Awww Monday: How Do We Know It's Home?

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus. 

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

When out on the streets, if you are ever tempted to think "street people" are different from "the rest of us," you will always find evidence to the contrary.

Look closely, and then closer, this is home.  How do we know?

Home is where your pet is, even under a bridge.

Today is:

Allama Iqbal Day -- Pakistan

Chaos Never Dies Day -- internet generated, and just look in my closets if you want proof that we need this one

Couch Beachcombing Day -- internet generated; also called sofa diving, you will be amazed what you will find!

Dia de los Natitas -- La Paz, Bolivia (Day of the Skulls, when skulls are decorated and then offered cigarettes, coca leaves, and other items)

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Fiesta de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena -- Madrid, Spain (Feast of the Virgin of the Almudena, Patroness of the City)

Flag Day -- Azerbaijan

Go to an Art Museum Today Day -- it's a good idea, whoever started this one

Heir to the Throne Day -- Tuvalu (Prince of Wales birth anniversary celebration)

Independence Day -- Cambodia (1953)

Lord Mayor's Day / Lord Mayor's Show -- London, England (traditional date, now celebrated on the nearest Saturday; a traditional Show since 1215, when King John granted the people of London the right to elect their own mayor)

National Nibble Day -- as promoted by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith

National Scrapple Day

National Young Readers' Week -- US, sponsored by Pizza Hut's BookIt! Program and the Library of Congress; listen to a different celebrity read a book each day through the 14th

Neon Sign Day -- Georges Claude received a patent for the neon sign on this day in 1911

Night of Nicnevin (Gyre-Carling), Daughter of Frenzy, Banshee -- Scots Pagan (date approximate)

Paul is Dead Day -- Beatle's Conspiracy Theorists, who claim Paul died this day in 1966 and was replaced by Billy Campbell

Schicksalstag -- Germany (Destiny Day or Fateful Day) anniversary of
     the execution of Robert Blum in 1848
     dethroning of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918
     The Beer Hall Putsch in 1923
     Kristallnacht (Crystal Night, marks the beginning of the Holocaust), 1938
     the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989

St.Theodore the General's Day (Patron of soldiers; Brindisi, Italy; invoked for the recovery of lost objects)

Tag der Erfinder -- Austria; Germany; Switzerland (Inventor's Day; birth anniversary of Hedy Lamarr, who was an inventor as well as an actress)

Tree Festival Day -- Tunisia (equivalent to Arbor Day, as well as an agricultural festival)

Wish-Granting Championships -- Fairy Calendar (Sprites)

World Freedom Day -- US

World Orphans Day -- originally an initiative of The Stars Foundation; cannot find a current sponsor, although there is a Facebook page for this day, stating April 20 is the correct date, and a site where you can find out more about orphans in the developing world 


Birthdays Today:

Nikki Blonsky, 1988
Nick Lachey, 1973
Chris Hericho, 1970
Thomas Quasthoff, 1959
Lou Ferrigno, 1951
Tom Weiskopf, 1942
Tom Fogerty, 1941
Mary Travers, 1936
Bob Gibson, 1935
Carl Sagan, 1934
Dorothy Dandridge, 1923 
Spiro Agnew, 1918
Hedy Lamarr, 1913
James William Fullbright, 1905
Ed Wynn, 1886
Stanford White, 1853
Elijah P. Lovejoy, 1802
Benjamin Banneker, 1731 (first freeborn child of free African American parents)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Wizard of Id"(Comic strip), 1964
"Omnibus"(TV), 1952


Today in History:

Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery, 694
The Family de' Medici were expelled from Florence, 1494
Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower sight land at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1620
Hungarian parliament promises Protestants freedom of religion, 1681
The Rabbi Yehuda Hasid synagogue in Jerusalem is set afire by Arabs, 1720
Napoleon becomes dictator of France, 1799
The first US pharmacy college begins classes in Philadelphia, 1821
The NY Symphony Orchestra holds its first public performance, 1858
The first documented Canadian football game is held, at the University of Toronto, 1861
Ulyses Grant issues orders to bar Jews from serving under him, 1862
The Great Boston Fire destroys nearly 1,000 buildings, 1872
Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first US president to visit other countries during his tenure, visiting Puerto Rico and Panama, 1906
The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, the most destructive natural disaster ever to hit the lakes, destroys 19 ships and kills more than 250 people, 1913
Albert Einstein is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work with the photoelectric effect, 1921
Several U.S. states and parts of Canada are hit by a series of blackouts lasting up to 13 hours in the Northeast Blackout of 1965
First issue of Rolling Stone Magazine is published, 1967
Garry Kasparov 22, of the Soviet Union becomes the youngest World Chess Champion, 1985
The chemical element Darmstadtium is discovered, 1994
The Venus Express mission of the European Space Agency is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, 2005
The German Bundestag passes the controversial data retention bill mandating storage of citizens' telecommunications traffic data for six months without probable cause, 2007

