A Happy Ending Six Sentence Story

 ***********************************

Some of you may remember a couple of my earlier stories involving Fred and Ms. G.

Fred had wasted his life and his and his daughter's inheritance on drugs and loose women, had been disowned by the entire family (except his godmother, who still got Ms. G to look in on him once in so often), and was living in pitiful conditions.

His only comfort was his dog, Molly, and he did everything he could for Molly, making sure she ate even if he didn't -- he didn't even sell the window A/C from a neighbor or the space heater from Ms. G for drugs because he wanted Molly to be cool in summer and warm in winter.

Fred hadn't been seen on his porch for a couple of days, and the lady who always brought him leftover food from the fast food restaurant where she worked hadn't seen him, so the neighbor knocked and heard Molly barking, but there was no answer.

He climbed through a window and sure enough, Fred had died and poor Molly, looking as melancholy as a dog can look, was lying next to him and whimpering.

Fred hadn't been gone long, as Molly still had water in her bowl when Ms. G got over there to take her to Fred's estranged daughter, and sweet Molly, who loves everyone and especially children, is settling in and getting used to attention from the whole family now.

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

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

Why We Don't Have a Dog (Six Sentence Story)

He wasn't really sure where to start, so he just picked a spot and tore in. 

This is interesting, he thought, as he dug out the contents and began working things open to play with whatever was inside.

Oh, there's more over here! he said to himself, then added, and it tastes pretty good, too.

By the time the people got home, it was all over but the clean-up.

The paper bags were torn, the piano book had little left to it, the purse was missing half of its lining, and he'd eaten my only lipstick.

We've cleaned him up as best we could, but our guest dog, Tombstone, still looks like he's wearing blush.

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

Today is:

American Historical Association Annual Meeting -- Washington, D.C., US (132nd annual, with over 300 sessions covering a wide range of scholarly topics; this year's theme "Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism in Global Perspective" and is through the 7th)

Day of the Fallen against the Colonial Repression -- Angola

Day To Mourn Racism -- anniversary of the day ethnic discrimination was outlawed worldwide in 1969

Dimpled Chad Day -- if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Eleventh Day of Christmas

Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1st US-born Saint; Patron of Apostleship of the Sea, people ridiculed for their piety, widows; Shreveport, LA; against in-law problems, the death of children, the death of parents)

Festival of Fufluns -- Etruscan (god of wine, also of spring and rebirth; date approximate)

Get Out Your Boxer Shorts Day -- internet generated, and why, i do not know

Harbin Ice Festival -- Harbin, China (with a theme of "Harbin Glory, Ice Snow in Northern China," a festival of illuminated ice sculptures, ice sports, and fun through Chinese New Year and beyond)

Independence Day -- Myanmar(1948)

Martyrs' Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

National Spaghetti Day

Ogoni Day -- Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People of the Niger River

Pop Music Chart Day -- Billboard magazine published the first one today in 1936

St. Pharaildis' Day (Patron of difficult marriages, victims of abuse, widows; Bruay, France; Ghent, Belgium; against childhood diseases)

Trivia Day -- celebration of those who have a doctorate in uselessology, sponsored by PunsCorp

World Braille Day -- birth anniversary of Louis Braille

World Hypnotism Day -- to remove myth and misconception, and promote the truths and benefits of hypnotism   

Anniversaries Today:

Utah becomes the 45th US state, 1896

Birthdays Today:

Julia Ormond, 1965

Dave Roley, 1962

Michael Stipe, 1960

Matt Frewer, 1958

Ann Magnuson, 1956

Grace Bumbry, 1937

Dyan Cannon, 1937

Floyd Patterson, 1935

Don Shula, 1930

Barbara Rush, 1927

Jesse White, 1917

Jane Wyman, 1914

Sterling Holloway, 1905

Charles "Tom Thumb" Stratton, 1838

Louis Braille, 1809

Jakob Grimm, 1785

Benjamin Rush, 1746

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Night Court"(TV), 1984

"Blondie"(TV), 1957

The Pop Music Charts in Billboard Magazine, 1936

"Academic Festival Overture"(Johannes Brahms Op. 80), 1881

Today in History:

Titus Labienus is defeated by Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina, BC 46

Columbus leaves the "New World" on return from his first voyage, 1493

Spanish viceroy Alva banishes Zutphen City's only physician, Joost Sweiter, "because he is a Jew", 1570

Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs, is destroyed by fire, 1698

