Shaken and Broken

"Quickly," the Temple Guardian said as the whole temple started to shake, "you must leave now, I have to enter the obelisk also."

"And is everything going to be okay?" he asked, barely keeping the tremble out of his own voice.

"That was the last Djinn left here on this plane, so all is well;  I will go through the obelisk to the other side, and this temple will become what your archaeologists will believe is an ancient worship site that was abandoned thousands of years ago, leaving no trace of the Djinn or their magic here."

"There will be no trace of any magic the Djinn worked in this world?" he whispered, a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"There will be no trace in this temple, but every year when you find that perfect Christmas tree growing on your property, you will know that the wishes already granted last even after the Djinn is gone."

"Thank you," he said; the Temple Guardian smiled and shoved him into the corridor where he'd come in, and he turned to go home.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Shake.

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Gosia, of 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 others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.

Bamboo growing next to the fence may look nice.

But it can really damage the fence.

Today is:

Blow Bubbles for Your Cat Day -- internet generated entertainment urged for human and feline like

Cormorant Fishing Festival -- Nagara River, Gifu, Japan (traditional fishing with trained cormorants is celebrated nightly under the light of blazing torches through mid-October)

Eat What You Want Day -- since none of the "experts" can totally agree on what's good and what isn't, today, ignore them all! sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Fairy Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Royal Humans Founded -- Fairy Calendar

Full Flower Moon / Corn Planting Moon / Milk Moon

     Buddha Day/Vesak/Waisak  -- Bhuddist's Buddha Day; date varies with many celebrating tomorrow, and some areas already started the celebrations yesterday; sometimes called "Buddha's Birthday"

     Heavenly Sage Bao Sheng’s Birthday -- Taoism

     Kasone Full Moon -- Myanmar

     Vesak Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka

     Waisak/Vesak Festival -- Borobudur Temple, Java, Indonesia (on the day of the full moon, a stunning and spiritual celebration of Buddha's birthday)

Holiday of the City of Miskolc -- Miskolc, Hungary

Hostess Cupcake Day -- the Hostess Cupcake, the first commercially produced cupcake, went on sale on this day in 1919

Lailat al-Bara'ah (Shab Barat) -- Islam (Night of Forgiveness, a preparation for Ramadan; begins at sunset, local custom dates may vary)

Lemuralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (second day)

Lokadagur -- Iceland (Final Day, festival to mark the end of the fishing season in the south-west of the country)

Mom's Nite Out -- lets give mom a nite to herself with her friends! 

National Mocha Torte Day

National Technology Day -- India

Nisga'a Day -- Nisga'a (one of the First Nations of Canada [ effective date of treaty])

Root Canal Appreciation Day -- Dr. Chris Kammer, the 'rock and roll dentist', declared this day back in 2005 because he said the much maligned proceedure saves millions of teeth a year and needs an image make over 

St. Gengulf's Day (Patron of knights, separated spouses, victims of adultery or unfaithfulness; against unhappy marriages)

St. Mamertus' Day (first of the Ice Saints, whose days are supposed to herald the last frost)

Tubeless Tire Day -- B. F. Goodrich Company announced the development of a tubeless tire on this day in 1947

Twilight Zone Day -- no, it didn't premier on this day, nor was Rod Serling born or died on this day; it's today on the internet for no particular reason except that someone decided to celebrate it today

Witching Day -- Isle of Man (Mayday Eve based on the OS calendar, be careful of the spirits today)

Anniversaries Today:

Sammy Davis, Jr., marries Altovise Gore, 1970

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded, 1927

Glacier National Park established, MT, US, 1910

Minnesota becomes the 32nd US state, 1858

Birthdays Today:

Corey Monteith, 1982

Jonathan Jackson, 1982

Natasha Richardson, 1963

Boyd Gaines, 1953

Robert Jarvik, 1946

Mort Sahl, 1927

Bernard Fox, 1927

Foster Brooks, 1912

Phil Silvers, 1911

Salvador Dali, 1904

Martha Graham, 1894

Irving Berlin, 1888

Charles Warren Fairbanks, 1852

Chang and Eng Bunker, 1811

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Once Upon a Mattress"(Musical), 1959

