Six Sentence Story: Great News!

It had been a long Tuesday, cleaning a house early in the morning, going to a church ladies' meeting, then off to the bakery job which went late into the evening because of all the orders coming in for Mother's Day.

"Guess what Eddie gave me today?" Sweetie asked, and i cringed; i was so tired i didn't want guessing games, and he and Eddie, manager of a local music store, are always swapping pieces of guitar equipment like kids on the playground trading toys for a while.

Before i could even try to register an answer, he said, "A job!"

My eyes opened wide and he continued, "Full time, with base pay and commissions on everything I sell, and I've already cleared that my brother and I will be out of town next weekend and we have vacation in June.  What do you think of that?"

As tired as i was, my only two thoughts were, Thank G-d, and i'm glad Little Girl is finished with school this week so we don't need to worry about sharing the cars.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Base.


Today is:

Arbegnoch Qen -- Ethiopia (Patriots' Victory Day)

Arrival Day -- Guyana

Bevrijdingsday -- Netherlands(Liberation Day)

Bonza Bottler Day™

Cartoonists Day -- celebrates the first color cartoon ever published, The Yellow Kid, on this day in 1895

Childhood Depression Awareness Day / National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day -- US (sometimes also called Green Ribbon Day, SAMHSA's "Caring for Every Child's Mental Health" public awareness event) 

Children's Day -- Japan (Kodomo-no-hi); South Korea (Orininal)

Cinco de Mayo / Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla -- Mexico, and anyplace that beer brewers want to make a minor battle into a big deal to increase beer sales today

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta -- Portland, Oregon (the sister city to Guadalajara, Mexico, has a multicultural party; through Sunday)

Constitution Day -- Kyrgyzstan

Coronation Day -- Thailand (crowning of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1950)

Day of Adoration of Anubis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Doodle 4NF Auction Days -- Neurofibromatosis Foundation's biggest fundraiser, from today until May 15, go to Ebay to bid on doodles drawn by celebrities 

Europe Day -- Council of Europe

Fairy Ring Day (Receiving) -- Fairy Calendar

Festival of Nations -- St. Paul, MN, US (cultural exhibits, food, dance, and folk art from 90 ethnic groups in a celebration held each year since 1932; through Sunday)

Hafengeburtstag -- Hamburg, Germany (Hamburg Harbor Birthday celebration, through Sunday)

Halfway Point of Spring/Autumn

Hidirellez  -- Turkey (arrival of spring and a religious holiday of the Alevi peoples, celebrating the meeting on Earth of the Prophets Al-Khidr and Elijah; begins this evening and goes through tomorrow)

International Day of the Midwife

Kansas Barbed Wire Swap/Sell -- La Crosse, Kansas (held by the Barbed Wire Collectors Association, and no, i'm not making that up! through Saturday)

Lusophone Culture Day -- Community of Portuguese-speaking countries

Make-a-Book Day -- the Thursday of Family Reading Week 

Mom's Nite Out -- lets give mom a nite to herself with her friends!

National Chocolate Custard Day

National Day of Prayer -- US / Interfaith

National Day of Reason -- US Humanist alternative to the National Day of Prayer

National Ferret Day -- UK  (previously sponsored, but the link is no longer available)

National Hoagie Day

Perfect Game Day -- Cy Young pitches baseballs first officially recorded perfect game on this day in 1904

Richmond Mushroom Festival -- Richmond, MO, US (arts and crafts, carnival, barbecue contest, bike and car show, bands, and stage shows, all to celebrate the fun fungus; through Sunday)

Save Lives Clean your Hands Day -- WHO (the day gets its own web page)

Senior Citizens Day -- Palau

St. Judith's Day (Patron of Prussia)

Totally Chipotle® Day

Upper Canada Village -- Morrisburg, ON, Canada (through early October, various programs that let visitors and students enter the world of the 1860s)

Yom HaShoah -- Judaism (Holocaust Remembrance Day; began sunset yesterday, ends at sunset today)


Anniversary Today:

The American Medical Association is founded, 1847


Birthdays Today:

