Easy to Buy For

"Mom, have any packages come here for me?" #2 Son asked.

Yes there's a box here, i told him.

"Great, I'll pick it up on my way to work," he said.

When he stopped by, i was at the cat shelter, but Sweetie was there and asked him what the box contained.

It turned out to be a gift for Fiancée Becky.  "It's a 'possum skull!" he said.

"I beg your pardon?" Sweetie said, a bit shocked.

"Well, you see," #2 Son continued, "she has a big interest in mammalogy, and she collects skulls from small mammals.  She's got a whole big shelf of them.  So when I saw the chance to get a 'possum skull for her, since she doesn't have one, I went ahead and got it."

All i can say at this point is, at least his future wife will be easy to shop for on those special occasions.

Today is:

AKC/Eukanuba National Championships -- Orlando, FL, US (top dogs from around the world compete to see -- who really is top dog?  through tomorrow)

Bonza Bottler Day™

Constitution Day -- Russia (constitution approved in nationwide referendum 1993)

Feast of Masa'il (Questions/Mystery) -- Baha'i

Gingerbread House Day -- because today is as good a day to start making one as any

Hakidaore Ichi -- Tokyo, Japan (fabulous shoe festival; through tomorrow)

Hovercraft Day -- the first prototype of a hovercraft was patented this day in 1955 by British engineer Christopher Cockerell

Independence Day -- Kenya (Jamhuri)(1953)

International Shareware Day

Miracle of the Roses / Our Lady of Guadalupe -- Catholic Christian; related celebrations
     Fiesta del Virgin de Guadalupe -- Mexico
     Las Mananitas -- Puerto Rico

National Ambrosia Day

National Cocoa Day

National Day -- Maldives

National Day of the Horse -- US (by Congressional resolution, information here)

National Ding-A-Ling Day -- an unofficial day on which to honor all the ding-a-lings you know, and even act like one yourself if you wish

Neutrality Day/National Day and Student Youth Day -- Turkmenistan

Poinsettia Day -- death anniversary of Joel Roberts Poinsett

St. Finnian of Clonard's Day (Father of Irish Monasticism; going to bed without supper tonight means you risk being carried away by the fairies)

St. Lucy's Eve -- Austria (night of the shining that some use to predict the future)

Unmentionable Thoughts Festival -- Fairy Calendar (Imps, Goblins, and naughty Fairies)

Yuletide Lads begin arriving -- Iceland (Jolasveinar trolls, children of Gryla and Leppaludi, who come one each day to bring gifts and mischief from now until Christmas)
     Yuletide Lad of the Day, Stekkjarstaur -- Sheepfold Stick, who will try to drink the milk from the farmers' ewes


Anniversaries Today:

Jerry Lee Lewis marries his cousin Myra Gale Brown, 1957
Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd US State, 1787


Birthdays Today:

Mayim Bialik, 1975
Rey Mysterio, Jr., 1974
Madchen Amick, 1970
Jennifer Connelly, 1970
Tracy Austin, 1962
Sheila E. 1957
Cathy Rigby, 1952
Robert Lindsay, 1949
Tom Wilkinson, 1948
Emerson Fittipaldi, 1946
Dionne Warwick, 1941
Connie Francis, 1938
Robert Lee "Bob" Pettit, Jr., 1932
Edward Irwin Koch, 1924
Bob Barker, 1923
Bob Dorough, 1923
Joe Williams, 1918
Frank Sinatra, 1915
Edward G. Robinson, 1893
Edvard Munch, 1863
Gustave Flaubert, 1821
Stand Watie, 1806
William Lloyd Garrison, 1805
John Jay, 1745 (Old Style date)
Erasmus Darwin, 1731


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"La Valse"(Ravel ballet), 1920
St. Louis Post-Dispatch(First edition), 1878



Today in History:

