And we wonder...

...why our education system is in the shape it is in.

Remember the school board snafu that almost kept Little Girl from being able to go to boot camp?  How they almost cost her the signing bonus?  How they messed up and she ended up graduating from high school without any of her family members able to be there?

That same school board still hasn't sent us her final report card.  They still haven't sent us her diploma.  They did, however, send us this:

Post card from the School Board

That's right, they are letting us know where her pick-up location is for the school bus for the upcoming year.

The year after she has graduated.

She won't be waiting for the bus any time soon.

Today is:

Accession Day -- United Arab Emirates (accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan)

Andorra La Vella Festival -- Andorra (through Monday)

Battle of Bushy Run Reenactment -- Harrison City, PA, US (commemorates the decisive battle of Pontiac's War in 1763; through tomorrow)

Best Elf Awards -- Fairy Calendar

Cowes Week begins -- Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK (the largest, longest-running and most prestigious international sailing regatta in the world; through the 15th)

Fancy Farm Picnic -- Fancy Farm, KY, US (what a name for a town, and what a good time they have, Southern hospitality at its best!)

Feast of Everything Green Except Money -- Hooray for veggies! You'll need them before you have that root beer float.

Festival of Nut and Ra; Chief Festival of Thoth -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Hiroshima Day

Independence Day / National Day -- Bolivia; Jamaica

International Hangover Day -- always the day after International Beer Day, which should tell you something, and sponsored by the same group that does International Beer Day, which should tell you something more!

Inter-State Fair and Rodeo -- Coffeyville, KS, US (rodeo, livestock shows, carnival, and more; through the 13th)

Ishitori Festival -- Kasuga Shrine, Kuwana City, Japan (called the loudest festival in Japan, with lots of bell ringing and drum beating; through Monday)

League of N.H. Craftsmen Annual Craftsmen's Fair -- Newbury, NH, US ("America's oldest crafts fair," through next Sunday)

Miss Crustacean Usa Beauty Pageant and Ocean City Crab Creep -- Ocean City, NJ, US (crowning the most beautiful and fastest tree crab on Earth)

National Fresh Breath (Halitosis) Day -- shouldn't that read, anti-halitosis day?

National Mustard Day -- US, sponsored by the National Mustard Museum

National Root Beer Float Day -- A&W Root Beer really gets into this day 

Olathe Sweet Corn Festival -- Olathe, CO, US (lots of fun and all the "Olathe Sweet" corn you can eat)

Peace Festival -- Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan

Sts. Justus and Pastor's Day (Patrons of Alcala, Spain; Madrid, Spain)

Tanabata Festival -- Sendai, Japan (Japan's largest Tanabata 'Star Festival', through the 8th)

Teinne Festival -- Ancient Celtic Calendar (Teinne, the Celtic Holy Fire, sometimes called Tan; date apprximate)

Transfiguration of the Lord -- Orthodox Christian

Wiggle Your Toes Day -- internet generated, and my suggestion is to celebrate it with a cool drink out by the pool!


Birthdays Today:

Romola Garai, 1982
Melissa George, 1976
Soleil Moon Frye, 1976
M. Night Shyamalan, 1970
Michelle Yeoh, 1962
Catherine Hicks, 1951
Dorian Harewood, 1950
Shirley Ann Jackson, 1946
Peter Bonerz, 1938
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob, 1934
Andy Warhol, 1928
Robert Mitchum, 1817
Lucille Ball, 1911
Clara Bow, 1905
Hoot Gibson, 1892
Alexander Fleming, 1881
Louella Parsons, 1881
Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, 1861
Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1809 
Daniel O'Connell, 1775


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Help"(Album debut), 1965


Today in History:

Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founds the city of Bogota, Colombia, 1538
Holland (The Dutch Republic) sells Brazil to Portugal and the two 
countries sign the Treaty of The Hague, 1661
The first private military school in the US, Norwich University, is 
founded in Vermont, 1819
The Russian Geographical Society is founded in Saint Petersburg, 1845
William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by the electric chair, 1890
Alice Ramsey takes three friends (none of whom could drive) to become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, 1909
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel, 1926
Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world's oldest tree, is cut down by the US National Forest Service, for reasons even they cannot explain, 1964
The Federal Voting Rights Act is signed, 1965
A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, 1986
The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, 1990
NASA makes the still disputed announcement that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms, 1996
The incoming coalition government of the United Kingdom discontinues the use of the controversial ContactPoint database of all children in that country, 2010
After a century of silence, Mount Tongariro in New Zealand erupts, spreading volcanic ash across the country's central North Island and affecting airports, 2012
The Curiosity Rover, controlled by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, lands safely on the surface of Mars, 2012

School Adjustments

"Mom, are you still home?" Little Girl asked.  She was calling me about 20 minutes after having left to walk the five houses down and around the corner to catch the bus to school.

Yes, i told her, aren't you on the bus yet?

"The bus doesn't seem to be coming, and I'm going to be late, so I wanted you to know I'm coming back so you can take me."

That worked out just fine yesterday morning, but on days when i've already left for work, it's going to be a problem.

It turned out that her regular bus driver had become ill, and the substitute was given directions from the assistant principal that did not include our neighborhood at all.  He's new, as are most of the student counselors, so we are cutting him some slack.  They are all a bit overwhelmed.

Last year, that would have meant passing by 4 young people who needed a ride to school from our neighborhood.  This year, the other three have graduated and Little Girl is the only one.  So it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

(Yes, there are other high school students in our neighborhood.  Most of them attend private schools or go to one of the other public schools that specialize in art or technology or something.  They have different buses.)

She went in to the office and spoke to them, and they called the sub driver, who now knows to come through our subdivision.

As long as it's so hot, though, i'm going to try to pick her up after school each day, and not make her get on the bus.  Mornings aren't so bad, she's the last one picked up and it only takes seven to ten minutes to get there, depending on the traffic lights, and it's not too hot yet.  Afternoons are a totally different matter, as she's the last one dropped off and the temperatures are sweltering.  Sweetie is off work by the time she gets out, so even if i'm working, he can get her.  This way, also, we can drop her friend Alli off at her workplace on the days she has a shift after school.  It's on our way, and no one should have to walk in 100+ temps like we've been having.

Ah, the first weeks of school can be an adjustment, can't they?

Today is:

Alcatraz Day -- the first prisoners arrived this day in 1934

Carnival Tuesday -- Granada

Day of Honor for Oddudua -- Santeria religion (cognate of the Roman Catholic St. Clare of Assisi; credited with the creation of humans)

Defense Forces Day -- Zimbabwe

Dog Days end -- yes, supposedly, in this heat

Feast of St. Attracta -- Irish Catholic Saint (founded a hospice and convents, and supposedly slayed a dragon; Patron of Achonry, Ireland; Men of Lugna)

Fox Hill Day -- Nassau, Bahamas (final day of their Emancipation celebrations)

Independence Day -- Chad(1960)

Ingersoll Day

International Sundance -- Manitoba, Canada (an extraordinary gathering of Elders from many Native traditions around the world, to perform the sacred Sundance of the Lakota people and sacred ceremonies of the other traditions represented; through Saturday)

Machias Wild Blueberry Festival -- Machias, ME, US (blueberries and fun, in the place that has lobster, too; through Saturday)

National Raspberry Bombe Day or Raspberry Tart Day -- whichever one you like best, or both, if that's the way you roll

Play in the Sand Day -- as per many internet sites; yeah, like at the beach, nothing like sand in your shorts, i get enough of that on vacation, thank you

Presidential Joke Day**

Son and Daughter Day -- the day to give your son(s) or daughter(s) the gift of time

St. Clare of Assisi's Day -- (Foundress of the Order of Poor Ladies [Poor Clares] Franciscan nuns; Patron of embroiderers, eyes, gilders/gold workers/goldsmiths, good weather, laundry workers, needle workers, telegraphs, telephones, and television writers; Assisi, Italy; Santa Clara Indian Pueblo; against eye disease)***; related observance
    Fiesta de Santa Clara -- Santa Clara Pueblo, NM, US (Native American celebration of St. Clare of Assisi, their Patron saint, with a corn dance and prayers for rain)