Harry Cavill, 1983
Danielle Fishel, 1981
Tina Yothers, 1973
Brian Williams, 1959
Richard E. Grant, 1957
Jean-Pierre Leaud, 1944
Lance Henriksen, 1943
Michael Palin, 1943
Tammy Wynette, 1942
Michael Murphy, 1938
Pat Carroll, 1927
Ann B. Davis, 1926
Alice Faye, 1915
Tyrone Power, 1913
James Beard, 1903
Nelly Bly, 1864
John Batterson Stetson, 1830
Karl Marx, 1818
Soren Kierkegaard, 1813


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Damn Yankees"(Play), 1955


Today in History:

Rebel barons begin a chain of events that leads to King John of England's eventual signing of the Magna Carta, 1215
Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire, 1260
Jews are expelled from Speyer Germany, 1430
Christopher Columbus lands at Jamaica and claims it for Spain, 1494
In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614, 1789
Citizenship is denied to Jews of Canton of Aargau Switzerland, 1809
Mary Kies becomes the first woman issued a US patent, for a method of weaving, 1809
The American Bible Society organizes in NY, 1816
Emperor Napoleon I dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena, 1821
In Belgium, the first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels  and Mechelen, 1835
The American Medical Association forms in Philadelphia, 1847
Cinco de Mayo in Mexico: troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion  in the Battle of Puebla, 1862
The first train robbery in the US occurs in North Bend, Ohio, 1865
Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army, 1877
The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor, 1891
Cy Young pitches the first perfect game in modern baseball history, 1904
Coco Chanel introduces Chanel No. 5, 1921
John T. Scopes is arrested for teaching evolution in violation of Tennessee's Butler Act, 1925
West Germany gains full sovereignty, 1955
Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, 1961
Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27, 1981
The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army, 2006
Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek debt crisis, 2010

An Answered Prayer

"Hi, mom!"  #1 Son was chipper for having just come in from work, so i thought something might be up.

How's everything? i asked, trying not to seem to excited.

"Oh, it's great!  Guess what!  I don't work for the caterers any more, I work for the Association!"

There it was, news i'd been praying for.

That's wonderful! i said with genuine delight.

He's been working long hours for low pay, and i knew, from behind the scenes, that a job had come open at the Association that he could handle with ease.  It had been in my prayers that The Big Boss would think to hire him.

"Yeah, you know how I really take special care of The Big Boss and he's always so impressed with how I never stop moving and I really work hard?"

Yes, i know, i said.  Inside, i'm thinking, yes, you work like your dad, he never stops moving at work, is always busy and finds stuff to do if he's done with what he's been given.

"And, I don't know if you heard, but Randy got fired last week because he offended a big client, and they've been thinking about who to hire to do his job."

Yes, i thought to myself, i knew, and i wanted that job for you, it's a huge step up, but i didn't say anything, i just kept grinning.

"Well, today, The Big Boss walked past me as I was serving lunch buffet and he said, 'Hey, how would you like to have a real job?' and I said, 'Yes, I would love to have a real job!' and he told me to go see Mr. Vice-President and tell him I was hired and I start on Monday!"

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! i almost yelled.

"And right now I need to go get measured for a jacket, because Mr. Vice-President told me to go get measured and they will buy me the jacket I need, and Mr. Tim told me to go get two pair of black work pants and they will pay me back for them, and they will give me the logo pullovers, so they are going to provide my work wardrobe!

"I'll be working all the events, so for this week, I get to train my replacement for the caterer for the lunch buffet, and next Monday I'll go in and they will show me where all the stuff is that I need to know.  I mean, I worked with the caterer at events with Randy running the building, so I know what he did, but I just don't know the location of everything he had to control.

"And you know what?  I'll not only be working better hours for triple the pay, I can have a schedule where I can go back to school now!"

It's all i hoped for, and i know he can do the work and do it well.  It's an answered prayer.