Andre Méchain discovers M80, the globular cluster in Scorpio, 1781

Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government, 1847

4 wheeled roller skates patented by James Plimpton of NY, 1863

The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City, 1865

Sofia is emancipated from Ottoman rule, 1878

The last known sighting of an eastern cougar, in Ontario, 1884

Dr W W Grant of Iowa, performs the first appendectomy (on Mary Gartside, 22), 1885

Thomas Stevens is the first man to bicycle around the world (SF-SF); his itinerary accounts "DISTANCE ACTUALLY WHEELED, ABOUT 13,500 MILES", 1887

The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter, 1912

The first elected Jewish governor, Moses Alexander, takes office in Idaho, 1915

Sputnik 1 reenters the atmosphere and burns up, 1958

Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon, 1959

Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, 1972

Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes the first American-born saint, 1975

Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC, 2004

The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history, 2007

The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building is officially opened, 2010

Eleven-year-old Kathryn Gray, of Canada, becomes the youngest person in the world to discover a supernova, 2011

After pleading guilty to a U.S. case of tax evasion, Wegelin and Co., the oldest bank in Switzerland, closes; the bank faces a fine of $57.8 million, 2013

Pope Francis appoints 20 new cardinals from a diverse array of nations, including Vietnam, New Zealand, Ethiopia, Tonga, Mexico, Myanmar, Uruguay, France and Thailand, 2015

Happy Tails/Tales (Ten Things of Thankful)

We have a very, very big thankful this week. 

Yes, Christmas, and gratitude to our Savior is very important.  Yes, i am very, very thankful for family and gifts and decorations and everything else this lovely time of year brings.  We have a different thankful that i have to mention.

This past week, Sweetie contacted an old friend of his in a small town about an hour and a half from here.  This friend runs a local shop and knows tons of people.  Sweetie told him about the dog dilemma, and asked him to keep his ears open for anyone who would want a free-to-a-good-home Blue Heeler/Australian Cattle Dog.

The friend came through, he knew just the couple, and i am thankful for B and his many contacts.

The couple are former dairy farmers who have had Blue Heelers before, and know just how to train them, and i'm grateful because it means they know what they are in for. 

Sweetie drove there, and i was grateful for the chance to sit down after taking care of a client who had four loads of laundry for me to fold.

The client had lost an elderly dog a couple of months ago,  so let us all of the dog's equipment, and i am glad to be able to pass these things on.

The dog behaved well on the drive down, she didn't mess in the Land Yacht or tear anything up or bark and whine.

When we got there, she loved them, and it was love at first sight on their part.  They like it that she jumps on them, which i had been trying and just starting to succeed at training her not to do!

Sweetie and i had earned just enough money on the day we had to travel to deliver the dog to pay for the gas and for a small meal at a local eatery.  They had a very good salad, and Sweetie was impressed with the hamburger poboy.

We got to enjoy a visit with B, and see his store.

The drive home in the twilight was lovely, and the whole journey was safe, always a plus.

The library is now dog free, the cats are thrilled, and we are not having to arrange our lives around coming home to walk a dog, which we are not set up to do.

All in all, we are very thankful that this lovely dog has a home with farm people for whom she will be a spoiled only dog, allowed to chase squirrels and raccoons to her heart's content.

Bonus gratitudes:  today i go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to prepare for Christmas, and i have all of our gifts ready.

There are many big and small things to be thankful for every day.  Write up your own list (it doesn't have to be ten) and post it, linking up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Ms. Josie Two Shoes is our delightful host. 

Today is:

Birthday of the Queen Silvia -- Sweden (an official flag day)

Children's Day -- South Sudan; Sudan

Day of Acca Larentia -- Ancient Rome, Republic and Empire (earth goddess and protectress who raised Romulus and Remus)

Festivus -- For the Rest of Us!  (The holiday introduced on the episode of Seinfeld that aired 12/18/97; have some meatloaf, decorate with an unadorned aluminum pole, have a "Feats of Strength" contest and an "Airing of Grievances"!)

Humanlight Celebration -- celebration of tolerance, compassion, empathy, honesty, free inquiry, reason, and rationality   

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Ketkrokur -- Meat-hook, who will lower a hook down the chimney and snatch a bit of meat if he can, especially if you are cooking lamb for St. Porlakur(Thorlac)

Igler Bergweihnacht -- Igls, Austria (charming nativity parade starring the children of this small town near Innsbruck)

Learn Metric Day -- US (passage of the Metric Conversion Act of 1875)

Mouse-Marketing Day -- Fairy Calendar

National Pfefferneusse Day -- don't forget the Puderzucker!

Noche de Rabanos (Night of the Radishes) -- Oaxaca, Mexico (part of the lead up to Christmas, bring out your best carved radish!)

