Whose? A Six Sentence Story / Good Fences

Walking into the classroom, he noted most of the chairs in the circle were taken either by a person or the person's instrument, denoting a saving of the place for the owner.

"Hey, new guy, come sit by me!" he heard a stage whisper from the left side of the room; turning that way, he saw the biggest violin player he'd ever encountered waving him over.  The young man had hands so big he wondered how they could even handle the instrument without breaking it into matchsticks.

"Hi, I'm Jonathan," he said as he gingerly took a seat next to the behemoth, who said, "I'm Buddy, and this is my first day, too; we new guys need to stick together!"

Before Jonathan could ask what gave him away as a new guy, suddenly it seemed all the chairs were filled, everyone silently taking their place; only one seat was left with a very battered case perched on it.

"I wonder whose beat up wreck that is," Buddy said with a grin, and he and Jonathan froze as Professor Denarius stepped out from behind them, crossed over to the case with a bound and pulled out an Amati, and said, "This would be mine."

Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Mine.

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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. 

Some materials for fences go well together, like brick and wrought iron.  Some just don't seem to go well together:

The corrugated tin gate looks odd to me with the wooden fence.

Today is:

#2 Pencil Day -- internet generated, but since a pencil can draw a line 35 miles long, write under water, in zero gravity, or upside down, what's not to celebrate!

Black Cat Appreciation Day -- they deserve a day! black cats even have a Facebook page  

Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival -- Bucyrus, OH, US (food and fun celebration of German heritage, with this year's theme, "Brats, Beers, and Cheers to Brattie's 50 Years!"; through Saturday)

Day of Rituals in the Temples of Ra, Horus, and Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Drink Coffee at the Office from A Sippy Cup Day -- begun by someone with a sense of humor, who wants you to see how long it takes people to notice

Festival of Diana -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Jari Kemerdekaan RI -- Indonesia (Independence Day)(1945)

Kentucky State Fair and World Championship Horse Show -- Louisville, KY, US (if you love horses, it's the place to be since 1904; through the 27th)

Little League Baseball® 2017 World Series -- South Williamsport, PA, US (through the 27th)

Meaning of "Is" Day -- thank you, Clinton!

Milwaukee Irish Fest -- Milwaukee, WI, US (the world's largest Irish music and cultural event outside of the Emerald Isle; through Sunday)

National Thrift Shop/Thrift Store Day -- no history on it, probably started by a thrift store having a summer sale; still a good idea

National Vanilla Custard Day

Odin's Ordeal begins -- based on the Ancient Norse legend, Modern Odinists and some Asatru practice silence for nine days, through the 25th

Portunalia -- Roman Empire (honoring the god of locks, keys, ports, and harbors)

Prekmurje Union Day -- Slovenia (celebrates the Slovenes in Prekmurje being Incorporated into the Mother Nation)

San Martin Day -- Argentina (death anniversary of General Jose de San Martin, liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Peru)

Soldiers' Reunion Celebration -- Newton, NC, US (the oldest patriotic event of its kind in the US, honoring all veterans; annually since 1889)

Sour Herring Premiere -- Sweden (by ordinance, the year's supply of sour herring may begin to be sold on the third Thursday in August)

St. Hyacinth's Day (Patron of Camalaniugan, Philippines; Ermita de Piedra de San Jacinto, Philippines; Kradow, Poland; Lithuania; Poland; against drowning)

Sun Prairie Sweet Corn Festival -- Sun Prairie, WI, US (family fun with a carnival, midget auto races, parade, food, entertainment, and lots of hot, buttered sweet corn; through Sunday)

Birthdays Today:

Mark Salling, 1982

Donnie Wahlberg, 1969

Sean Penn, 1960

Jonathan Franzen, 1959

Belinda Carlisle, 1958

Guillermo Vilas, 1952

Robert Joy, 1951

Robert DeNiro, 1943

Francis Gary Powers, 1929

Maureen O'Hara, 1920

Harrison V. Chase, 1913

Mae West, 1892

Charles I, last emperor of Austria-Hungary, 1887

Samuel Goldwyn, 1882

Davy Crockett, 1786

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Life of Brian(Film), 1979

"Symphonie Liturgique"(Honegger's Third Symphony), 1946

Animal Farm(Publication date), 1945

"Gotterdammerung/Twilight of the Gods"(Opera WWV 86D), 1876

Today in History:

The Peace of Bergerac gives political rights to the Huguenots, 1577

John White returns to Roanoke, Virginia, to find no trace of the colonists he had left there 3 years earlier, 1590

Robert Fulton's steamboat Clermont begins its first trip up the Hudson River, 1807

Solymon Merrick patents the wrench, 1835

The first bank in Hawaii opens, 1858

Patent granted for an electric self starter for automobiles, 1891

Pike Place Market, the longest continuously-running public farmers market in the US, opens in Seattle, 1907

