Silly Sunday: Come On Home

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's the place to come to have a laugh for the week.  It's easy to do, just Laugh and Link Up!

How in the world do you described Homecoming?

It was a nice, peaceful morning, with coffee and fruit and a walk by the lake.  The parade was just what a Homecoming Parade should be, little kids catching beads and candy, having a blast.

Then a bit of rest, and a walk around the campus.  Finally, to the stadium for one of the toughest fought, most ground out games i have ever seen in my entire life.

Every minute was like pulling teeth.  The first quarter lasted an hour, and the game that started at just after 6pm didn't end until almost ten.

It came down to the last play, too.  There wasn't an easy moment, there wasn't an easy score on either side, and there were several calls by the referees that will be argued until doomsday.

Somehow, some way, the home team pulled it off.  By that time, i'd had an SVT (heart palpitations) from nerves, and one friend said, "I was on blood pressure medicine for three years, and I eat right and exercise and I don't take medicine any more, but this game is going to put me back on it!"

But in the end, the home team won, and so Homecoming was a success.

All this, of course, reminds me of a football joke.

When Boudreaux was a young man, and very strong, he decided to try out for the college football team.  He went out to the practice field and talked to the coach.

The coach asked him, "Can you tackle?"  Boudreaux say, "Watch dis," and proceeded to run at a telephone pole, knocking it over!

"Wow!" the coach said.  "Now, can you run?"  Again, Boudreaux say, "Watch dis" and proceeded to run 100 yards in under 9 seconds.

"Glory!" the coach exclaimed.  "And, can you pass a football?"

This time, Boudreaux stop to think about it.  Finally, he say, "Mais, coach, I guess if I can swallow it, I can pass it!"






Today is:

A Family Halloween -- Billings Farm and Museum, Woodstock, VT, US (a great time for all)

Angam Day -- Nauru ("Day of Fulfillment"; a celebration of overcoming hardships)

Armed Forces Day -- Benin

Daylight Saving Time ends -- Albania; Andorra; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovena; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Greenland (some areas); Holy See; Hungary; Ireland; Isle of Man; Israel; Italy; Kosovo; Latvia; Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia; Malta; Mexico (most areas); Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Western Sahara

Day of the Ancients -- Asatru/Pagan Slavic Calendar

Day of Mourning -- Libya

Exaltation of the Shellfish -- Pontevedra, Spain (while i can confirm they celebrate this each year, i cannot find confirmation on this specific date this year)

Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade -- Long Beach, CA, US (dress up your dog and have a howling good time)

Ludi Victoriae Sullanae -- Roman Empire (celebration of the victories of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, through Nov. 1)

Mother-in-Law Day -- a day to honor good Mothers-in-Law for their contributions to their families and for enduring all the bad jokes; if you have a lousy one, go listen to Ernie K-Doe's song

Mule Day -- anniversary of the first importation of donkeys to the US, which George Washington used to breed the first mules in the Americas

National Day -- Austria

National Gospel Day -- Cook Islands

National Mincemeat Pie Day

Pretzel Day

Pumpkin Day -- time to get one for the 31st, if you haven't already

Reformation Day/Reformation Sunday -- Protestant Christian (obs.)

St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki's Day (Patron of soldiers; Thessaloniki, Greece)
     Greek day to broach the wine barrels and taste the new season's wine in honor of this saint

Sts. Lucian and Marcian's Day (Patrons of converts, possessed people)

Toping Wagglegammon -- Fairy Calendar (no human knows what this means, but it sounds intriguing)

Visit a Cemetery Day

Workaholic Stop and Smell Something Day -- internet generated day to encourage workaholics to stop and consider what they might be missing

Worldwide Howl at the Moon Night -- some organizers even have howling parties


Anniversary Today:

Grand opening of the Erie Canal, 1825


Birthdays Today:

Sasha Cohen, 1984
Keith Urban, 1969
Tom Cavanagh, 1968
Natalie Merchant, 1963
Cary Elwes, 1962
Dylon McDermott, 1962
Jeff Probst, 1962
James Pickens, Jr., 1954
Lauren Tewes, 1954
Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1947
Pat Sajak, 1947
Jaclyn Smith, 1947
Ivan Reitman, 1946
Pat Conroy, 1945
Bob Hoskins, 1942
Jackie Coogan, 1914
Mahalia Jackson, 1911
Abby Greene Aldrich Rockefeller, 1874
Joseph Hansom, 1803
Georges Danton, 1759
Domenico Scarlatti, 1685


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"St. Elsewhere"(TV), 1982
Doonesbury(Comic strip), 1970
The Village Voice(newspaper, first issue), 1955
"Mourning Becomes Electra"(Play), 1931


Today in History:

Comet 55P/1366 U1 (Tempel-Tuttle) approaches 0.0229 AUs of Earth (2.1 million miles and 3.4 million kilometers)--marking the third closest approach of any comet to our planet in recorded history, 1366
First use of lead pencils, 1492
William Penn accepts the area around the the Delaware River from the Duke of York, 1682
The first Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia, and the Minute Men begin to organize in the colonies, 1774
King George III goes before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution, 1775
Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution, 1776
The first of the "Federalist Papers" are published, calling for ratification of the US Constitution, 1787
The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, is created, 1795
Hamilton Smith patents a rotary washing machine, 1858
Soccer football rules are standardized and rugby starts as a separate game, 1863
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place at Tombstone, Arizona, 1881
First use of a "getaway car" after a robbery in Paris, 1901
The first Soviet (worker's council) formed, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1905
Margaret Sanger arrested for the obscenity of advocating birth control, 1916
The Maharaja of Kashmir agrees to allow his kingdom to join India, 1947
Mother Teresa founds her Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, 1950
Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris, France, 1958
The world sees the far side of the Moon for the first time, in pictures taken earlier in the month by the Soviet Luna 3, 1959
The last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca district, Somalia, 1977
"Baby Fae," born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, receives a controversial heart transplant from a baboon, dies of kidney infection 21 days later, 1984
The Charlottetown Accord fails to win majority support in a Canada wide referendum, 1992
Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty, 1994
Britain's House of Lords votes to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament, 1999
The water level at Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest water control and utilization project, reaches full capacity, 2010