Today is

Asatru Alliance Founding Day -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan

Birthday of José Gervasio Artigas / "Never Again" Day -- Uruguay (Dia del Nunca Mas)

Butterfly Day -- an ecard holiday; if you know someone who loves butterflies, send an ecard, let them know you are thinking of them

Corpus Christi -- Catholic Christian

Czech Days -- Tabor, SD, US (celebrating foods and traditions of the Czech people who settled this area; through Saturday)

Day of the Independent Hungary -- Hungary (a memorial day for those martyred in 1958, and for the end of Soviet occupation)

Festival for Minerva -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of arts, crafts, skill, war, and intelligence)

Festival of the Coming Ice Age -- can't find out anything about this one, but it sounds hilarious

Fort Union Trading Post Rendezvous -- Williston, ND, US (re-creation of the fur trade era; through Sunday)

Garfield the Cat Day (his birthday/comic strip premiere)

Juneteenth -- US, celebrates the news of freedom on the day it came to slaves on Galveston Island, Texas

Kiamichi Owa-Chito Festival of the Forest -- Beaver's Bend State Park, Broken Bow, OK, US (celebration of Native American culture; through Saturday)

Labour Day -- Trinidad and Tobago

National Dump the Pump Day -- The American Public Transportation Association encourages you to consider public transportation as a way to cut down on high gasoline prices

National Martini Day -- some sites specify a dry martini

New Church Day -- Swedenborgian Christian

Recess at Work Day -- engage in productive play!

Rusalka's Week begins -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (week long festival to honor the divinity of rivers)

Sam Steele Days -- Cranbrook, BC, Canada (fun for all, celebrating the life and legend of Sam Steele of the North-West Mounted Police in the 1880's; through Sunday)

Shakespeare on the Green -- University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE, US (nonprofit professional productions of the Bard's works, including preshow seminars, workshops, period music and entertainment; this year's performances will be Titus Andronicus and Twelfth Night, recurring daily through July 6)

Show-Me State Games -- Colombia, MO, US (Olympic-style sports festival for all ages and skill levels, to encourage people to develop their physical and competitive abilities to the height of their potential through participation in fitness activities; through Sunday, and again July 18-20 and 25-27)

Spooky Stories Appreciation Night -- because someone thought it would be a good night to tell a few scary tales

St. Boniface of Querfurt's Day (Patron of Prussia)

St. Jude's Day (Patron of desperate situations, forgotten/impossible/lost causes, hospitals, hospital workers; Saint Petersburg, FL, US)

Tiger-Get-By's Second Birthday -- Fairy Calendar

World Sauntering Day -- origin unknown, but perhaps begun at Grand Hotel (Mackinac Island) in Michigan during the 1970s as a response by W.T.Rabe to a growing movement toward the recreation of jogging and the idea was to encourage people to slow down and appreciate the world around them; the rules are to observe the lost art of Victorian sauntering, discouraging jogging, lollygagging, sashaying, fast walking, and trotting, but no word on meandering that i can find!

World Sickle Cell Day


Anniversaries Today:

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, marries Sophie Rhys-Jones, 1999


Birthdays Today:

Zoe Saldana, 1978
Poppy Montgomery, 1972
Mia Sara, 1967
Andy Lauer, 1965
Aung San Suu Kyi, 1965
Paula Abdul, 1962
Kathleen Turner, 1954
Ann Wilson, 1951
Phylicia Rashad, 1948
Salman Rushdie, 1947
Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane, 1942
Gena Rowlands, 1930
Louis Jourdan, 1919
Pauline Kael, 1919
Pat Buttram, 1915
Abe Fortas, 1910
Earl W. Bascom, 1906
Lou Gehrig, 1903
Guy Lombardo, 1902
Moe Howard, 1897
Wallis Simpson, 1896
Elbert Green Hubbard, 1856
Charles H. Spurgeon, 1834
Blaise Paschal, 1623
King James I of England and VI of Scotland, 1566


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Batman Returns(Film), 1992
"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"(Musical), 1978
"The Rocky Horror Show"(Musical), 1973
"Devil May Hare"(Cartoon short, Tazmanian Devil's premier), 1954
"I've Got a Secret"(TV), 1952
"Moon Mullins"(Comic strip), 1923


