Would I Do That? (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week and Poetry Monday, Wild Goose Chase

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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!

Me, walking into an office in the early am at the shelter:  Stilton, did you make this mess?

Stilton:  Would I do that?

A sweet, innocent face, right?

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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.     

The higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.

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Our dear friend Diane is taking a break

accommodations we must make

we miss her poetry and wit

so carry on as Poetry Monday's a hit!

Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  Charlotte/Mother Owl and i are keeping it going while she takes a blog break, we hope temporarily.  Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let us know!

This week the theme is Wild Goose Chase.                  

    

I'm gonna to let myself cut loose

and go off to chase that wild goose.

I'm gonna let my heart just fly

and not simply let the days go by.

Life's an adventure, after all,

don't just live it cramped and small.

*******

The wild goose flies and sometimes turns

and the flock will follow along,

tracking their leader precisely

and honking their wild goose song.

Thus wild goose chase used to mean

a race with one rider and horse

taking the lead and choosing

a very erratic course.

The others had to be like geese,

ready to turn on a dime,

watching them try to all keep up

was a rollicking good time.

*******

Future themes are:

Nov. 11 Wild Goose Chase (Today!)

Nov. 18 Jumping the Gun

Nov, 25 Cry Wolf

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On Veterans Day, i rerun my poem dedicated to all our heroes.

We hope for no more war,

we pray for peace to reign,

for hatred is so evil,

and murder is insane.

We pray for no more madmen,

maniacs spoiling to fight,

wicked in their wanting

to destroy what's good and right.

We pray for all these things to end,

but until they really do,

we pray the Lord will always send

heroes just like you.

A big, heartfelt thank you to all who have served.

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Today is:

Armistice Day/Poppy Day/Remembrance Day/Veterans Day

Bonza Bottler Day

Cartagena Independence Day -- Cartagena, Columbia

Constitution Day and King's Birthday -- Bhutan

Day of Remembrance of the Volhvs/Einherjar Feast -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (Norse "Feast of the Fallen")

Death/Duty Day

Fasching/Karneval -- Germany; Netherlands (official beginning of next year's pre-lent celebration starts on 11/11 at 11:11, when the Council of Eleven, in colorful fools caps, meet to plan the upcoming festivities)

Four Ones Day -- it is 11/11, after all

Hollantide Day a/k/a Hallow-tide -- Isle of Mann (season of All Saints, first day of Winter, celebrated in conjunction with Martintide, the Feast of St. Martin of Tours)

Independence Day -- Angola(1975); Poland(1918)

Independence of Cartagena City -- Colombia

Lacplesis -- Latvia (Remembrance Day)

Lunantishees Day -- Ireland (Fairies who guard the blackthorn trees, cutting a branch today, the old calendar's November 1, means bad luck.)

National Sundae Day

Old November Eve -- In the old calendar, this was actually All Hallow's Eve

Origami Day -- Japan

Pepero Day -- South Korea (similar to a Valentine's Day, when couples exchange Pepero brand cookie sticks)

Pocky and Pretz Day -- Japan (see Pepero day, but substitute the Japanese brand cookie sticks)

Remembrance Day -- Cayman Islands

Republic Day -- Maldives

Singles Day -- China (Guang Gun Jie, literally "bare sticks day", celebrating the single life on the calendar date that has the most 1's)

St. Martin's Day a/k/a St. Martin of Tours's Day (Western), Martinmas (Old England) (Patron of beggars, cavalry, equestrians, geese, horses, innkeepers, Pontifical Swiss Guards, quartermasters, reformed alcoholics, riders, soldiers, tailors, vintners/wine growers and makers; against alcoholism, impoverishment; highly celebrated through Sweden, Switzerland, and the island of St. Martin/St. Maarten and Patron of over 25 diocese, cities, and countries around the world)

     Beggar's Day -- Netherlands (children act as beggars on St. Martin's Day, similar to trick-or-treat in English speaking countries)

     Martinigians -- Sursee, Switzerland (a celebration of the day in front of Town Hall)