Today in History:

Constantinople becomes the capital of the Roman Empire and is also called Nova Roma and Byzantium, 330

Peter Stuyvesant arrives in New Amsterdam, 1647

Captain Robert Gray becomes the first documented European to sail into the Columbia River, 1792

The waltz is introduced into English ballrooms, and becomes popular in spite of being called "riotous and indecent," 1812

William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth lead an expedition westwards from Sydney, opening the interior of Australia for settlement, 1813

Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British, 1857

Luxembourg  gains its independence, 1867

U.S. Congress  establishes Glacier National Park in Montana, 1910

Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies, 1924

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded, 1927

Siam officially changes its name to Thailand  for the second time, 1949

Israel joins the United Nations, 1949

In Baltimore, Maryland, the first heart-lung transplant takes place, 1987

In New York City, more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions, 1995

IBM Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format, 1997

In Nepal, Sherpa Apa Sherpa achieves a new record by climbing Mount Everest for the 21st time, 2011

Coward? and Sign of Spring

"I never meant to harm him" he said softly,  "and I almost feel like I took the chicken way out of this whole situation."

"Your enemy meant to harm you," the Temple Guardian replied.  "No matter what you had done, even if you had given him the Djinn bottle, he would never have stopped trying to harm you and your family.  In the end, you did not send him to the other side, his own anger and hate did that."

"I feel sick," he said, and the Temple Guardian remarked, "You do look a bit green."  The ground beneath them began to rumble as the Guardian added, "You are not meant to be here now that your work is done, and as mine is done, too, neither am I."

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Chicken.

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Gosia, of 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 others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.

There's a decorative fence near here that changes with the seasons.

It says, "Keep on the Sunny Side!"

Today is:

Bird Day -- anniversary of the first Bird Day declared in 1894 by the Superintendant of Schools in Oil City, PA, Charles Babcock

Cassinga Day -- Namibia

Childhood Depression Awareness Day / National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day -- US (sometimes also called Green Ribbon Day, SAMHSA's "Caring for Every Child's Mental Health" public awareness event) 

Compliment Someone's Smile Day

Declaration of Independence Day -- Latvia

Dodenherdenking -- Netherlands (Remembrance of those in the armed forces who have died in war or peacekeeping missions.)

Fairy Ring Day (Giving) -- Fairy Calendar

Festa Dei Serpari -- Cocullo, Italy (The Procession of the Snake Catchers, in honor of the city's patron, St. Dominick, whom they believed could cure snakebite)

Festival of Nations -- St. Paul, MN, US (cultural exhibits, food, dance, and folk art from 90 ethnic groups in a celebration held each year since 1932; through Sunday)

Frustrating the Fairies Day -- Ireland (a day to confuse the fairies so they may not cause any mischief, although i can't find any details about how to frustrate them)

International Firefighters' Day 

Kansas Barbed Wire Swap/Sell -- La Crosse, Kansas (held by the Barbed Wire Collectors Association, and no, i'm not making that up! through Saturday)

Make-a-Book Day -- the Thursday of Family Reading Week 

May Fourth Movement

     Literary Day -- Republic of China

     Youth Day -- People's Republic of China

Memorial Day -- Curacao (military ceremonies to honor victims of WWII, not a government holiday)

Midori no hi -- Japan (Greenery Day/Arbor Day)

National Candied Orange Peel Day

National Day of Prayer -- US / Interfaith

National Day of Reason -- US Humanist alternative to the National Day of Prayer

National Kids Fitness Day -- this one doesn't seem to have any particular sponsor or organization behind it, but please get those kids outdoors to do something fun, any time you can!

National Orange Juice Day

National Weather Observers Day -- another fun day that doesn't seem to be sponsored by anyone, but Family Crafts has suggestions for how to celebrate 

Petite and Proud Day -- i've never heard of this one until now, but it's the one for me!

