At Least One

Wednesday i got home from my yearly sanity retreat, and Thursday i went to work for Ms. P, one of my usual 11 hour marathon days.

Only Daughter was complaining that she didn't have any clean school uniforms.  She said, "Like, no one has done any laundry for about a week!"

It took all i could do not to say anything.  What i wanted to do was walk up to her and ask her to stick her arms out.  Then, i would grab her hands and say, Oh Wow!  Look!  You have standard equipment, a matched set!  Just like the rest of us!  And yours can work the washer and dryer as well as ours, too!

The sarcasm, of course, would have been wasted on her, and that's one of the reasons i do 8-10 loads of laundry every Thursday.

Later, i went to get the boys from school.  On the way home, they were in the back seat giggling (yes, little boys giggle almost as much as the girls do in this phase), and Middle Boy said, "When you get out of the car, start running and i'll show you one of my football moves.  It won't hurt!  It really kind of tickles, honest!"

Sure, it won't, i thought, but all i said was, No, you two do it!

To which Youngest Boy gave an emphatic, "No!"

Won't hurt, huh! i said, laughing.

When they got out of the Jalopy, they did go tearing across the yard, and practiced a couple of football style tackles, and thank Heaven, neither of them got hurt.

After we went in, and Youngest Boy got right to his homework as soon as i mentioned it and Middle Boy dawdled and played and whined, i was starting to get very weary when Youngest Boy said something that made my heart sing.

"May I vacuum?" he asked.

Even though i had already done so, the boys had tracked in a bit more dirt (as usual), and even if they hadn't i could not have refused.

At least one of them wants to help out, and i'm going to encourage that every time it surfaces. 


Today is:

America's Day For Kids -- sponsored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America 

Armed Forces Day -- Chile

Big Mac Shoreline Fall Scenic Bike Tour & Ride Across The Mackinac Bridge -- Mackinaw City, MI, US (a one-of-a-kind bike tour; through tomorrow)

Big Whopper Liar's Contest and Kunstfest -- New Harmony, IN, US (a German Festival, with traditional German foods, beer, and entertainment, plus the Big Whopper Liar's Contest, always a good time; through tomorrow)

Covered Bridge Festival -- Washington and Greene County, PA, US (arts, crafts, entertainment, and food at each of the 11 featured covered bridges; through tomorrow) 

Cosmetic Bridge Day -- seems internet generated, but i'm sure your dentist will approve

Day of the First Appearance of the Slovak National Council -- Slovakia

Egremont Crab Fair and Gurning Championship -- Egremont, Cumberland, UK (ancient fair given a charter in 1267, includes throwing apples from a cart for children to catch; through tomorrow)

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 9, Freedom (sponsored by We, the World)

Fall Migration Festival -- Wetlands Institute, Stone Harbor, NJ, US (nature photography workshops, guided viewing of the abundant and diverse species here at this time, and more; through tomorrow)

Flax Scutching Festival -- Stahlstown, PA, US (through tomorrow; demonstrations of the tradition of making linen out of flax)

German-American Steuben Parade/Von Steuben Day -- New York City, and other smaller parades in US

Heritage Weekend -- Blue Ridge Parkway Cultural Heritage Center, Ashville, NC, US
     featuring the Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Championships today

Idaho Spud Day 2015 -- Idaho, US, wants the 3rd Saturday of September as a day to celebrate their favorite crop

Independence Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis(1983)

International Coastal Cleanup -- join volunteers around the world in helping remove debris that harms marine life and ruins our oceans 

International Eat An Apple Day -- a celebration of the fruit of the season, on the third Saturday of every September

International Talk Like a Pirate Day -- www.talklikeapirate.com

Johnny Appleseed Festival -- Fort Wayne, IN, US (an 1800 style period festival; through tomorrow)

Jubilee of the Moth Moons -- Fairy Calendar

Levi Coffin Days -- Fountain City, IN, US (celebrating Levi Coffin, the  "President of the Underground Railroad"; through tomorrow)

National Butterscotch Pudding Day

National Gymnastics Day -- US (sponsored by USA Gymnastics, and with its own web page here)     

National Seat Check Saturday -- US (check it for what, sagging? i'm old, of course it is! Oh, make sure car seats are secured -- my kids finally outgrew those, phew)

Oktoberfest -- Germany (through Oct. 4)

On the Waterfront Swap Meet and Car Show -- St. Ignace, MI, US (with a car show, truck show, toy show, and swap meet, there's something for everyone! through tomorrow)

Peddler's Village Scarecrow Festival -- Peddler's Village, Lahaska, PA, US (start celebrating the fall with scarecrow making, pumpkin-painting, and more; through tomorrow)

Responsible Dog Ownership Day -- sponsored by the AKC 

St. Januarius of Naples' Day (a/k/a Gennaro of Naples; Patron of blood banks; Naples, Italy; against volcanic eruption) related observance
     Feast of San Gennaro -- NYC, NY, US (began on the 13th, continues to the 23rd; one of the highlights of the festival is this, the actual Saint's day)

Trail of Courage Living History Festival -- Rochester, IN, US (frontier life in Indiana when it was Native territory; through tomorrow)

Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride® -- Bridgeport, AL to Waterloo, AL (ride along part of the original Trail of Tears to honor the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole nations)

UCI Road World Championships -- Richmond, VA, US (Union Cycliste International sponsors these races, through the 27th)

Waikiki Ho'olaule'a -- Waikiki, Oahu, Hawai'i, US (a huge, fun street party, part of the larger Aloha Festivals celebrations all over the Islands, to showcase the culture and beauty of Hawai'i)

Women's Suffrage Day -- New Zealand

XTERRA Trail Run Nationals -- Ogden/Snowbasin, UT, US (finale of the series of extreme runs held across the country through the year, featuring 21k of extreme, off-road trail runs; through tomorrow)


Birthdays Today:

Alison Sweeney, 1976
Jimmy Fallon, 1974
Jim Abbot, 1967
Soledad 'Brien, 1966
Trisha Yearwood, 1964
Kevin Hooks, 1958
Joan Lunden, 1950
Leslie "Twiggy" Lawson, 1949
Jeremy Irons, 1948
Randolph Mantooth, 1945
Jooe Morgan, 1943
"Mama" Cass Elliot, 1941
Bill Medley, 1940
Paul Williams, 1940
David McCallum, 1933
Mike Royko, 1932
Adam West, 1928
Duke Snider, 1926
Sir William Glding, 1911
Lewis F. Powell, Jr., 1907
Joseph Pasternak, 1901
Henry Peter Brougham, 1778
Charles Carroll, 1737
Jan Luyts, 1655


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Skylight"(Play), 1996
"ER"(TV), 1994
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"(TV), 1970
Funny Girl(Film), 1968
"Flipper"(TV), 1964
"The Virginian"(TV), 1962



Today in History:

Edward, the Black Prince, commands the forces which defeat the French army and capture France's King John II, 1356
Giles Corey is pressed to death after refusing to plead in the Salem Witch Trials, 1692
The Continental Congress passes the first budget of the US, 1778
Ephraim Morris patents the railroad brake, 1838
Bond and Lassell discover Hyperion, moon of Saturn, 1848
New Zealand becomes the first country to grant all of its women the right to vote, 1893
Funeral of assassinated President William McKinley, 1901
Mickey Mouse makes his screen debut as Steamboat Willie, at the Colony Theater in NYC, 1928
The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich, 1946
Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland, 1959
Betty and Barney Hill claim that they saw a mysterious craft in the sky and that it tried to abduct them, 1961
The Solomon Islands join the United Nations, 1978
Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System, 1982
Ötzi the Iceman is discovered by German tourists, 1991
The BP oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was declared “effectively dead” by retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government’s point man on the blowout disaster, 2010

What i hear at work.

The other day, i was treated to overhearing a conversation while taking Ms. P's kids home from some of their summer activities.

Only Daughter was on the phone.  "Stacy, guess who I saw!  Tommy Gardener!  Yes!  Really I did!  Yes!  He was at the place where my brother went to a birthday party!  Well, if he told her that he was having his hair cut he was lying, because I just saw him here!  He was hanging out with my brother!"

The above was accompanied with much squealing, and i can only imagine what was going on at the other end of the line.

Once Only Daughter hung up, she turned to the young man, a friend Eldest Son, who was riding home from the party with us.  "What do you think of my hair?" she asked.

Being only about 12 years old, he was a bit dumbstruck, and wasn't sure what to say.   As he ummed a bit, she said, "See, I colored it!" and turned to show the highlights.

"Oh!  Yes, I see!" he said, quick to catch on.  "It really looks good!"

"You like it?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, I do!" he said.

He probably has no idea he's in for many more such conversations in the future, and most women won't point out what is now different when they start such an exchange.

Upon getting back to the house, The Big Boss and Ms. P were in the throws of planting a garden.  He is in his late 70's, and was wielding a garden tool that has the shape of a hoe, but three tines instead of a flat surface.  He was going at it like nobody's business, and i could tell from the chainsaw and branches that he had been trimming the bushes not long before.

Ms. P came up to me and said, "Look at him!  He hasn't been in such good shape in years!  It was an awful thing to go through when he was forced to retire, but he's lost weight and he's looking wonderful!  He can outwork me!"

"Are we going to plant, or are we going to talk?" The Big Boss said at that moment.

"Wow!" Ms. P whispered to me.  "I never should have taken him to Pilates classes!"

Another time, Middle Boy and Youngest Boy and i had the usual conversation you get from kids who want to whine until they get what they want.

 

"We want to go to Sonic for dinner!" Middle Boy was practically yelling.

"Yeah!  That or Chik-fil-A!" Youngest Boy added.

We have plenty of food here, i said.  We can eat what is here, it's plenty.

Howls followed, with explanations that they were not hungry for what was in the house, and was i trying to starve them, and on and on.

Unperturbed, i went ahead and made each of them a half of a turkey sandwich, cut up some strawberries, and gave each a few chips.  The i told them that if they were hungry enough, they would eat what was in front of them.