The Battle at Ninevah: Byzantine emperor Heraclius defeats Perzen, 627
The Order of the Dragon is created by Sigismund, King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje, following the battle for possession of Bosnia, 1408
Isabella crowns herself Queen of Castile and Aragon, 1474
Jews are expelled from Schlettstadt Alsace by Emperor Frederick III, 1479
In Vienna, Ludwig von Beethoven receives his first lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn, 1792
Mexico is officially recognized as an independent nation by the US, 1822
The first Canadian coins are circulated (1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent and 20 cent), 1858
Rudolph Dirks' first Katzenjammer cartoon strip appears in the NY Journal, 1897
Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is founded, 1897
George F Bryant of Boston patents the wooden golf tee, 1899
Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland, 1901
Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India, 1911
Oscar Straus becomes US Secretary of Commerce, the first Jew to be a US Cabinet member, 1906
The first all metal aircraft, the Junkers J-1, is test flown in Dessau, Germany, 1915
In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys, 1917
The first prototype of a hovercraft is patented by British engineer Christopher Cockerell, 1955
Guinea joins the United Nations, 1958
The Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR, 1991
An asteroid named 4179 Toutatis, over 3 miles wide, passes within 4.3 million miles, or 18 lunar distances from Earth, 2012

Six Sentence Story: Tear

"Hey, mom, guess what," #2 Son said as he walked through the door with Fiancée Becky and i interrupted him to say, your dad went to the health unit and ordered a copy of your birth certificate today and it should be here by mail in about two weeks.

"That's great," he acknowledged, "but guess what!  I got a promotion at work, I'm going to be traveling to other restaurants in the chain to train people, and they will pay me a good salary and all travel expenses for me to be gone two weeks at a time!"

Wonderful, i exclaimed, but how is your beloved going to feel when you tear yourself away for two weeks at a time?

"She's coming with me, because I will be driving to the other locations, and because my hotel and gas and food is paid it won't cost much for her to come along, and that's why I need the birth certificate, so we can get married next month so her parents will let her travel with me!" 

And now it's time for me to get a tear in my eye, my baby will be married and traveling for work soon!

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

Today is:

Biketoberfest -- Daytona Beach, FL, US (last chance to ride before winter, and enjoy concerts and shows, too; through Sunday)

Cayenne Festival -- French Guiana (celebration of the capital city)

Chicago International Film Festival -- Chicago, IL, US (oldest competitive international film festival in North America; through the 29th)

Conflict Resolution Day -- Association for Conflict Resolution 

Day of Hommage for the late King Father -- Cambodia (Norodom Sihanouk)

Dine with TV Dinners on the Floor Night -- probably started by someone who wanted to see how many websites would be crazy enough to even list this

Feast of the Three Noble Ladies -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (female pharoahs; date approximate)

Fete Nationale de l'Evacuation -- Tunisia (Evacuation Day, celebrates the day all foreign military finally and fully left)

Get Smart About Credit Day -- sponsored by the American Bankers Association 

Get to Know Your Customers Day -- third Thursday of every quarter

Global Handwashing Day -- International (scrub up! prevent the spread of germs)

Guangzhou Autumn Trade Fair -- Guangzhou, China (through Nov. 15)

Hijra -- Islam (New Year, began last night at the first viewing of the new moon crescent)

Ides of October -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also on this date
     Harvest Festival of Mars
     Ludi Capitolini (games in honor of Jupiter)
     Winter's Day

International Credit Union Day -- World Council of Credit Unions 

Mahakiki -- Hawai'ian New Year Season (a four month season where warfare is forbidden and many ceremonies take place; begins around the time of the first sighting of the Pleiades in the Northern Hemisphere)

Mertz of All Possible Mertzes -- internet generated and on the day "I Love Lucy" premiered; i guess Fred and Ethel were the definition of what a Mertz should be!