Popcorn Popping Day -- so you can string it on the tree, of course

Porlaksmessa, Feast of St. Thorlaker/Thorlac -- Iceland (Patron saint, though never officially recognized by the Holy See)

Roots Day -- as you gather with family during the season, don't forget to sit with elder relatives and learn about your family's past

Secret of the Unhewn Stone -- Celtic Calendar (Only day on their calendar not governed by a tree month)

St. John of Kanti's Day (Patron of Lithuania, Poland)

St. Servulus' Day (Patron of the disabled/physically challenged; against paralysis)

St. Victoria's Day (Patron of Anticoli Corrado, Italy)

Tenno Tanjobi -- Japan (Birthday of Emperor Akihito, national holiday observed as a day of rest.)

Two Days To Go Day

Victory Day -- Egypt (a/k/a Suez Victory Day)

Anniversary Today:

Establishment of the US Federal Reserve System, 1913

Birthdays Today:

Corey Haim, 1971

Carla Bruni, 1967

Eddie Vedder, 1964

Carol Ann Duffy, 1955

Susan Lucci, 1946

Harry Shearer, 1943

Akihito, 1933

Robert Bly, 1926

Gerald O'Loughlin, 1921

Jose Greco, 1918

Madame C.J. Walker, 1867

Connie Mack, 1862

Harriet Monroe, 1860

Joseph Smith, Jr., 1805

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Hoffmeyer's Legacy(Film; 1st with Keystone Kops), 1912

Today in History:

Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist, 962

St Philip of Moscow martyred by Ivan the Terrible, 1569

Giovanni Cassini discovers Rhea, a satellite of Saturn, 1672

John Flamsteed observes Uranus without realizing it's undiscovered, 1690

The Continental Congress negotiates a war loan of $181,500 from France, 1776

Benedict Arnold court-martialed for improper conduct, 1779

"A Visit from St Nicholas" by C. Clement Moore is published in the Troy (NY) Sentinel (Now usually titled " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), 1823

The opera Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed, 1893

The first all-steel passenger railroad coach completed, in Altoona, Pa, 1907

The first hospital ship built to move wounded naval personnel is launched, 1919

Alice H Parker patents gas heating furnace, 1919

Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa, 1938

The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories, 1947

Dedication of Tokyo Tower, the world's highest self-supporting iron tower, 1958

The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world, 1970

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000, 1972

The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism, 1972

Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling, 1986

In a referendum, 88% of Slovenia's population vote for independence from Yugoslavia, 1990

An 8.1 magnitude earthquake hits Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, 2004

Volcanic activity alerts are issued in Chile and Argentina, in areas near the Copahue volcano, after it started to spew ash, 2012

Silly Sunday: Using That Education

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs.  The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!

1. Post a joke.
2. Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.
3. Read my joke.
4. Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.
5. Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.
6. Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

My comment that my biography/autobiography (if i would ever choose to write one, which i highly doubt) would be entitled For This I Went To College? seems to be a thought shared by a few others.

Boudreaux's frien' Thibodeaux, fo' one.  Thibodeaux's wife, Marie, she allus had her lotsa cats in de house, an' she woun't stand fo' no dogs, she done say she be allergic.  Poor Thibodeaux, he allus done had to Boudreaux's huntin' dog, Phideaux, when he need him a dog.

Den one day Marie seen dis li'l Catahoula Cur pup in de road, about half starvin', an' she feel bad fo' it, so she take it in an' she done fall in love, an' now dey have dem a dog.

Thibodeaux be sayin' to Boudeaux, "It be so diff'runt when you gots a dog.  Dem cats, dey don' need no walkin' or nuttin'.  But de dog!  I gots to be takin' him out for to do his bid'ness.

"Mais, it make you t'ink, when you be standin' dere waitin' for de dog to heed de call o' nature, is dis why I work so hard to graduate weldin' school?"

Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Mozambique

Banned Books Week begins -- US (sponsored by the ALA; Celebrating the Freedom to Read, It's Everybody's Job; celebrate your right to read what you want!)