     St. Maarten Day -- Sint Maarten

St. Menas of Egypt's Day (Patron of falsely accused people, peddlers, traveling merchants)

Veterans of Foreign Wars Day -- Federated States of Micronesia

World Orphans Day -- originally an initiative of The Stars Foundation www.starsfoundation.org/uk ; cannot find a current sponsor, although there is a Facebook page for this day, stating April 20 is the correct date, and here is a site where you can find out more about orphans in the developing world 

Anniversaries Today:

Vietnam Women's Memorial is dedicated, 1993

Route 66 is established by the US Highway System, 1926

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetary is dedicated, 1921

Washington becomes the 42nd US State, 1889

Birthdays Today:

Leonardo DiCaprio, 1974

Peta Wilson, 1970

Calista Flockhart, 1964

Demi Moore, 1962

Marc Summers, 1951

Bibi Andersson, 1935

Jonathan Winters, 1925

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1922

Alger Hiss, 1904

Pat O'Brien, 1899

George Patton, 1885

Victor Emmanuel III, 1869

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, 1821

Abigail Smith Adams,1744

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Shadowlands"(Play), 1990

An Early Frost(TV movie), 1985

"Prisoner of Second Avenue"(Play), 1971

"La Plume de Ma Tante"(Revue), 1958

"God Bless America(Song, first public performance)", 1938

"The Tinker's Wedding"(Synge play), 1909

"Society"(Thompson play), 1865

Today in History:

The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Maxentius and Licinius to be Augusti, while rival contender Constantine I is declared Caesar of Britain and Gaul, 308

41 pilgrims land in Massachusetts, sign Mayflower Compact, 1620

Massachusetts passes 1st US compulsory school attendance law, 1647

Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = ƒ(x), 1675

The F.H.C. Society, also known as the Flat Hat Club, is formed at Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, Virginia, as the first college society in the US, 1750

Chrysanthemums are introduced into England from China, 1790

British and Canadian forces defeat a larger American force, causing the Americans to abandon their Saint Lawrence campaign, 1813

Mary Edward Walker, the 1st Army female surgeon, is awarded the Medal of Honor, 1865

The Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act is enacted in Australia, giving the government control of indigenous people's wages, their terms of employment, where they could live, and of their children, effectively leading to the Stolen Generations, 1869

The 11/11/11 cold wave: Many cities in the U.S. Midwest broke their record highs and lows on the same day as a strong cold front rolled through, 1911

The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery, 1921

Prime Minister Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the first recognized Greek Republic, 1924

U.S. Route 66 is established, 1926

Patent number US1781541 is awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator, 1930

The Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia is opened, 1934

Kuwait's National Assembly ratifies the Constitution of Kuwait, 1962

NASA launches Gemini 12, 1966

Antigua and Barbuda joins the United Nations, 1981

The General Synod of the Church of England votes to allow women to become priests, 1992

New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is dedicated at the National War Memorial, Wellington, 2004

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II unveils the New Zealand War Memorial in London, United Kingdom, commemorating the loss of soldiers from the New Zealand Army and the British Army, 2006

The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) sets sail on her final voyage to Dubai, 2008

A strike intended to shut down Nepal's general elections November 19th, is orchestrated by an alliance of 33 opposition parties, 2013

The captain of the South Korean ferry which sank in April is found guilty of gross negligence and sentenced to 36 years in prison, 2014

An Italian appeals court overturns a manslaughter conviction against 6 scientists for failing to give adequate warning of a deadly earthquake, 2014

The leaders of China and Japan meet for formal talks after more than two years of severe tension over a territorial dispute, 2014

Mercury makes its closest transit across the Sun that will occur this century, 2019

According to a new study, the near-earth asteroid Kamo`oalewa, about the size of a ferris wheel, is very likely a fragment of the moon, 2021

The Icelandic town of Grindavík on the Reykjanes peninsula is evacuated after thousands of earthquakes and rising magma point to an imminent eruption, 2023

Kimba, an escaped circus lion, roams the streets of the Italian seaside town of Ladispoli for five hours before being safely recaptured, 2023