Relationship Renewal Day -- because someone, somewhere, wants you to stop taking the ones you love for granted

Remembrance Day for Martyrs and the Disabled -- Afghanistan

Respect for Chickens Day -- International (United Poultry Concerns) 

Richmond Mushroom Festival -- Richmond, MO, US (arts and crafts, carnival, barbecue contest, bike and car show, bands, and stage shows, all to celebrate the fun fungus; through Sunday)

Sagami Giant Kite Festival -- Sagami, Japan (through tomorrow; giant kite that requires a team of 100 people is flown on the banks of the Sagami River)

St. Florian's Day (Patron of brewers, chimney sweeps, coopers, drowning victims, fire prevention, firefighters, harvests, soap-boilers; Austria; Chur, Switzerland; Linz, Austria; Poland; against battle, drowning, fire, and flood)

     a recognized holiday in Austria

St. Venerius of Milan's Day (Patron of lighthouse keepers)

Star Wars Day -- greet others with "May the 4th be with you!"

Upper Canada Village -- Morrisburg, ON, Canada (through early October, various programs that let visitors and students enter the world of the 1860s)

Youth Day -- China

Birthdays Today:

Erin Andrews, 1978

Dawn Stanley, 1970

Randy Travis, 1959

Pia Zadora, 1956

David Guttersn, 1956

Jackie Jackson, 1951

Richard Jenkins, 1947

Nicholas Ashford, 1942

George F. Will, 1941

Roberta Peters, 1930

Audrey Hepburn, 1929

Heloise Bowles Cruse, 1919

Horace Mann, 1796

Bartolomeo Cristofori, 1655

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Beatles at Hollywood Bowl"(Album), 1977

"Another World"(TV), 1964

"New Girl in Town"(Musical), 1957

Today in History:

Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance, 1415

Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherlands, 1626

A French manufacturer debuts the first folding umbrella, 1715

Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III, 1776

Mary Dixon Kies becomes the first woman in the US to obtain a patent, for a method of weaving hats with straw, silk, and thread, 1809

Napoleon arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile, 1814

The Haymarket Square Riot takes place in Chicago, 1886

The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal, 1904

The Royal Canadian Navy is created, 1910

May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, 1919

Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion, 1932

Ernest Hemingway is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea, 1953

The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South, 1961

The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation", 1972

An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak, 1974

Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1979

Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation, 1990

The Scottish National Party wins the Scottish general election and becomes the largest party in the Scottish Parliament for the first time ever, 2007

The last nuclear reactor in Japan is shut down, leaving the country without nuclear power for the first time since 1970, 2012

W for Well and Wide Open Spaces; Six Sentences and Good Fences

Knowing he had only this one chance to get it right, he called out, "Catch!" while throwing the Djinn bottle at the obelisk.

"No!" his enemy's scream echoed through the temple as he dove to try to prevent the bottle from making contact; too late, his outstretched hand reached through the smoke that was the partially emerged Djinn and was pierced by a shard of glass just as he touched it and the obelisk.

His blood mingled with the glass from the Djinn bottle, the obelisk became so brightly transparent there was no looking at it and there was a boom loud as thunder; the obelisk itself seemed to shatter and when the former Djinn bottle owner looked again, both his enemy and the bottle had disappeared, and the obelisk itself looked as it had before.

"Well, I've seen some dramatic scenes in this temple, but never one quite like this, you didn't have to draw his blood, he did it to himself!" said a hooded figure, coming out of the shadows behind the dais.

It took him a moment to find his voice and stop it from shaking as he asked, "Where are they?"

The guardian of the temple gave him a stern look and said, "The Djinn is in his rightful place where the Creator intended all of the Djinn to be, and your enemy, who wanted to harm you, has gone on to his eternal reward."

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Well.

***********************************

Gosia, of 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 others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.

The useful fence can't keep out the view of wide open spaces!