Six Sentence Story: Rush

Today i am linking up with Josie Two Shoes and Uncharted Blog with a Six Sentence Story.  The story prompt is Rush.

Even in her rush to get to the store so she could get home in time to prepare dinner, she couldn't help looking twice at the man.

He had what she had come to recognize from her work in the homeless ministry as the thin, frail look of an elderly man who has lived on the streets and gone without a lot of meals, replacing them by imbibing his favorite cheap liquid refreshment and cigarettes.  What made her look twice was that he was standing straight and tall, not stooped, and he had a purposefulness to his stride that said he was going to get where he was going, no matter what.

Her attention was abruptly drawn back to the traffic as she maneuvered her way into the store's busy parking lot and then made her way inside.  As she shopped, her mind went back and forth between her list and her thoughts about the homeless and the hungry that the man's appearance had brought to her mind.

Leaving the store, she caught a glimpse of him as he came in, a few dollars grasped in his hand, marching straight for the cigarette case, and she sighed.

Today is

Araw ng Watawat -- Philippines (Flag Day)

Armed Forces Day -- Croatia

Contemplate Your Vicissitudes Day -- no, i still don't know who thinks up this stuff, i can think of much better things to contemplate, thank you

Day of Pin-Hiding and Button-Losing -- Fairy Calendar

Downfall of the Dergue Day/National Day -- Ethiopia

National Brisket Day

National Hamburger Day

Republic Day -- Armenia; Azerbaijan

Slugs Return From Capistrano Day -- where they spent the winter, so don't go out on the patio barefoot until the first frost; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

St. Bernard of Montjoux's Day (Founder of Alpine hospices; Patron of Alpinists, the Alps, mountain climbers, mountaineers, skiers, and travellers in the mountains)

Whooping Crane Day -- US (birth anniversary of the first crane born in captivity; because those born in captivity refused to breed after they grew up, the attempt to restore numbers this way was discontinued, but these are beautiful birds worth saving)

Women in Trousers Day -- US (on this day in 1923, the US Attorney General announced his determination that it was indeed legal for women to wear trousers anywhere)

World Hunger Day -- The Hunger Project 


Anniversary Today:

Amnesty International is founded, 1961
Sierra Club is founded, 1892


Birthdays Today:

Joseph Cross, 1986
Carey Mulligan, 1985
Jesse Bradford, 1979
Sicily Yoder, 1969
Kylie Minogue, 1968
Glen Rice, 1967
Christa Miller, 1964
Sondra Locke, 1947
John Fogerty, 1945
Rudolph Guiliani, 1944
Gladys Knight, 1944
Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie, and Yvonne Dionne , 1934
Carroll Baker, 1931
Barry Commoner, 1917
Ian Fleming, 1908
Jim Thorpe, 1888
Louis Agassiz, 1807
William Pitt, 1759


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Magic Show"(Musical), 1974
"Lock Up Your Daughters"(Musical), 1959
Melody(Disney cartoon film, first ever in 3-D), 1953 
"Zoo Parade"(TV), 1950
"Louisiana Purchase"(Musical), 1940
"Mathis der Maler / Matthias the Painter"(Opera), 1938
"L'Arianna / Ariadne"(Opera), 1608


Today in History:

A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse;this leads to a truce and becomes one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated, BC585
James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor are married according to a Papal Bull by Pope Alexander VI and a Treaty of Everlasting Peace (which lasted 10 years) between Scotland and England is signed, 1503
The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel (it will takes until May 30 for all of the ships to leave port), 1588
In the first engagement of the French and Indian War, Virginia militia under 22-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party, 1754
Big Ben is drawn on a carriage pulled by 16 horses from Whitechapel Bell Foundry to the Palace of Westminster, 1859
In San Francisco, California, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club, 1892
In the Russo-Japanese War, the Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1905
John B Gruelle patents Raggedy Ann doll, 1915
The US Attorney General says it is legal for women to wear trousers, 1923
The first all color talking picture, "On With the Show", is shown in NYC, 1929
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened, 1937
Neville Chamberlain becomes British Prime Minister, 1937
The women of Greece are given the right to vote, 1952
The Palestine Liberation Organization is formed, 1964
Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States, 1975
Eritrea and Monaco join the United Nations, 1993
NATO declares Russia a limited partner in the Western alliance, 2002
The Mars Odyssey finds signs of large ice deposits on the planet Mars, 2002
The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty, 2008
'Le Monde' reports the Assad regime in Syria continues to use chemical weapons, 2013

Well, i was gonna do an Awww Monday...

...and then i met Jeff and Stan.

See, the first Sunday every other month our church has a Community Outreach Meal.  Pastor W. or Mr. Alfred cook up a big entree, and others bring desserts and bread, and a free meal is served to all who want to come.

Most of the people who show up are homeless, including homeless families.  Each volunteer has a name tag, and each person who comes is given a name tag and is escorted to a seat at a table, and served a meal.  Volunteers bring them whatever they need, and we sit with them and talk to them.

As i was plating up desserts, Jeff walked up to me and Mary, who was working with me.  He has been on the streets for many years, the pastors all know him, but i hadn't met him before.  He can barely speak, but he indicated to me and Mary that his side is hurting, his ribs and his lungs.  He asked for prayer, so we prayed over him, then made sure he sat down for a meal.  Jeff looks like what you typically think of when you think about a homeless person, and he does have many health issues, made worse by the years on the streets, and the fact that he can only stay sober occasionally.  He tries, though, and last night, he came for prayer and food, and for someone to actually lay hands on him and pray, because he probably doesn't get much physical contact with people.  He got it last night.

Once i was done setting all the desserts out on plates, i noticed a table with only one person sitting there, so i went over and introduced myself and sat down.

Stan and i started talking.  He asked if i had any brothers and sisters.  Yes, i told him, i have two younger brothers.

He asked if i loved them, and i told him that indeed i did.  He then told me, "I don't have any family except my father in Mississippi, who isn't in the best of health, and my sister, who hates me."

When i noted how sad it must be for him that his sister feels that way, he continued his story.

"When I was three years old, she tried to choke me to death with a pillow, and when I was eight she split the back of my head with a baseball bat.  Both times, she was trying to kill me.  After that, my mom kept me with her and sent my sister to live with my dad, so we wouldn't be near each other.

"Then, when our mother died, and we were at the funeral, she wouldn't even hug me.  She told me to stay away from her.  One of my uncles asked her why she treated me that way, and she told him she hated me because I was born, and that me being born meant she wasn't an only child any more, and so she would never like me because I was born!"

He and i commiserated about how awful it is to have such a hard, hateful heart.  We discussed family, and the importance of love, and a few other things.  When he left i made sure he got an extra plate of food to take with him for later, and i gave him my word i would pray for his sister's heart toward him to heal and be changed.

The evening was a long one, as we served meals, and packed meals for another pastor who works with the homeless every week to take out that evening.  He gave every one of them out that night, he goes into the woods, and behind the places in the city where most of us don't even think to go, and he fed the homeless who live there the meals we had packed.

After that, the youth group and the children's choir came in and had their dinners, too.  They had brought more food for their groups and all of the food got shared, and nothing went to waste as any extras will be given to people who come to the church during the week asking for help.

So i didn't get an Awww Monday picture, because of Jeff, and Stan, and the homeless children and their parents for whom we packed extra boxes, and our own children's choir and youth group, and thinking about how it all fits together that we need to raise our kids to be of service so that maybe someday there won't have to be people who wait for the Community Outreach Meal to get a good dinner, to find people who will sit and talk with them and hear their stories, to find someone willing to lay hands on them and pray.  We all need that stuff every day, not just once every couple of months.