Round We Go

It seems the biggest, hottest trend in south Louisiana's current attempts to get traffic moving is to build roundabouts or traffic circles.  (No, our traffic isn't all that bad when compared to, say, L.A., but that doesn't help when the interstate is turned into a parking lot again, or there's one big accident in town and every other street slows because it's a major throughway, and everyone has to go around.)

They seem to be popping up all over, and wouldn't you know it, the people here just aren't quite sure what to do with them.

They aren't that difficult, but some people are stopping to get their bearings, or missing their turn off and having to go around and around until they figure out which side is what.

And then we wonder why our car insurance rates are so high.  But anyway.  One man who travels through the four lane traffic circle in a city a couple of hours north of here says he's always in the wrong lane when he needs to get off, and can't get over.  His wife just tells him he's a lousy driver, but they've been married for over 40 years, and she's always teasing him.  At least, i think she's teasing about that.

Speaking of going around, ringworm is going around again, with kittens.  The shelter now has 10 cases, and i'm battling the fungus among us here, hoping it clears up soon.  My current weapons are bleach water (6 parts water to one part bleach), grapefruit seed extract (50 drops in a quart of water), and apple cider vinegar.  If i hit them with all 3, i figure, sooner or later something will clear it up.

Little Girl is excited about the news now going around that J.K. Rowling is going to make her book Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them into a movie.  She says Rowling is taking control of it, writing, directing, and making sure it gets done the way she wants.  If that's so, i have to say i admire her, as such a thing would drive me around the bend.

And rumor around the SEC has it that a poll was taken among Alabama football fans, asking them which away game in 2014 (next season, not the current one being played) they are looking forward to the most.  Their answers supposedly broke down as follows:
Virginia Tech 7%
Ole Miss 6%
Arkansas 1%
Tennessee 7%
LSU 79%

Can we safely say that Alabama fans like coming to Louisiana?

Have a great Saturday, everyone, whether you hang around the house, or whatever you do.





 
Today is:

Aloha Festivals Keiki Ho'olaule'a -- Oahu, Hawai'i, US (preserving Hawai'ian culture, with games, keiki activities, performances, and more)

Battle of San Jacinto Day -- Nicaragua

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)

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

Cochabamba Day -- Cochabamba, Bolivia

Eat a Hoagie Day

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 4, Economic Justice (sponsored by We, the World)

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross/Elevation of the Life Giving Cross/Holy Cross Day -- Christian

Festivals and Matsuri of Japan -- several throughout Japan, today and for the next several, most as harvest festivals or traditional horseback archery rituals)
       including the O Sannomiya Autumn Festival, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Festival, Tono Matsuri, Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, Tsurugaoka-hachimangu Reitasai, Yachi Donga Festival, and Furusato Hyappei Festival

Hug a Crabby Stranger Day -- okay, as long as i don't end up on the evening news

International Drive Your Studebaker Day -- an official event of the Studebaker Drivers Club Inc. (wish i could!)

National Cream-Filled Doughnut Day

National Iguana Awareness Day 2013

Nutting Day -- British Isles tradition, the hazelnuts are supposed to be perfectly ripe on this day

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)

Pilgrimage to the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln -- Switzerland

St. Notburga's Day (Patron of agricultural workers, husbandmen, peasants, restaurant servers)

Thimphu Tsechu -- Thimphu, Bhutan (Drukpa Buddhism festival; through Monday)

Unclear Ideas Display -- Fairy Calendar (Imps celebration)

Yom Kippur -- Judaism (began sundown yesterday, ends sundown today)


Birthdays Today:

Wendy Thomas, 1961 (Namesake of Wendy's Hamburgers)
Sam Neill, 1947
Joey Heatherton, 1944
Nicol Williamson, 1938
Walter Koenig, 1936
Harve Presnell, 1933
Clayton Moore, 1914
Ivan Pallov, 1849



Today in History:

Domitian becomes emperor of Rome upon the death of his brother Titus, 81
Harun al-Rashid beomes Abbasid Caliph upon the death of his brother, al-Hadi, 786
The first lighthouse in the US, in Boston, is lit, 1716
George Frederick Handel finishes "Messiah" oratorio, after working on it non-stop for 23 days, 1741
Napoleon occupies Moscow; fires begin that will not be fully extinguished for 5 days, 1812
Francis Scott Key witnesses the battle which inspires him to write "The Defense of Fort McHenry", later retitled "The Star Spangled Banner", 1814
George K Anderson of Memphis, Tennessee patents typewriter ribbon, 1886
President of the United States William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt, 1901
Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City, 1948
The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it, 1959
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded, 1960
The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is canonized by Pope Paul VI, 1975
President-elect of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated, 1982
Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a hot air balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean, 1984
The Toronto Blue Jays set a record for the most home runs in a single game, belting 10 of them, 1987
Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations, 1999
Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks; a similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital, 2001
In a referendum, Estonia approves joining the European Union, 2003