Clypping the Church Ceremony -- Painswick, Gloucestershire, England (since 1321, surrounding the church hand in hand for the Clypping Hymn and an open air ceremony)

Fukuro Matsuri -- Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan (a fun-for-tourists way to learn about Japanese culture, through tomorrow, and next weekend)

Gaura Parba -- Nepal

Gold Star Mother's Day 2015 -- US (the day to honor mothers who have lost a child who was serving in the US Armed Forces)

International Ataxia Awareness Day -- highlighting the difficulties of living with the many forms of ataxia 

Janmasthami -- Hindu (birth of Lord Krishna)

Join a Cabal of International Bankers Today Day -- internet generated, and only for people without a conscience

Kamarampaka Day -- Rwanda (Republic Day, marks the 1961 abolition of the monarchy)

Math Storytelling Day -- the brainchild of Maria Droujkova

National Comic Book Day -- internet generated, but go read one, they are fun

National Crabmeat Newberg Day

National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims -- US

National Food Service Employees Day -- because everyone wants to eat out once in a while 

National One-Hit Wonder Day -- US, remembering those who had only one hit on the rock charts

National Psychotherapy Day -- US (a day to wear turquoise and encourage education about how psychotherapy can help people)

National Youth Day -- Nauru

Old Holy Rood Eve -- OS calendar Holy Cross Eve, the last day to pick blackberries (after this, the devil poisons them because when he fell from heaven, he landed in a blackberry bush)

St. Cadoc's Day (Patron of the deaf; against cramps, deafness, glandular disorders, scrofula)

St. Finbarr's Day (Patron of Barra, Scotland; Cork, Ireland)

Toad Tempting Day -- Fairy Calendar

World Ataxia Awareness Day

World Pharmacists Day -- International Pharmaceutical Federation; this year's theme is "Pharmacists: Caring for you."

World Rivers Day -- International



Birthdays Today:

Lee Norris, 1981
Catherine Zeta-Jones, 1969
Will Smith, 1968
Scottie Pippen, 1965
Tate Donovan, 1963
Aida Turturro, 1962
Heather Locklear, 1961
Michael Madsen, 1959
Jamie Hyneman, 1956
Christopher Reeve, 1952
Mark Hamill, 1951
Cheryl Tiegs, 1947
Michael Douglas, 1944
Robert Walden, 1943
Juliet Prowse, 1936
Glenn Gould, 1932
Barbara Walters, 1931
Shel Silverstein, 1930
Phil Rizzuto, 1918
Dmitri Shostakovich, 1906
Walter Wesley "Red" Smith, 1905
William Faulkner, 1897
Jean Phillippe Rameau, 1683 (baptismal date, as actual birth anniversary is unknown)
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 1358 (Japanese Shogun)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Beauty and the Beast"(TV), 1987
"Stepping Out"(Play), 1984
"Winterset"(Play), 1935
"Dorothy"(Comic opera), 1886


Today in History:

St. Ferment is beheaded in Amiens, France, after voyaging there to preach the gospel, 303
The Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Anglo-Saxon era, 1066
Columbus begins his second voyage, with 17 ships, 1493
Vasco Nunez de Balboa becomes the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the west coast of the Americas, 1513
The first printing press in the Americas begins operations, 1639
Old Style date; two very accurate clocks are set in motion at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, the start of Greenwich Mean Time, 1676
Ethan Allan, American Revolutionary War hero, is captured, 1775
Benedict Arnold joins the British, 1780
The first all-black university in the US, Howard University, is created by Congress, 1867
Yosemite National Park is established by Congress, 1890
Charles Follis becomes the first black to play professional American football, 1904
Birth of the remote control -- Leonardo Torres Quevedo successfully demonstrates the invention of the "Telekino" and guides a boat from the shore in the port of Bilbao, 1906
Jimmy Doolittle performs the first blind flight from Mitchel Field proving that full instrument flying from take off to landing is possible, 1929*
Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, is integrated by the use of United States Army troops, 1957
In a referendum, the people of Norway reject membership of the European Community, 1972
Belize joins the United Nations, 1981
The last of the Magdalene Asylums closes in Ireland, 1996
The Vitim event, a possible bolide (comet nucleus) impact in Siberia, Russia, 2002
China launches the spacecraft Shenzhou 7, 2008
The Wildlife Authority of Uganda announces that, since 1999, the population of some of the animals in the country's game reserves have doubled in population, 2010
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia announces that women will now be able to vote and run in municipal elections, 2011

Yesterday, i took Ladybug, a/k/a Porch Kitty, to the pound to meet a potential adopter.

The meeting went well, and if the lady decides to adopt Ladybug when she moves in a month or so, she will let us know.  Meanwhile, Ladybug is still up for adoption, as we can't pass up a certain home now for a potential one in the future that might never work out.

Ladybug showed off very well how loving she is, and how fearless.  She made no moves at all, even when dogs came up to her carrier.  No growls, nothing, and she was purring and enjoying being petted by anyone who would do so.  Whoever adopts her is going to get a lovely cat.