Fantasmagorie by Émile Cohl, the first animated cartoon, is shown in Paris, 1908

First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous in Southern California, 1953

Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.5 1959 Yellowstone earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana, 1958

East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin becoming one of the first victims of the wall, 1962

Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage, 1969

Venera 7 launched. It will later become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet (Venus), 1970

Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine, 1978

The first Compact Discs are released to the public in Germany, 1982

The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, starts, 2005

Afghan archeologists discover the remains of a Buddhist site located south of Kabul, 2010

Trogloraptor marchingtoni, an unusual spider discovered in 2010 is determined to be a new family of spiders previously unknown in the world of science; the new spider family has been named Trogloraptor, meaning 'cave robber', 2012

Dilemma

"Mom, I've got a problem," Bigger Girl said when she came downstairs the other morning.

What's up? i asked.

"Well, you remember my friend Sam?" she continued.

Yes, i remember, she's the third "Sam" we know.  Very friendly, always smiling.

"Not these days as much.  She's thinking of moving out with her boyfriend, because her home situation is getting so bad, and he hit her the other day."

She must not move out with him, i noted.  And she needs to call the police.

"Well, she can't call the police, she hit him back.  All of her friends have her on suicide watch now, and we just don't know what to do.  She can't continue to live at home, her mom is threatening not to drive her to work any more if she doesn't turn over more of her paycheck every month, and will throw her out if she loses her job, too.  So she's talking about moving in with her boyfriend just so she'll have a place.

"I've told her to just go couch surfing for a week or so until she can find a roommate, but other than that, what can we do?"

Couch surfing is fine in theory, i said, but that's a lot to ask of friends, she'd have to coordinate with them to get her to work and school.  Her best bet would be to find a roomie, someone else who's in college and just wants someone to split the rent, as fast as possible.  And it would need to be where she could take the bus to the college and her work.

"Yeah, that would be best, and I'll talk to her about it, and do you mind if I invite her to spend a night here?  At least that's one night where I wouldn't have to worry about her."

Sure you can.  And while you are at it, let her practice driving while you are in the neighborhood.  The faster she can get a license, the easier her life will be.

"Thanks mom!"

Other people's kids bring home a stray puppy that "followed me home!"  My kids bring home stray people, and there's no way i can say no.




Today is:

Anne Bradstreet Day -- Massachusetts, US (by Proclamation of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to honor Anne Bradstreet, America’s first poet, who is also recognized as the first published woman poet in the English language)

Cherokee Strip Day -- Oklahoma, US (anniversary of the last land run, in 1893, which opened Native American land to white settlers)

Collect Rocks Day -- i guess it means besides all the ones in my head

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 6, Children & Youth (sponsored by We, the World)

Festival for Ra, Osiris, and Horus -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Get Ready Day -- US (help your community, workplace, or school to get ready for disasters or emergencies)

Independence Day -- Malaysia(1963); Mexico(1910); Nicaragua; Papua New Guinea(1975)

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer -- UN (commemorates the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer)

Kentucky Bourbon Festival -- Bardstown, KY, US (self explanatory; through Sunday)

Martyrs' Day -- Libya

Mayflower Day -- the ship left England on this day in 1620

National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day

National Guacamole Day -- ideas to celebrate

National Heroes' Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis

National Play-Doh Day -- unofficial; get some anyway and be a kid again for a little while

National Teaching Assistants' Day -- UK https://www.teachingpersonnel.com/go/candidates/national-ta-day/

Opening of Parliament -- Netherlands (holiday in The Hague)related observance
     Prinsjesdag -- Netherlands  (technically translates "Prince's Day;" the day Parliament opens and the reigning sovereign, now King William-Alexander, gives the Speech from the Throne and the Minister of Finance proposes next year's budget)

Owain Glyndwr Day -- Wales

St. Cornelius' Day (Patron of cattle, domestic animals, earache sufferers, epileptics; Kornelimunster, Germany;against earache, epilepsy, fever, twitching )

St. Cyprian of Carthage's Day (Patron of Algeria, North Africa)

St. Euphemia's Day (Patron of Rovinj, Croatia)

St. Ludmilla's Day (Grandmother of St. "Good King" Winceslaus; Patron of converts, duchesses, widows; Bohemia; Czech Republic; against in-law problems)

Stay Away From Seattle Day -- yes, really

Stepfamily Day -- US and others who choose to recognize it  (Founded in 1977 by Christy Borgeld; if you have stepfamily you love, celebrate it wherever you live)

Working Parents Day -- internet generated, enjoy if you are a working parent or have a working parent you want to thank


Birthdays Today:

Nick Jonas, 1992
Sabrina Bryan, 1984
Alexis Bledel, 1982
Amy Poehler, 1971
Marc Anthony, 1968
Molly Shannon, 1964
Richard Marx, 1963
Jennifer Tilly, 1961
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV, 1958
David Copperfield, 1956
Mickey Rourke, 1956
Robin Yount, 1955
Mark McEwen, 1954
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 1950
Susan Ruttan, 1950
Ed Begley, Jr., 1949
Elgin Gay Baylor, 1934
Anne Francis, 1932
Peter Falk, 1927
B.B. King, 1925
Lauren Bacall, 1924
Janice Page, 1923
Allen Funt, 1914
James Cash Penney, 1875
Francis Parkman, 1823
Anthony Panizzi, 1797
Hildegard of Bingen, 1098


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Frasier"(TV), 1993
"Miami Vice"(TV), 1984
"Logan's Run"(TV), 1977
"Bridget Loves Bernie"(TV), 1972 (first mixed marriage portrayed on television)
"Mannix"(TV), 1967
"Shindig"(TV), 1964
"The Outer Limits"(TV), 1963
"Broadway"(Play), 1926


Today in History:

The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changes its name to Boston, 1630
Handel's "The Messiah" premiers in Dublin, 1741
The Great Seal of the United States is used for the first time, 1782
Russians set fire to Moscow shortly after midnight – the city burns down completely days later, 1812
Slavery is abolished in all French Territories, 1848
The Cherokee Strip, in Oklahoma, is opened, making land available to white settlers, 1893
Roald Amundsen discovers the magnetic south pole, 1906
William Durant, carriage-maker, founds General Motors Corp., 1908
Juan Perón is deposed in Argentina, 1955
Malaysia is formed, 1963
Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe join the United Nations, 1975
Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from the trolleybus that had fallen into Erevan reservoir, 1976
An earthquake measuring 7.5-7.9 on the Richter scale hits the city of Tabas, Iran killing about 25,000 people, 1978
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the United Nations, 1980
The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion, 1987
The Pound Sterling is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and is forced to devalue against the German mark, 1992
Mexico celebrates its 200th anniversary of independence, 2010
Denmark elects its first female Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, 2011
NASA scientists announce the discovery of a circumbinary planet - a planet the orbits two stars instead of one, 2011
The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., announces a successful artificial insemination as Mei Xiang gives birth to her second giant panda cub, 2012
The brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is found in tap water near New Orleans, the first time ever detected in the U.S. water supply, 2013

"He's a good man, but...."

Fill in the blank. He won't accept me the way I am. He says if I would just do what he says everything would be fine. He says if I would just change, life would be perfect. He demands that I have sex with him no matter what, even when he has been yelling at me and making me feel like crap. He is emotionally abusive.

Real life in the chat room yesterday. Makes my blood boil to watch a friend die from the inside from this crap. I finally got her to admit she feels like a whore, because she stays, and gives in to his sexual demands, because she only has unemployment now, so he holds all the cards.

If you have to follow a statement with the word "but", whatever preceded the "but" is usually a lie.

He is not a good man.

He had an affair, I am convinced. She told me about how he used to have a "friend" at work, and the friend got fired a while back, but before the firing he worked late with her and went on business trips with her. I cannot convince her that it was an affair, and she is too scared right now, because she is unemployed, to confront him.

So she continues the charade, the mockery of what God intended true marriage, true oneness of spirit, to be, just because she is afraid.

The kids are grown. It's just her and the dog.

They have had severe financial problems and are on the verge of bankruptcy.

He is not a good man.

He is abusive.

Another friend in chat, in trying to convince her, had to finally leave the room, because it reminded her too much of her mother, who used to make excuses for the father who would beat the toddler clinging to his leg with, "He's a good man, but..." excuses. She did the same with her own husband, and now her kids won't speak to her and blame her for what their dad did.

These men make me sick.

They are not good men.

Real life in the chat room yesterday.


Today is:

Feast of Incandescent Rebellion

Global Forgiveness Day

Just Because Day

Moldova National Day

National Pots de Creme Day

Nativity of Isis (Egyptian goddess of fertility)

Notting Hill Carnival, London, England

Ould Lammas Fair, Ireland

Petroleum Day

St. Caesarius' Day

St. Monica's Day


Birthdays Today:

Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens, 1952
Barbara Bach, 1947
Tuesday Weld, 1943
Martha Raye, 1916
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1908
C.S. Forester, 1899
Samuel Goldwyn, 1882



Today in History:

The Persian invasion of Greece is halted with Greek victories in two separate battles, BC479
Koreans battle and prevent Japanese invasion, 663
The first unmanned hydrogen balloom flight reaching 900 m altitude, 1783
Edgar Rice Burroughs' publishes "Tarzan of the Apes", 1912