch packed.


He bought a new lunch box and forgot to tell me, so i found it after he left.  At least next week i know.


Meanwhile, after making sure he had lunch in a bag and was wearing an apron to go eat breakfast, i noticed he had two pillowcases, folded, on his chair next to a pillow which was covered by his shirt.


When i asked him why he had the shirt on the pillow instead of the pillowcases, he said, "I like the feel of that fabric!"


When i asked him why he had the two pillowcases out since he wasn't going to use them, he looked at me and mumbled something about needing backup.


We just need to get him all his sheets in that fabric, whatever it is.


Speaking of sheets, he "lost" his top sheet again this week, meaning he kicked it so far down in the bed in his sleep he couldn't find it easily, so he went to grab another.  Only he didn't grab one of his sheets, he went to the hall closet and got one of his parent's king size fitted sheets, the one with the hole they only keep to fold in half and put over the plants when it freezes in winter.


Ms. V has now hidden that sheet somewhere other than the high shelf of the closet where she also keeps cleaning towels (i.e., towels with holes -- we waste nothing in that house, we are very frugal).


I also asked him whether he was going to use his new hat or his old one today.  He looked at his counter, where there was an old hat, and a new one in a plastic sleeve.




He just said, "Well, I think I have a few new ones," and wandered out to eat breakfast.


I did find two others, making for 3 new hats, and he wore the old one.  Meanwhile, when i got the counter cleared later, i found one of his pens had leaked.





Ms. V keeps rubbing alcohol/surgical spirits around for cleaning, but it was a challenge and the remainder is going to take time to fade.


There was also an ink stain on one of his shirts -- inside the back collar.  No, i don't want to know, i just stain treated it and figured what little is left isn't visible when he wears the thing.


In honor of pillows and ink, a few funnies.

















Have a blessed and beautiful day, everyone!








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Today is:


Anguilla Day -- Anguilla

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


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


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


This Day -- Fairy Calendar


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