Today in History:

King Louis IX of France orders all Jews  found in public without an identifying yellow badge to be fined ten livres  of silver, 1269
The Earl of Pembroke's army defeats Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methven, 1306
English colonists leave Roanoke Island, N.C., after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in America, 1586
Emanuel Swedenborg reports the completion of the Second Coming of Christ in his work True Christian Religion, 1770
Battle of Seven Oaks between North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 1816
The first officially recorded, organized baseball match was played under Alexander Joy Cartwright's rules on Hoboken's Elysian Fields (Hoboken, New Jersey)with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the Knickerbockers 23-1; Cartwright umpired, 1846
Over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Galveston, Texas, United States, are finally informed of their freedom; the anniversary is still officially celebrated in Texas and 35 other states as Juneteenth, 1865
Maximilian I of the Mexican Empire is executed by a firing squad in Querétaro, Querétaro, 1867
After all of the Southern States are formally readmitted to the United States, the Confederate States of America ceases to exist, 1870
The Herzegovinian rebellion against the Ottoman Empire begins, 1875
The first Father's Day is celebrated in Spokane, Washington, 1910
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed at Sing Sing, in New York, 1953
Kuwait declares independence from the United Kingdom, 1961
In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University in Beirut, is kidnapped, 1982
Norway ratifies the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989, 1990
Prime ministers of several northern European nations participate in a ceremonial "laying of the first stone" at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Spitsbergen, Norway, 2006

Of School and Work and Music

"Mom, mom, mom!"  #2 Son ran into the kitchen.  "Guess what!  I have a job interview!  Finally!"

Good for you, i said, knowing he's been applying at a lot of different places.

"Yeah!  The fast food place on the corner called.  It's not the best work in the world, but no one wants to hire you if you haven't had a job before.  I just need a break, so if I get this, in a few months I might be able to get something better!  Now, where is my good suit?"

Hanging up where it belongs, of course, i noted.  What time is the interview?

"This afternoon at 3."

Good, you will still have time to go to school after that.

"Yeah, I know."

"Where is he going?" Bigger Girl asked, coming down from her room.

"Job interview," he answered.

"What if they want you to cut your hair?" she asked.

"I'll tell them I'll shave my head for a job!" he answered.

As he left to find his good suit and put it on, Bigger Girl began to talk about a school assignment.

"Mom, I have an assignment for Music Appreciation class.  I'm supposed to ask three questions about music that I'd like to explore further.  What do you think of these?

"First, Where does noise end and music begin?


"Second, is there any modern music, such as pop or rock or anything, that will have the same kind of lasting effect on culture and music that classical music has had?

"And third, is does it's music say more about what a culture is, or what a culture isn't?"

Those are certainly good questions, i noted.  Your teacher may have gotten more than she bargained for!

"She's up to it," Bigger Girl said.  "After all, any teacher who would come into class, take her shoes off, sit down and start playing her sitar for us, then let the one blind student in the class come up to touch the instrument because he'd never 'seen' one with his hands before, is a good teacher."

Yes, she sounds like it, i said.

"Mom, can you help me get the lint off my collar?"  #2 Son came in, wearing his suit and tie, and handed me the tape that we keep around for just such a purpose.  When you have a lot of cats in the house, you have lint and bits of fur that stick to everything.

After looking him over, his sister asked, "Why the baseball cap?"

"Well, I was going to wear the Fedora, but I have to represent my team, and this has the team logo.  They need to know who I'm pulling for!" he said, then headed out.

Good luck! i called.

Later, as is common around here, a good bit happened at once.  Little Girl had come home from school by then, and Sweetie was just arriving.

"I got it!" #2 Son called out as he came in.  "I go to training on Saturday, and start next week, the morning shift!"

So you can still go to school at night! i said with a smile.

"Yes, that, too!" he said, as Little Girl ran in yelling, "I liberated it!  I liberated it!  Here!"