Today is:

Abolition Day -- Mayotte

Babe Ruth Day -- anniversary of the day dedicated to him in 1947 by every ball field in the US and Japan

Freedom Day -- South Africa

Furze-Hopping Event -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day -- Sierra Leone(1961); Togo(1960)

Jouvert Jump-Up -- Sint Maartin (Break of Dawn Parade and Festival)

King's Birthday / Koninginnedag -- Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba, Curacao, Netherlands, and Sint Maartin); Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba

Matanzas Mule Day -- remembering the only casualty of one of the first naval actions of the Spanish-American War, a mule in the village of Matanzas, Cuba

Morse Code Day -- birth anniversary of Samuel Morse

National Prime Rib Day

National War Veterans Day -- Finland

Poem in Your Pocket Day -- carry your favorite with you to share with friends and family to celebrate National Poetry Month 

Resistance Day/Day of the Uprising Against the Occupying Forces -- Slovenia

Sandburg Days -- Galesburg, IL, US (a festival for the mind, celebrating their two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning native son, Carl Sandburg; through Saturday)

St. Zita of Lucca's Day (Patron of butlers, domestic servants, homemakers, housemaids, lost keys, maids, manservants, people ridiculed for their piety, rape victims, servants, servers, single laywomen, waiters/waitpersons/waitresses; against losing keys)

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work® Day -- US (begun by the Ms. Foundation for Women in 2003, the day is designed to expand opportunities for girls and boys, expose them to what adults do in their daily lives during work hours, show them the value of education, and teach them about the challenges of balancing work, family, community, and personal responsibilites, with this year's theme being "Count on Me"; children are encouraged to return to school tomorrow and discuss what they have learned) 

Tell a Story Day -- US (no history of origin, although celebrated in many libraries)

The Ennead Sail Through the Land -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Togyu Taikai -- Tokunoshima Island, Japan (bull sumo, in which bulls push each other out of the ring, today and May 3-5)

Washington State Apple Blossom Festival -- Wenatchee, WA, US (more than 40 fun events showcasing the greater Wenatchee Valley, it's people, products, and heritage; through May 7)

World Graphic Design Day

World Tapir Day 

Write An Old Friend Today Day -- a real letter, in the mail, remember how exciting it is to get those?

Anniversaries Today:

Ringo Starr marries Barbara Bach, 1981

Cornell University is established as New York's land grant institution, 1865

Birthdays Today:

Patrick Stump, 1984

Sheena Easton, 1959

Ace Frehley, 1951

Cuba Gooding, Sr., 1944

Earl Anthony, 1938

Sandy Dennis, 1937

Anouk Aimee, 1932

Casey Kasem, 1932

Coretta Scott King, 1927

Jack Klugman, 1922

Walter Lantz, 1900

Sergei Prokofiev, 1891

Jessie Redmon Fauset, 1882

Ulysses S. Grant, 1822

Samuel Morse, 1791

Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759

Edward Gibbon, 1737

Suleiman the Magnificent, 1495

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Chips with Everything"(Play), 1962

"Le roi de Lahore/The king of Lahore"(Opera), 1877

"Roméo et Juliette"(Opera), 1867

"L'africaine/The African Woman"(Meyerbeer Opera), 1865

Today in History:

Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines led by chief Lapu-Lapu, 1521

Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar, 1539

Cebu is established as the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines, 1565

The blind and impoverished John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10, 1667

The British Parliament passes the Tea Act, 1773

Beethoven composes Für Elise, 1810

US troops capture the capital of Upper Canada, York  (present day Toronto, Canada), 1813

The Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, is laid, 1840

The establishment of Jewish congregations in Lower Austria is prohibited, 1857

The steamboat Sultana, carrying 2,400 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1,700, most of whom are Union survivors of the Andersonville and Cahaba Prisons, 1865

In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races, 1950

Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship, 1960

Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the United Kingdom, 1961

Expo 67  officially opens in Montreal, Canada, 1967

Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse, 1981

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed, 1992

Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history, 1992

Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics become members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, 1992

The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote is held, 1994

The last successful telemetry from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10 is received, 2002

The superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France, 2005

Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City, 2006

Estonian authorities remove the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet Red Army war memorial in Tallinn, amid political controversy with Russia, 2007

The wives and children of former Osama bin Laden are deported from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, 2012