First Do No Harm (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.

It is almost crunch time — get the gifts now, or pretend you always intended to send New Year gifts instead.  (Or do what blogger Suldog, who hasn’t blogged in a while, does and celebrate on Little Christmas a/k/a Epiphany next month instead.)

Clothile done been tellin’ Boudreaux she want her de alligator purse fo’ de Noel.  One day, he come him in from de bayou wit’ de baby ‘gator in de net an’ say, “Clothile, here be de ‘gator bag you done be wantin’!”

De nex’ day, Clothile be tellin’ de story to Marie, an’ Marie say, “I hope you done hit him on de head wit’ it!”

An’ Clothile say, “No, I don’ wan’ to hurt de dumb animal, an’ mais, I don’ wan’ to hurt de li’l baby ‘gator, neither!”

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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 is now hosted by Elephant's Child.      

It’s Christmas, so let’s just go with it, right?

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Today is:

Beetle Banquet and Badger Ball -- Fairy Calendar

Chipmunks Day -- the date, in 1958, when Alvin, Simon, and Theodore hit #1 with "The Chipmunk Song"

Day Sacred to the Lares -- Ancient Roman Calendar (household gods)

Fourth Sunday of Advent -- Christian

   Lighting the Candle of Love

Hanukkah -- Judaism (Festival of Lights; begins at sundown, through sundown Dec. 30)

Hari Ibu -- Indonesia (Mother's Day)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Gattapefur -- Sniffer, who uses his big nose on hlakkandi ("looking forward" day, when you begin to look forward to Christmas) to sniff out a cake or two to snatch

Khoiak Ceremony for Raising the Djed Pillar -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (Osiris festival, the pillar represented his spine, and so stability and strength; date approximate)

Kiwi Fruit Day -- California, US (celebrate with them, these are good!)

National Date Nut Bread Day

Santa Claus Flight Clearance Day -- US FAA (they make sure he's cleared to fly, with his de-icing system, Terrain Avoidance Warning System for low-altitude flight, and special seat belt extension in good working order)

Solstice -- Northern Hemisphere Winter begins/Southern Hemisphere Summer begins at 04:19UCT

    Anne and Samantha Day -- celebrating the lives of Anne Frank and Samantha Smith, a day to work and pray for world peace

    Alban Arthuan -- Druid Festival, 4th Station; through the solstice

    Bruma -- Ancient Roman Calendar

    Dongzhi Festival -- East Asia (literal meaning, "Extreme of Winter")

    Festival of Isis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (celebration of the seeking of Osiris by Isis and her resurrection of him)

    National Haiku Poetry Day -- US (because haiku is traditionally about the seasons, it's celebrated on the first day of winter)

    Wild Hunt reaches its peak -- various Norse traditions

    Soyala New Year Festival -- Hopi and Zuni Native Americans (a festival of purification as well as celebration, with homes cleaned, fires doused, and personal restraint observed)

    Yalda -- Iran (Persian/Zoroastrian winter solstice festival; to celebrate the longest night of the year, many stay up for the fight against dark and evil.)

    Yule/Jul/Jol Festivals begin -- various calendars, religions, countries and observances, both ancient and modern

         Yule -- Wicca/Pagan, northern hemisphere

         Litha -- Wicca/Pagan, southern hemisphere

         from the Old Norse Hjol, meaning "wheel" to signify the year is at its lowest point and ready to rise again

    Ziemassvetki -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (birth of Dievs, highest of the gods; modern Latvians celebrate this on Christmas Eve/Christmas, but it was originally a three day solstice festival)

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's Day (Mother Cabrini, the first US citizen canonized; Patron saint of emigrants, hospital administrators, immigrants, orphans; against malaria)

Unity Day -- Zimbabwe

Birthdays Today:

Jordin Sparks, 1989

Ralph Fiennes, 1962

Maurice Gibb, 1949

Robin Gibb, 1949

Steve Garvey, 1948

Diane Sawyer, 1945

Steve Carlton, 1944

Hector Elizondo, 1936

Joe Pyne, 1925

Barbara Billingsley, 1922

Gene Rayburn, 1917

Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson, 1912

Dame Edith Margaret Emily "Peggy" Ashcroft, 1907

Edwin Arlington Robinson, 1869

Giacomo Puccini, 1858

William Ellery, 1727

James Edward Oglethorpe, 1696

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Graduate(Film), 1972

"Ding Dong School"(TV), 1952

Today in History:

A serious earthquake strikes Innsbruck, 1689

The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies, 1790

The first freight train is operated in Roorkee, India, 1851

Jules Janssen flies in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse, 1870

The first string of Christmas tree lights is created by Thomas Edison, 1882

Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan, 1885

French officer Alfred Dreyfus court-martialed for treason, triggers worldwide charges of anti-Semitism (Dreyfus later vindicated), 1894

Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity, 1956

Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany, 1989

Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63, 2001

An important peer-reviewed study of the spatial memory of bumblebees is published in the Biology Letters journal of the Royal Society by a class of 25 8- to 10-year-old children at Blackawton Primary School, 2010

Ebola vaccine VSV-EBOV is found to be 70-100% effective in a study published in The Lancet, becoming the world's first proven vaccine against Ebola, 2016

More Than a Simple Exchange (Six Sentence Story), Holiday Decor (Good Fences), At the Mall (Sammy’s Poetry Day) and Brian’s Thankful Thursday

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With it being the holidays and all, sometimes she received more from her clients than just the simple exchange of payment for her services, and there was a predictable pattern to these extras that followed an odd logic of their own, and it was simply this:  The wealthier the client, the less she got.

The ones to whom she gave a price break because she knew they were desperate for help and really could not afford it tried to give her bounteous remembrances of the season, if not in monetary cost, then in number of items, many taken from their own homes.

Those in the middle gave a sum of money, generally a generous percentage of the wage they paid, commensurate to their means, and sometimes just a bit above what she knew they should be spending.

The more affluent gave money that was not at all commensurate to their means nor anywhere near the “one full day’s wage” that the experts in the tipping community said was the normal amount (and she wondered who in the world made that up anyway, she didn’t expect that much), but which percentage wise in comparison to her day’s wage was less than what those in the middle gave.

Her wealthiest client always gave something small and often a bit tacky; one year it was a pad of paper and pen set with the logo of a local team, a coupon good for 20%  off your entire purchase at a thrift store, and sample size bottles of shampoo and conditioner.

Yes, this played out exactly the same way every year, and every year she simply laughed and accepted what came her way, grateful for any gift and the spirit behind it, as well as for the bit of insight into human nature that this yearly ritual afforded.

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

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Gosia at Looking for Identity has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World.  Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit other blogs to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.      

More Christmas fences:

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

I lost her about 3 stores back,

I’m pretty sure we are on track

To spend more than ever before

She loves to give gifts galore.

The parents, grandparents, siblings and aunts,

Uncles and cousins and children all dance

With anticipation, they know her delight

At giving each a gift that is just right.

Meanwhile, I stand here looking a bit goofy,

Holding all these bags, so girly and floofy,

Every man shakes his head as he passes by,

Probably thinking, “I’m glad I’m not that guy!”

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

The Big Boss, for whom Sweetie still does odd jobs, bought us a Christmas gift.  It was tickets to a very exclusive jazz band concert, which we attended last night.  Talk about a treat, and i am very thankful for his kindness, as well as for Ms. R, my client, who loaned me clothing so i would be dressed appropriately.

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Today is:

Build a Snowman Day -- occupy your mind, as Christmas seems too far away still; if you have no snow, make snowball cookies

Chocolate Pizza Day -- if you’ve never tried it, do so!