Today is:

Area Code Day -- US (went into effect this day in 1951)

Day of Russian Militsiya -- Russia

Dia de la Tradicion -- Argentina (birth anniversary of Jose Hernandez)

Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Beacon Lighting -- Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors, MN, US (memorial for the Edmund Fitzgerald and all who have lost their lives in Great Lakes shipwrecks)

First Cry of Independence Day / Los Santos Uprising Day -- Panama (an official flag day)

Forget-Me-Not Day -- informal day to spend a bit of time with relatives you don't see often

Goddess of Reason's Day (Revolutionary France)

Guinness World Records' Day -- celebrating ordinary people who do extraordinary things, go try for a record! anniversary of the day in 1951 that Sir Hugh Beaver got the idea to create a book supplying answers to much debated questions, such as which game birds are the fastest fliers
     The Guinness World Records Book now holds the title of the best-selling copyrighted book of all time, and is one of the most frequently stolen books from US libraries!

Hari Pahlawan -- Indonesia (Heroes' Day/Warrior's Day)

Heir to the Throne Day -- Tuvalu (Prince of Wales birth anniversary celebration)

Martini -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (beginning of winter festival that starts on Martinmas Eve)

Maputo Day -- Maputo, Mozambique

National Toothpaste Appreciation Day -- not official, but i'm sure the dentifrice industry loves this one

National Vanilla Cupcake Day

National Young Readers' Week -- US, sponsored by Pizza Hut's BookIt! Program and the Library of Congress; listen to a different celebrity read a book each day through the 14th

Sleep Dangerously Night -- internet generated, a night to switch sides of the bed with your spouse and see who falls out of bed first

St. Andrew Avellino's Day (Patron of apoplexics, for a holy death, stroke victims; Badlato, Naples, and Sicily, Italy; stroke victims; for a holy death; against apoplexy, strokes, and sudden death)

St. Martin's Eve -- Germany; Portugal (Martimas Eve)

Tori No Ichi -- Japan (a "rooster day" in which to wish good luck and prosperity at temple and shrine ceremonies around the country)

Tree Festival Day -- Tunisia (equivalent to Arbor Day, as well as an agricultural festival)

USMC Day -- US (anniversary of founding in 1775, includes the Marine Corps Birthday Ball)

Wish-Spoiling Sports Day -- Fairy Calendar (Imps, Gremlins, and grumpy Goblins)

World Orphans Day -- originally an initiative of The Stars Foundation; cannot find a current sponsor, although there is a Facebook page for this day, and a site where you can find out more about orphans in the developing world

World Science Day for Peace and Development -- UN


Anniversaries Today:

Establishment of Badlands National Park, SD, US, 1978
Establisnment of the United States Marine Corps, 1775


Birthdays Today:

Ellen Pompeo, 1969
Vanessa Angel, 1963
Neil Gaiman, 1960
MacKenzie Phillips, 1959
Sinbad, 1956
Roland Emmerich, 1955
Ann Reinking, 1949
Donna Fargo, 1949
Tim Rice, 1944
Russel Charles Means, 1940
Russel Means, 1939
Roy Scheider, 1932
Richard Burton, 1925
Jane Froman, 1907
Claude Rains, 1889
Friedrick Voon Schiller, 1759
Oliver Goldsmith, 1728
William Hogarth, 1697
Martin Luther, 1483


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Microsoft Windows, 1983 (sometimes so slow, it's called "win-doze")
"Sesame Street", 1969


Today in History:

Rene Descartes has the dreams that inspire his Meditations on First Philosophy, 1619
The Dutch formally cede New Netherlands to the English; it is renamed New York, 1674
France ends forced worship of God, substitute the Goddess of Reason, 1793
The US state of Kentucky outlaws dueling, 1801
Stanley presumes that he has met Livingston in Ujiji, Central Africa, 1871
The first Woman's Christian Temperance Union meeting is held in Boston, 1891
The first Gideon Bible is put in a hotel room, 1908
Hirohito ascends the throne as Emperor of Japan, 1928
The Hope Diamond is donated to the Smithsonian Institution by New York diamond merchant Harry Winston, 1958
The 729-foot-long freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks during a storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew on board, 1975
A 106-car Canadian Pacific freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals from Windsor, Ontario, Canada derails in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada just west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, causing a massive explosion and the largest peacetime evacuation in Canadian history and one of the largest in North American history, 1979
The communist regime of Bulgaria falls, 1989
The "Codex Leicester", the only Leonardo da Vinci manuscript owned in the United States and the only one in the world still in private hands, was sold at auction to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, who paid $30.8 million, 1994
Thousands of people people march toward the royal palace of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur to hand over a memorandum to the King demanding electoral reform, 2007
Vietnam evacuates about 600,000 citizens under the threat of Typhoon Haiyan, 2013