After about another hour of running around the house, they did eat most of it.  They had been yelling for pizza rolls, too, and were told they could have some for a snack later.  When they had eaten most of their dinner, i did warm up a few pizza rolls.  Youngest only ate one.

All of that fussing, and they ate what i made and mostly enjoyed it.  It just goes to show, as i said to them while we cleared the table, hunger is the best sauce.

Today is

Araw ng Maynila -- Philippines (Manila Day)

Bannockburn Day -- Scotland (decisive battle of the first Scottish War of Independence, led by Robert Bruce)

Burning of the Lamps in Egypt at Sais -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar, a celebration of Isis and Neith (date approximate)

Calcio Fiorentino -- Florence, Italy (reviving 16th century style football in period costumes, through the 28th)

Carabobo Day -- Venezuela (battle commemoration)

Celebration of the Senses -- Wellcat Holidays urges you to enjoy all five (six?) of your senses today

Countryman's Day -- Peru (one of Peru's three Fiestas Patrias Peruanas)

Day of the Caboclo -- Amazonas State, Brazil

Feast of Rahmat (Mercy) -- Baha'i

Flying Saucer Day -- anniversary of Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting, while flying near Mt. Rainier, of 9 metallic, circular objects he could not identify

Fors Fortuna -- Ancient Roman Calendar (rites and festival for the goddess of good luck and fortune)

Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts -- Pilton, Glastonbury, England (the world's largest green field music and performing arts festival, including theatre, circus, cabaret, children's activities and more; through Sunday)

International Fairy Day/Faerie Day -- day for collectors, believers, and artists to share their love for the little folk

Little Bighorn Days -- Hardin, MT, US (celebrating the life and legends of the American West; through Sunday)

Lost Handkerchief Day -- Fairy Calendar

Museum Comes to Life Day -- another fun and funny day someone came up with

National Creamy Pralines Day

Smithsonian Folklife Festival -- Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., US (through Sunday, then again July 1-5; a model of research-based presentations of contemporary living cultural traditions of people around the world)

Sonoma-Marin Fair and World’s Ugliest Dog Contest® -- Petaluma, CA, US (livestock exhibitions, wine gardens, demolition derby, Ugly Dog Contest, and more; through Sunday)

St. John the Baptist's Nativity Day and related Midsummer celebrations (Patron of baptism, bird dealers, converts, children with convulsions, epileptics, farriers, French Canadians, lambs, monastic life, motorways, printers, tailors; against convulsions, epilepsy, hail and hailstorms, and spasms; Patron of over 60 cities and countries around the globe)
    Inti Raymi -- Peru (Incan Sun Festival)
    Jaanipaev -- Estonia
    Jani -- Latvia
    Jónsmessa -- Iceland (feast of St. John the Baptist, considered a magical night when cows can speak, seals take on human form, finding magical stones and herbs is propitious, and rolling naked in the dew is healing.)
    Macau Day -- China (celebrating the defeat of Dutch invasion forces in 1622 and paying homage to St. John as the port's Patron Saint)
    Midsummer Day -- England
    National Holiday -- Quebec, Canada (Sant Jean-Baptiste)
    Saint John the Baptist Day -- Andorra
    Saint Jonas Festival or Jonines -- Lithuania
    San Juan -- CT and GA, Spain
    Surinal -- North Korea
    Zuni Buffalo, Corn, and Comanche Dances -- Zuni Native Americans (for fertility of land and people; Vespers is also observed, as San Juan is their Patron Saint)

Swim a Lap Day -- just for fun!

Swing a Kid Day -- if swimming isn't right for you


Anniversaries Today:

Eton College is founded by Henry VI, 1441


Birthdays Today:

Sherry Stringfield, 1967
Joe Penny, 1956
Nancy Allen, 1950
Phyllis George, , 1949
Peter Weller, 1947
Mick Fleetwood, 1947
Ellison Shoji Onizuka, 1946
Jeff Beck, 1944
Michele Lee, 1942
Claude Chabrol, 1930
John Anthony Ciardi. 1916
Phil Harris, 1904
Jack Dempsey, 1895
Roy O. Disney, 1893
Ambrose Bierce, 1842
Henry Ward Beecher, 1813


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Catch-22(Film), 1970
"Hopalong Cassidy"(TV), 1949
"American Mercury Presents:  Meet the Press"(Radio), 1945


Today in History:

Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place, 972
A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion, 1374
John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland; the first European 
exploration of the region since the Vikings, 1497
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines, 1571
Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1604
The colony of New Jersey is founded, 1664
Kingston, Jamaica is founded, 1692
The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London, England, 1717
The first republican constitution in France is adopted, 1793
The decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain, the Battle of Carabobo takes place, 1821
First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français, 1880
The first exhibition of Pablo Picasso's work opens, 1901
Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to get a million dollar contract, 1916
The first airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto begins, 1918
Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Pibulsonggram, the third prime minister, 1939
The Soviet Union makes overland travel between the West with West Berlin impossible, 1948
The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government, 1963
Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud completes his first mission, becoming the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a Payload Specialist, 1985
John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon, in the longest match in professional tennis history, 2010
The last known Pinta Island Tortoise, Lonesome George, is found dead in the Galapagos Islands, 2012