While i was there, though, waiting to meet the potential adopter, a lady came in with her two sons and a small dog on a leash.

Because i was reading, i missed most of the discussions she had with the front desk people, but watched as they brought the pup to the front cage area and put him in one.  It turned out that the family had fostered him and bottle raised him, and were bringing him up to be put up for adoption.

From the moment the little guy went into the cage, he whined and barked.  The lady stopped and talked to the front desk people for another moment, and then she and the boys left.

The pup whined and barked, and didn't let up.  For over 10 minutes, he kept up a steady stream of yips and whines, wanting his pack to come back for him.

Then, the mother walked back in.

"I can't do it!" she said.  "We can't afford to adopt him.  Financially, it's totally unfeasable.  But we can foster him until he is adopted.  I can't leave him, and my kids were in tears, and I'm in tears, and we will bring him to adoption events, and his picture is on the website so someone might adopt him that way, but we can't leave him in the cage!"

The front desk ladies smiled, and i did, too, when she opened the cage and the noise immediately stopped.  She put the leash on him, and he pranced, as much as a puppy can prance, as they left.

Whoever adopts him is going to get a happy, spoiled puppy.



Today is:

Banquet of Fairies, Goblins, Pixies, and Elves -- Fairy Calendar

Burning of the Clavie -- Burghead, Scotland (ancient ritual to ensure good luck through the year)

Carmentalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival of the goddess of childbirth)

Children's Day -- Thailand

Cuckoo Dancing Week begins -- in honor of Laurel & Hardy, whose theme song was "The Dancing Cuckoos"; watch some of their fabulous material this week, and introduce it to a new fan

Designated Hitter Day -- the American League adopted the "designated hitter" rule on this date in 1973

Feast of Sokar -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Great Fruitcake Toss -- Manitou Springs, CO, US (what to do with leftover fruitcake?  toss, hurl, or launch it for fun and prizes)

Independence Manifesto Day -- Morocco(1944); Western Sahara(1944)

International Thank You Day -- as declared by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith

Juturnalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of prophetic waters festival)

Kosrae Constitution Day -- Micronesia

Milk Day

National Hot Toddy Day

National Western Stock Show and Rodeo -- Denver, CO, US (106th edition of the Super Bowl of livestock shows; through the 26th)

Secret Pal Day -- no info found on the origin, it's a secret!  do something nice for someone, secretly.)

Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day -- just don't do it to your secret pal

Sts. Paldo, Taso, and Tato's Day (founders of the monastery of San Vincenzo)

St. Theodosius of Cappadocia (Patron of file makers)

Tattoo Pride Day


Birthdays Today:

Amanda Peet, 1972
Mary Blige, 1971
Kim Coles, 1962
Stanley Tucci, 1960
Ben Crenshaw, 1952
Christine Kaufmann, 1945
Naomi Judd, 1946
Jim Hightower, 1943
Clarence Clemens, 1942
Jean Chretien, 1934
Rod Taylor, 1930
Grant Tinker, 1926
Alice Paul, 1885
William James, 1842
Eugenio Maria Hostos, 1839
John A. Macdonald, 1815
Alexander Hamilton, 1755
Theodosius I, 347


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Daktari"(TV), 1966
"Have a Heart"(Musical), 1917


Today in History:

Prophet of Islam Muhammad leads an army of 10,000 Muslims to conquer Mecca, 630
The first recorded lottery in England is drawn in St. Paul's Cathedral, 1569
Isaac Newton is elected a member of the Royal Society, 1642
Mt. Etna erupts, 1693
William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, the moons of Uranus, 1787
An earthquake in Martinique destroys half of Port Royal and results in about 700 deaths, 1839
Charring Cross Station opens in London, 1864
Milk is first delivered in bottles, 1878
Martha H. Cannon becomes the first woman state senator in the US, in Utah, 1897
The Hudson, the first sedan type automobile, goes on display at the 13th Auto Show in NYC, 1913
The first use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient occurs in Canada, with 14-year-old Leonard Thompson, 1922
Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Honolulu to Oakland, California, 1935
The first recorded snowfall in Los Angeles, California, 1949
United States Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry, M.D., publishes a landmark report saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking nation- and worldwide anti-smoking efforts, 1964
The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane in Queensland, Australia is officially opened, 1986
The government of Ireland announces the end of a 20-year broadcasting ban on the IRA, 1994
Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois' death row based on the Jon Burge scandal, 2003
Forty-six  people are killed and 12 are missing after a landslide buries a village in the Yunnan province, China, 2013