National Cake Decorating Day -- again, because every website gives a different date

National Chicken Cacciatore Day

National Grouch Day -- sponsored by Alan Miller, chairman of the board of NAG (National Association of Grouches)

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day -- US (info here)

National Mushroom Day

National Roast Pheasant Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Sri Lanka

Newspaper Week -- Japan

Poetry Day -- birth anniversary of the Roman poet Virgil

Preaching of the Lion Sermon -- St. Katherine Cree Church, London, England (Sermon dating back to the 1640's in commemoration of a gift for the poor made by Sir John Gayer, who was delivered from a lion while in Turkey)

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day -- Canada; NSW, Australia; UK; US (information here)

Rectification Day -- Burkina Faso

Rainbow Pickling Day -- Fairy Calendar

Sewing Lovers' Day -- internet generated, as those who love to sew deserve a day to celebrate

St. Teresa of Avila's Day (Founder of the Reformation of the Discalces[Barefoot] Carmelites; Patron of lace makers/workers, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, sick people; Amos, Canada; Berzano di Tortona, Italy; Pozega, Croatia; Spain; against bodily ills, headaches, sickness, the death of parents)

Teacher's Day -- Brazil

Toronto Ski, Snowboard, and Travel Show -- Toronto, ON, Canada (Canada's largest show of this type; through Sunday)

White Cane Safety Day -- US (celebrating the achievements of the blind/visually impaired, and recognizing the white cane as the symbol of their independence)

Wishbones for Pets begins -- US program asking professional pet sitters to gather pet supplies and donations for homeless pets through Thanksgiving

World Rural Women's Day/International Day of Rural Women -- UN; related observance
     Mother's Day -- Malawi




Birthdays Today:

Paige Davis, 1969
Sarah Ferguson, 1959
Emeril Lagasse,1959
Tanya Roberts, 1955
Tito Jackson, 1953
Richard Carpenter, 1946
Victor Banerjee, 1946
Jim Palmer, 1945
Penny Marshall, 1942
Linda Lavin, 1937
Lee Iacocca, 1924
Mario Puzo, 1920
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., 1917
John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908
Marty Mann, 1904
P.G. Wodehouse, 1881
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, 1872
John L. Sullivan, 1858
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844
Publius Vergilius Maro / Virgil, 70BCE


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Untouchables"(TV), 1959
"I Love Lucy"(TV), 1951
"Abe Lincoln in Illinois"(Play), 1938
To Have and Have Not(Publication date), 1937
"La Mer/The Sea"(Debussy orchestral composition), 1905


Today in History:

Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals, 533
Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine," is staged in Paris, 1581
Asser Levy is granted a butcher's license for kosher meat in New Amsterdam, 1660
The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon marks the first human ascent, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, (tethered balloon), 1783
George Washington takes the first formal presidential tour, of New England, 1789
Napoleon Bonaparte is exiled to the Island of St. Helena, 1815
Child labor law takes 12 year olds out of the work force, 1874
Edison Electric Light Company is incorporated, 1878
Koln cathedral is completed, 633 years after it was begun, 1880
The German dirigible "Graf Zeppelin' lands in Lakehurst, NJ, 1928
LaGuardia Airport opens, 1939
Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time, 1946
The start of the 2500-year celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia, 1971
The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England, 1987
Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL, 1989
Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1990
The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ThrustSSC (United Kingdom), exactly 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere, 1997
The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn, 1997
NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io, 2001
China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission, 2003
The final breakthrough occurs on the east bore of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps, now the world's longest railway tunnel, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Visitors

Fiancée Becky (formerly Friend Becky) brought some young friends to visit.

One- to two-month-old ducks, a little on the shy side about a picture!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.



Today is:

Agricultural Reform Day -- Sao Tome and Principe

Ask A Stupid Question Day -- teachers wanted to get students asking more questions, so they did, even if the questions were stupid; now, it's a holiday on the last school day of September each year! 

