Welcome back!  Today is Sunday, February 9.  There are only five days until Valentine’s Day.  I hope you guys have gotten your shopping done.  Today we remember the birthdays of Amos Bull, Amy Lowell and Travis Tritt.  On this day in 1775 the English Parliament declared that the Massachusetts colony was in rebellion, in 1895 Volleyball was invented by W G Morgan, in Massachusetts and in 1964 it was the first appearance of the Beatles on the “Ed Sullivan Show” watched by 73.7 million viewers.  It seems that this day is a slow day for holidays, the only one being Boy Scouts Day worldwide.

So, another Valentine’s Day is coming up and we are starting to see the commercials that encourage guys to buy jewelry, cars, flowers, chocolate covered fruit and all sorts of other extravagances for their ladies.  Why?  If the guy has spent the whole year not telling his girl friend, fiancé or wife that he loves her and appreciates her, what makes him think that buying her something special this one day will make it all better?

Realistically, there are several ways you can go with this.  One way would be to not buy her anything and ignore the day just like you do on her birthday and anniversary.  Since you don’t pay any attention to those days it should not be a surprise to her that you did not get anything for her now.  You don’t want to make the mistake of buying her something now because all she will do is wonder why you ignored the other days and that will create a whole different problem.  Another way would be to buy her a nice box of candy and take her out for a special dinner.  The downside to this is that she will wonder why you are trying to make her fat.  You can ask her what she wants for Valentine’s Day and she will say, “Oh, you don’t have to buy me anything.”  That way when you don’t get her a gift, you have that to fall back on. 

What you really want to do is get her a nice card, not a funny one, a good one that expresses your feelings and will make her realize that you care.  Buy her a nice piece of jewelry, nothing too expensive, but something that shows you spent some time thinking about her.  Then ask her what she is making for dinner, change into your comfy clothes and fall asleep in front of the TV.   Nothing says I love you like a brief moment of caring before falling back into reality.

Am I the only one who is stunned by the fact that it was 50 years ago – 50 years ago – that the Beatles came to America?  I still remember the excitement, the frenzy that surrounded their arrival.  Crowds of people everywhere waiting to catch a glimpse of them when they arrived and when they went to the studio for their appearance on Ed Sullivan’s show.  This was a show that you watched to see things like a man spinning plates on sticks or to see Topo Gigio or Senor Wences.  Now, suddenly, he was presenting the Beatles.  I can still see the pictures of people lined up, young girls screaming and crying.  The emotion was incredible!

As you read earlier, 73.7 million people watched that first appearance.  Keep in mind that we are talking about 1964.  That many people watching one TV show was amazing!  It was exciting!  I don’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I can remember the Beatles.  I remember when their movies came out.  I was working in our local theater for the munificent wage of $.50 per hour and each showing was packed.  By the way, have you noticed that keyboards no longer have the cent symbol on them?  It used to be that if it was under a dollar, you used the cent symbol.  I wonder why that was eliminated … but I digress.

You don’t see that kind of excitement for musical groups anymore.  The Beatles appealed to a wide range of people, from kids to adults, and everyone enjoyed their music.  We all knew the words to all the songs and sang along when we heard them on the radio.  They had their signature hair cut and they goofed around, but generally it was about the music.  They were not the “celebrities” we have today who feel that they have to be outrageous in the way they dress and act.  The Beatles came out and they entertained - with their music.  That was all they needed.

It says a lot for them that 50 years later, we are still as excited by their music as we were in 1964.  Not very many bands or individuals can say that.  There are some who can’t even brag about being around for 5 years, let alone 50.  If you get a chance, find some of their stuff and listen to it, enjoy it and revel in a sound that changed rock and roll and opened a new era in music.

This week our fact tells us that a cow produces 200 times more gas a day than a person.  That explains that unique odor that you notice whenever you go to a farm.  So now if you break wind and someone hears you, just tell them to be glad you are not a cow.

By the way, you may have noticed the ads on the side of the blog each week.  If you see something interesting, please be sure to click on it.  I make money when you do.  So far I have amassed a small fortune, a very small fortune; specifically $.53 (where is that cent symbol when you need it).  And please, if you enjoy my ramblings, spread the word to your friends.  If you think that this is a waste of time, tell people you don’t like about it and let them waste their time reading it.

Seriously, thank you for stopping by.  Let’s do this again next week.