Thursday, February 29, 2024

Up to Her (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy’s Poetry Day and Brian’s Thankful Thursday

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She was a whiz kid, according to Ms. G, straight A student with AP classes up the wazoo, scholarship money for school, and her eyes on becoming a pediatrician someday.


She flunked out of her single disastrous semester of college, losing her scholarship and her way, taking up with the high school football star who also didn't live up to his potential and went to seed in a bad way.


She and boyfriend ended up living with her mom, he couldn't get a job because he couldn't pass a drug test, she drifting and uncertain.


The nail in her coffin was his convincing her to pawn a couple of items of jewelry he claimed he'd had for years but actually had been stolen from their landlord's house across the street, resulting in both of their arrests and, of course, the landlord evicting the whole group effective immediately.


This past weekend Ms. G spent helping mom and mom's sister pack up everything and move to mom's sister's house while she agreed to a 28-day inpatient stay at rehab as opposed to being left on the street with no food, money or phone; boyfriend will cool his heels in jail until and unless he can make bond, which is doubtful in the near future and probably right where he needs to be.


She now has to decide to either get on the straight and narrow for real and do whatever she has to do to get the court and the landlord to drop the charges and let her pay restitution, or face a life of no options because of a criminal record, and she has until the end of the 28 days to make up her mind.



Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Nail.      



(Another of those true stories Ms. G somehow gets mixed up in.)



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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!


I really like white picket fences.





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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day This week's image and my poem:    







I'm going to live my best life,

not boring, meek and mild,

adventure's what I long for,

to make it wet and wild!


I can't believe I'm finally here,

I'm living out my dream,

We're on the rapids goin' for broke

and I can't help but scream!



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Angel Brian's Family of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  


Today i am thankful for my mostly drama-free life!






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Today is:


Bachelors' Day -- according to legend, and you may pick which you prefer:

     a) women are allowed to propose to men on this day, because of a deal St. Bridget made with St. Patrick, and a man who refuses such a proposal must pay her a penalty, or

     b) this is the one day of the year bachelors are immune from marriage proposals


International Underlings' Day -- created by Peter D. Morris for all of us who are neither a boss nor a professional assistant, as both of those have their own day; unofficially celebrated on Feb. 28 or Mar. 1 in non leap years, but this year it's official!


Leap Year Day


Rare Disease Day  


St. Oswald of Worcester's Day


Surf and Turf Day



Birthdays Today



Antonio Sabato, Jr., 1972

Tony Robbins, 1960

Gretchen Christopher, 1940

Jack Lousma, 1936

Dinah Shore, 1916

Jimmy Dorsey, 1904

William Wellman, 1896

Herman Hollerith, 1860

Gioacchino Rossini, 1792

Ann Lee, 1736



Today in History


The Romans create the first Leap Year by adding a day to their calendar, BC46

The Scottish Parliament makes it illegal for a man to refuse to marry a woman who proposes on Leap Day, the only day women could propose; his penalty for refusing would be to give her a kiss, some gold, and a pair of gloves (to hide the fact that she didn't have a wedding ring), 1288

Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to provide him with supplies, 1504

February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Old style, 1712

The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations, 1796

St. Petersburg, Florida, is incorporated, 1892

In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old, 1916

Baby Snooks, played by Fanny Brice, debuts on the radio program The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air, 1936

For her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award, 1940

In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, because of the war, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's Consul General in San Francisco, 1940

An earthquake in Morocco kills over 3,000 people and nearly destroys Agadir in the southern part of the country, 1960

The Family Circus comic strip debuts, 1960

In Sydney, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition (58.9 seconds), 1964

Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract, 1972

Gordie Howe of the then Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal, 1980

Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announces he will retire as soon as the Liberals can elect another leader, 1984

South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town, 1988

Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as President of Haiti following a coup, 2004

Construction of the Tokyo Skytree is completed, the tallest tower in the world and the second tallest artificial structure in the world, 2012

The US and The Taliban sign a deal to end 18-year war in Afghanistan, 2020

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

How Much Rice Can They Eat!?! (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 Lissa 


Thank you, Lissa, for providing the prompts for February.  Next month the prompts will be provided by River on her blog.     


This week's prompts are:

1. tomorrow

2. coffee

3. direction

4. echo

5. sunshine


Charlotte/Mother Owl has chosen Graphite Black as the color of the month.



"What's on the work agenda today?" Blake asked, sitting down at the break room table.