Banned Websites Awareness Day -- sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians 

Celtic Tree Month Gort begins (Ivy)

Day of Liberation of the Republic of Abkhazia -- Abkhazia (disputed territory on the Black Sea)

Do Something Wacky With A Grandparent Day -- just not the monkey bars, please; old bones don't knit fast enough

Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (the Greater Mystery Rites, date approximate; mystery rites of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis, one of the most sacred times of their year)

Independence Day -- Botswana

International Translation Day -- International Federation of Translatorswww.fit-ift.org

Kokkeisetsu -- Chinatown, Yokohama, Japan (Chinese National Founding Day in the largest Chinatown in Japan; through tomorrow)

Medetrinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival fruits offer to the goddess of medicine)

Monkey Bars Day -- a day to go see if you can still do tricks on the monkey bars, because the internet wants to kill us and let the machines that would never do anything so silly as get on monkey bars take over

National Mud Pack Day -- give yourself a facial

National Hot Mulled Cider Day

National Women's Health and Fitness Day -- US, sponsored by Fitness Day 

Nottingham Goose Fair -- Nottingham, England (dating back to at least 1284, what began as a fair market so people could stock up on food supplies for winter is now a fun festival with rides and games; through Sunday)

St. Gregory the Enlightener (or Illuminator; Patron of Armenia)

St. Jerome's Day (Patron of archaeologists, archivists, Biblical scholars, librarians, libraries, school children, students, translators; Saint-Jerome, Quebec) 
     also an Apache celebration of Geronimo, the Native American who was named after this saint


Anniversary Today:

Haleakala National Park is established in Maui, Hawaii, 1960


Birthdays Today:

Dominique Moceanu, 1981
Marion Cotillard, 1975
Jenna Elfman, 1971
Crystal Bernard, 1964
Eric Stoltz, 1961
Fran Drescher, 1957
Deborah Allen, 1953
Victoria Tennant, 1953
Marilyn McCoo, 1943
Z.Z. Hill, 1935
Johnny Mathis, 1935
Angie Dickinson, 1931
Elie Wiesel, 1928
W. S. Merwin, 1927
Truman Capote, 1924
Deborah Kerr, 1921
Buddy Rich, 1917
William Wrigley, Jr., 1861
Rumi, 1207


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush(Publication date), 1990
"Murder, She Wrote"(TV), 1984
"Cheers"(TV), 1982
"Love Child"(Single release), 1968
"The Flintstones"(TV), 1960
"Tea and Sympathy"(Play), 1953
"The Red Skelton show"(TV), 1951
"Porgy and Bess"(Opera), 1935
Little Women(Publication date), 1868
"Les pecheurs de perles/The Pearl Fishers"(Bizet opera), 1863
"Die Zauberflote/The Magic Flute"(Mozart opera, K. 620), 1791
The Gutenberg Bible(first section, publication date), 1452


Today in History:

Rambam (Maimonides) authorizes Samuel Ibn Tibbon to translate the Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew, 1199
Anesthetic ether is used for the first time by Dr. William Morton, who extracted a tooth, 1846
German scientist Hermann von Meyer announces the discovery of the first fossil of an archaeopteryx, 1861
The first Portuguese immigrants arrive in Hawai'i, 1878
The world's first commercial hydroelectric power plant begins operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, 1882
Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner, 1901
The first manned rocket plane flight, made by auto maker Fritz von Opel, 1929
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations, 1947
The World Series, featuring the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, is televised for the first time, 1947
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel, 1954
James Dean is killed in a road accident, 1955
Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez founds the United Farm Workers, 1962
James Meredith enters the University of Mississippi, defying segregation, 1962
General Suharto rises to power in Indonesia after an alleged coup by communists, and massacres over a million Indonesian people suspected of belonging to the Communist Party, 1965
BBC Radio 1 is launched and Tony Blackburn presents its first show, 1967
Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation, 1980 
The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada's capital city of Ottawa, 1990
The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo, 2004
The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, 2005