St. Philomela's Day (Patron of babies, children, desperate causes, forgotten causes, impossible causes, lost causes, orphans, poor people, priests, prisoners, sick people, students, test takers, toddlers, young people; against barrenness, bodily ills, infertility, mental illness, sickness, sterility)

World's Fair of Money -- Chicago, IL, US (the greatest money show on Earth, including dealers, exhibits from around the world, family activities and educational programs; through Saturday)


Birthdays Today:

Will Friedle, 1976
Ashley Jensen, 1969
Viola Davis, 1965
Joe Jackson, 1955
Hulk Hogan, 1953
Stephen Wozniak, 1950
Marilyn vos Savant, 1946
Joanna Coles, 1944
Anna Massey, 1937
Arlene Dahl, 1928
Mike Douglas, 1925 (Note: he also died on this date in 2006)
Alex Haley, 1921
Carrie Minetta Jacobs-Bond, 1862
David Rice Atchison, 1807
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, 1667 (Last of the Medicis)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Nightmare on Elm Street 5: Dream Child(Film), 1989
"Die Harmonie der Welt /The Harmony of the World"(Opera), 1957


Today in History:

First day of the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, used my the Maya and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, BC3114
Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation, BC2492
Battle of Artemisium, naval battle of the Greco-Persian War, fought at the same time as the Battle of Thermopylae of the same war; Leonidas, King of Sparta, dies in the land battle, BC480*
Papandayan Java volcanic eruption kills 3,000, 1772
Charles Lawrence gives expulsion orders to remove the Acadians from Nova Scotia beginning the Great Upheaval, 1755
The world's first roller rink opens in Newport, RI, 1866
The first civilian prisoners arrive at Alcatraz, 1934
Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi, 1942
A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo to Honolulu, killing one teenager and injuring 15 passengers, 1984
NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history, 2003
A new species of a giant carnivorous plant, Nepethes attenboroughii, is discovered in the central Phillipines highlands, 2009
Jamaican runner Usain Bolt wins his third gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012


*some historians give different dates

**because presidents have a sense of humor, too, as shown this day in 1984 when Reagan thought the microphone was off and joked about Russia being outlawed

***why tv? because when she became too ill to attend mass at the end of her life, a miraculous image of the service would display on the wall of her room

Still a Kid at Heart

"Mom, mom, mom, look what I have!"  Little Girl had gotten her sister to take her to the store, and she came in with her prize, a pumpkin.

Little Girl's pumpkin, waiting for carving.

"It's just right!" she gloated.  "I'm going to carve it in a couple of weeks.  Until then, may I set it on the porch?"

Of course, i said.  After all, i'm a Y'at from N'Awlins, and you always know us by having stuff on the front porch that needs to be put up.

As usual, my tone was lost on her, and really, that is one way you know a Y'at.  Anyway.

The next morning, as i was preparing to take her to school, she said, "I'm so glad I don't have to ride the bus in the morning.  The afternoon is okay, but the bus driver, Miss Fatima, yells a lot.  She doesn't like noise or anyone moving around much on the bus.  And I really don't like yelling in the morning.  This way, it's nice and quiet on the way to school."

Do you want me to start picking you up in the afternoons again? i asked.

"No," she said.  "I don't mind her in the afternoons, and she likes me.  I'm just glad I don't have to get up even earlier in the morning to take the bus."

Then, as i headed to the car, i noticed that she lagged behind.  Leaning over to peek around the Sago palm bush, i saw her do something that made my heart sing.

As much as she tries to be a grown up, she showed me that the little kid in her is still alive and well.  She was saying good-bye to her pumpkin!