What did you liberate? i asked, but that was answered as she tossed the mail to me.

"Dad almost had it, but I liberated the mail!" she laughed, and so did Sweetie, who came in after her and heard her saying it.  It's a running gag about who gets the mail.

"And I have a job!' #2 Son was still gloating, as he went to take off his good suit and head to school.




Today is:

Aldus Day -- death anniversary of Aldus Manutius, inventor of italics

Asahikawa Winter Festival -- Asahikawa, Japan (through the 11th)

Bob Marley Day -- Jamaica (birth anniversary)

Berlin International Film Festival -- Berlin, Germany (a premier international film festivall; through the 16th)

Calgary Boat and Sportsmen's Show -- Calgary, AB, Canada (through Sunday)

Festival au Desert -- Segou, Mali (final night of the most remote music festival in the world, the Great Night For Peace, cohosted by the Festival Sur le Niger)

Gamelia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (anniversary celebration of the marriage of Zeus and Hera; date approximate)

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation -- United Nations

Lame Duck Day -- US, on the anniversary of the passage of the 20th Amendment to the US Constitution; a day to recognize those whose tenure is running out

National Chopsticks Day

Oto Matsuri -- Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan (fire festival)

Pay-A-Compliment Day

Reggae Day -- Bob Marley birth anniversary

Rubik-Cube Muddling Championships -- Fairy Calendar

Sami National Day -- Finland, Norway, Russian, and Sweden

St. Dorothy of Caesarea's Day (Patron of brewers, brides, florists, gardeners, midwives, newlyweds; Pescia, Italy)

St. Peter Baptist's Day (Patron of Caceres, Philippines; Japan)

Waitangi Day -- Maori, New Zealand and Niue (treaty with Britain, 1840; also considered National Day)


Anniversaries Today:

Accession of Queen Elizabeth II, 1952 (upon the death of her father, George VI)
Massachusetts becomes the 6th US State, 1788
The College of William and Mary in Virginia is founded by royal charter, 1693


Birthdays Today:

Axl Rose, 1962
Barry Miller, 1958
Kathy Najimy, 1957
Robert Townsend, 1957
Natalie Cole, 1950
Bob Marley, 1945
Michael Tucker, 1944
Fabian, 1943
Gayle Hunnicutt, 1943
Gigi Perreau, 1941
Tom Brokaw, 1940
Mike Farrell, 1939
Francois Truffant, 1932
Rip Torn, 1931
Mamie Van Doren, 1931
Zsa Zsa Gabor, 1919
Mary Leakey, 1913
Ronald Reagan, 1911
Babe Ruth, 1895
Aaron Burr, 1756
Nicolaus II Bernoulli, 1695
Chongzhen, Emperor of China, 1611
Christopher Marlowe, 1564


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Masque of Kings"(Play), 1936
"Rhenisch"(Schumann's 3rd Symphony), 1851


Today in History:

The United States signs its first treaty, in which France recognizes the US and promises aid, 1778
New Jersey issues the first US railroad charter to John Stevens, 1815
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore, 1819
The first 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society started a settlement in present-day Liberia, 1820
Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony, 1840
Harper's Weekly publishes the first picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers, 1869
The international arbitration court at The Hague is created when the Netherlands' Senate ratifies an 1899 peace conference decree, 1900
The Young Women's Hebrew Association organizes in NYC, 1902
The "Monopoly" board game goes on sale for the first time, 1935
Turkey holds its first election in which women can vote, 1935
K Elizabeth Ohi becomes the first Japanese-US female lawyer, 1937
Elizabeth II becomes the first Queen regnant of the United Kingdom and several other realms since Queen Victoria, upon the death of her father, George VI, 1952
Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit, 1959
Justice Mary Gaudron is appointed to the High Court of Australia, the first woman to be appointed, 1987
The Round Table Talks start in Poland, thus marking the beginning of overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe, 1989
Russia captures Grozny, Chechnya, forcing the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria government into exile, 2000
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake causes significant damage to villages along the coast of the Solomon Islands, 2013