Alyssa sighed and said, "Same old stuff, every day is an ECHO of the day before."


"Sounds like somebody needs a vacation," Blake said, taking a sip of the COFFEE he'd poured in his cup and making a face.  It had been left on the burner so long it was almost Graphite Black.  "Smooth!" he said in a gasping voice, making them both laugh.


"It would have to be someplace with SUNSHINE," Alyssa noted.


"Take a cruise.  You get plenty of sunshine on those Caribbean island cruises."


Alyssa shook her head.  "Being on a ship with thousands of other people isn't my idea of a good time, but that sounds like it's the right DIRECTION.  Maybe Cozumel, or someplace similar."


"Now you're talking.  See?  Just thinking about it has you more chipper.  You have vacation time saved up, don't let it go to waste."


Smiling, Alyssa said, "You sound like my husband, I think he's itching to get away, too.  I guess we should start making plans, and TOMORROW I can talk to HR about what vacation slots are left.  I can't plan to be gone at the same time as my team members."


"That's the spirit!" Blake said, then took another sip of coffee and made a face.  "Ugh!  It will be time to get back to it for today, as soon as I brew another pot."



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Today is:


Dia de Andalucia -- Andalucia, Spain


DNA Day -- day in 1953 when Watson and Crick determined the double helix structure of DNA


Februalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (purification of Rome performed by citizens making sacrifices to the dead)


Floral Design Day -- a day to acknowledge this art form, sponsored by Rittners Floral School     


Inconvenience Yourself™ Day -- enrich your life by looking for ways to make a positive impact on the world, even if it inconveniences you 


Kalevala Day -- Finland (Finnish Culture Day)


National Chocolate Souffle' Day


National Science Day -- India


National Tooth Fairy Day - and/or August 22, depending on whom you ask


Nylon Day -- the first aliphatic polyamides were produced on this day in 1935


Peace Memorial Day -- Taiwan


Public Sleeping Day -- this one even has a wikiHow page 


St. Hedwig of Poland's Day (Patron of queens)


St. Romanus' Day (Patron of the mentally ill; against drowning, insanity)


Teacher's Day -- Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Jordan; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Saudi Arabia; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen


Teal Ribbon Day -- Australia (wear a teal ribbon, raise awareness of ovarian cancer



Anniversaries Today:


University of Pittsburgh is chartered, 1787



Birthdays Today:


Ali Larter, 1976

Robert Sean Leonard, 1969

John Tuturro, 1957

Gilbert Gottfried, 1955

Bernadette, Peters, 1948

Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith, 1945

Brian Jones, 1942

Mario Andretti, 1940

Tommy Tune, 1939

Gavin MacLeod, 1930

Frank Gehry, 1929

Svetiana Allilueva, 1926

Charles Durning, 1923

Zero Mostel, 1915

Earl Scheib, 1907

Milton Caniff, 1907

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, 1906

Vincente Minnelli, 1903

Linus Pauling, 1901

Ben Heckt, 1894

Charles Blondin, 1824

John Tenniel, 1820

Mary Lyon, 1797

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, 1533



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"On Golden Pond"(Play), 1979

"La Reine de Saba"(Opera), 1862

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling(Publication date), 1749



Today in History:


Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China, BC202

The first edition of Henry Fieldings' "Tom Jones" is published, 1749

John Wesley charters the Methodist Church, 1784

The first commercial railroad in US, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) is chartered, 1827

Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Québec), 1838

Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor, 1849

The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire, 1870

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone, 1885

The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched, 1893

Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force, 1897

Egypt regains independence from Britain, but British troops remain, 1922

DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents Nylon, 1935

Basketball is televised for the first time, 1940

In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives, 1947

James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2), 1953

The first-ever color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public, 1954

The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué, 1972

Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum, 1980

GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way, 1997

First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace, 1998

Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947, 2004

Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft, 2007

Egypt annunces the discovery of a granite head from a statue of King Tut's grandfather, Amenhotep III, 2010

Scientists announce they've been able to connect the brains of two rats so that they share information, 2013

The Caravaggio painting "Judith and Holofernes" (1607), lost for many years and rediscovered in an attic in Toulouse in 2014, is finally brought to auction, selling for to $171 million, 2019

A United Nations climate report states climate change is outpacing human efforts to adapt and could result in a real threat of extinction of up to 14% of the world's species of plants and animals, 2022