E-Mail Santa Claus Just in Case He Didn't Get Your Letter Day -- you can sent it over here    

Festival for Juventas -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of youth, protector of young soldiers)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Skyrgamur -- Curd-glutton, who loves skyr (milk curd) so that he sneaks in the pantry to try to get it all

I've Got My Big Fat Guy Pants On Day -- someone tired of tight clothes started this, a day to wear whatever you like, so long as it is comfortable -- and roomy

Look for an Evergreen Day -- although if you haven't bought your tree by now, you may have waited too long

National Hard Candy Day -- this time of year, it probably means candy canes

National Heroes and Heroines Day -- Anguilla

National Oatmeal Muffin Day

Opalia -- Roman Empire (feast of Ops, goddess of abundance; 3rd day of the Saturnalia)

Riddle-Making Trials -- Fairy Calendar

Robinson Crusoe Rescue Day (1686)

St. Bernard Valeara's Day (Patron of Teramo, Italy)

St. Samthann (Samantha) of Meath's Day (Patron of the spiritual life)

Thorn Cutting Ceremony -- Glastonbury, Somerset, England (a sprig from the tree supposedly planted by Joseph of Arimathea is cut, with great ceremony by the eldest child of St John’s Infant School, and sent to the Queen, to decorate her table on Christmas Day)

United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation -- UN

Anniversary Today:

First radio broadcast from space, a Christmas greeting from President Eisenhower, 1958

Birthdays Today:

Jake Gyllenhall, 1980

Alyssa Milano, 1972

Tyson Beckford, 1971

Amy Locane, 1971

Kristy Swanson, 1969

Criss Angel, 1967

Jessica Steen, 1965

Jennifer Beals, 1963

Kevin Edward McHale, 1957

Janie Fricke, 1952

Robert Urich, 1946

Richard Leakey, 1944

Alvin Lee, 1944

Tim Reid, 1944

Cicely Tyson, 1939

Al Kaline, 1934

David Susskind, 1920

Leonid Brezhnev, 1906

Ralph Richardson, 1902

Carter Godwin Woodson, 1875

Minnie Maddern Fiske, 1865

Mary Ashton Livermore, 1821

William Edward Parry, 1790

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Titanic(Film), 1997

The Man with the Golden Gun(Film), 1974

"Homecoming A Christmas Story"(TV introduction of "The Waltons"), 1971

"The Music Man"(Musical), 1957

"A Christmas Carol"(publication date), 1843

"American Crisis"(publication date of the Thomas Paine essay in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls."), 1776

"Poor Richard's Almanack" (publication of first issue by Benjamin Franklin), 1732

Today in History:

Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor, 324

The Seldjuken under Toghril Beg occupy Baghdad, 1055

The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery depart England carrying settlers who found, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States, 1606

The Plymouth, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut colonies combine forces and attach the Great Swamp Fort of the Narragansetts during King Philip's War, 1675

Benjamin Franklin, under the name Richard Saunders begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack", 1732

Thomas Paine publishes his first "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote that "These are the times that try men's souls," 1776

Chinese troops occupy the capital Thang Long Vietnam, 1788

The US state of Kentucky becomes the first to appropriate money for road building, 1795

The US state of Georgia becomes the first to pass a birth registration law, 1823

Allen Wilson of Connecticut patents a sewing machine that can sew a curved seam, 1854

Albert L. Jones patents corrugated cardboard, 1871

The first black US Catholic priest, Charles Uncles, is ordained in Baltimore, 1891

The first city ordinance requiring separate neighborhoods for blacks and whites is passed, in Baltimore, 1910

Robert Ripley begins his "Believe It Or Not" column in the NY Globe, 1918

The British Broadcasting Corp begins transmitting overseas, 1932

The US Earth satellite Atlas transmitted the first radio voice broadcast from space, 1958

The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, returns to earth, 1972

The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that the People's Republic of China, in 1997, would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, is signed, 1984

Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from internal exile in Gorky, 1986

A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia, 2001

Russian spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-07M, is launched in Kazakhstan, with cosmonauts Roman Romanenko, Chris Hadfield and Thomas Marshburn for the ISS Expedition 34 and 35 crews, 2012