Today is:

Abolition Day -- Saint Barthelemy

Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day -- at your own risk! sponsored by Susan E. Schwartz of "Teddies Are The Answer"

Community Day -- Valencia, Spain

Curious Events Holiday -- Fairy Calendar

Emergency Nurses Day

Establishment of the Samitinget in Norway -- Sami People's Parliament

Feast of Abraham the Patriarch -- Christian

Festival for Fausta Felicitas -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of good luck and joy)

Festival for Venus -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Frankfurt Book Fair -- Frankfurt, Germany (world's largest international book fair; through Sunday)

Give Peace a Chance Day / Instant Karma Day -- in honor of the birth of John Lennon

Independence Day -- Uganda(1962)

International Top Spinning Day -- sponsored by the Spinning Top and Yo-Yo Museum, to recognize the Earth as a large spinning top; add your spins to the total and e-mail results to the sponsor

International Walk to School/Bike to School Day -- to promote both healthy exercise and less pollution

Korean Alphabet Day -- Korea (Hangul Nal)

Leif Erickson Day -- Iceland; Norway; Minnesota and Wisconsin, US

Messenger Appreciation Day -- 10/9 in radio talk is a request to repeat information

Moldy Cheese Day (Sorry, but I do not like the stinky, moldy cheeses, at least not the heavier ones.)

Mop Fair -- Tewkesbury, England (through tomorrow; festival dating back to the 12th century, originally a fair in which prospective employers came to find laborers, now two days of fun, fairgrounds rides, traditional games and sideshows, and more)

National Day of Honor -- Peru (sometimes translated as Day of Dignity; commemorates the nationalization of the countries oil fields)

National Stop Bullying Day -- US

National Submarine/Grinder/Hoagie/Hero/PoBoy/Pierogi Day -- each of these has its own special day, but today you get to pick which one you want

Presidential Election Day -- Azerbaijan

SAVE Today -- US (Stop America's Violence Everywhere, a day created in 1995 by the American Medical Association Alliance)

St. Denis' Day (Patron of possessed people; France; Paris, France; against frenzy, headaches, rabies, and strife)

St. Dionysius the Areopagite's Day (considered the first Bishop of Athens, mentioned in Acts 17; Patron of Zakynthos Island, Greece; against headaches and the devil)

St. Louis Bertrand's Day (Patron of Caribbean vicariates; Columbia; Dominican novices)

Takayama Matsuri Autumn Festival -- Takayama, Japan (ancient, elaborate floats parade through the old city; through tomorrow)

Tavistock Goosey Fair -- Tavistock, Devon, UK (dating back to 12th-century Michaelmas fairs, this original livestock fair is now mostly a fun festival)

World Post Day / Universal Postal Union Day -- UN

Ziua Nationala de Comemorare a Holocaustului -- Romania (National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust)


Anniversaries Today:

King Louis XII of France marries Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII of England, 1514


Birthdays Today:

Eddie Guerrero, 1967
Tony Shalhoub, 1953
Scott Bakula, 1954
Sharon Osbourne, 1952
Jackson Browne, 1948
John Entwistle, 1944
Brian Lamb, 1941
John Lennon, 1940
Jacques Tati, 1908
Bruce, Catton, 1899
Camille Saint-Saens, 1835
Mary Ann Shadd Cary, 1823 (with her husband, the first black newspaper
publishers in the US)
Robert de Sorbon, 1201 (founded Sorbonne University, Paris)


Today in History:

Leif Ericson discovers "Vinland" (somewhere in New England or Nova Scotia, possibly?), 1000
Leif Ericson lands in L'Anse aux Meadows, Canada, a definitive European landing in the "New World", 1003
The Korean Hangual alphabet is devised, 1446
Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he speaks out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land, 1635
Collegiate School of CT (Yale University) is chartered in New Haven, 1701
Father Francisco Palou founds Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California, 1776
City of Hobart, Tasmania, founded, 1804
Official opening of the University of Ghent, 1817
Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine motor, 1855
Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Mass., patents the first Calliope, 1855
The first US underground pipeline for carrying oil is laid in Pennsylvania, 1865
Aaron Montgomery starts the mail order business that will later become Montgomery Ward, 1872
The Universal Postal Union is created as part of the Treaty of Berne, 1874
The first 2-way telephone conversation over outdoor wires occurs, 1876
Washington Monument opens to the public, 1888
Woodrow Wilson becomes the first US president to attend a World Series Game, 1915
National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) forms, 1926
Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to L.A., 1936
A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia, 1967
The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia, 1970
Abolition of capital punishment in France, 1981
A 13 kilogram (est.) fragment of the Peekskill meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu, 1992
North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device, 2006
First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, 2009