It is Sunday, March 22 and there are only 278 days until Christmas.  Time to roll out the Swiss Colony Beef Logs.  Today we remember the birthdays of Kaiser Wilhelm I, Chico Marx and Matthew Modine.  On this day in 1457 the Gutenberg Bible became the first printed book, in 1790 Thomas Jefferson became the first US Secretary of State and in 1972 Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment.  In Jordan and Lebanon it is Arab League Day and in Puerto Rico it is Emancipation Day.

I just want to point something out regarding the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) mentioned above.  This amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1923.  It finally passed both houses of Congress in 1972 and went to the state legislatures for ratification.  To date, the amendment has been ratified by 35 of the 38 states needed to make it a part of the constitution.  It is 2015!  Why have we been unable to get this done?  If you live in a state where this has not been ratified, get your state legislature moving and get this done.  I am not surprised by much, but I am by this total lack of regard for women.  As I have said before – if it were not for women, none of us would be here.  Contact the states who have not ratified this amendment and express your outrage!

While I was researching information on the ERA, I came across some weird laws that exist throughout the US.  I would like to share some of the interesting ones with you.  I could not list them all because it would take days to include them.  I will just let you read them and you will see why some important things can’t get done.  Politicians are too busy with these issues.  They are presented in no particular order.

In Alaska, moose may not be viewed from an airplane.  How do you prove that someone did and how do you avoid doing it in the first place?  As if that was not enough, the people in Juneau should know that owners of flamingos may not let their pet into barber shops.  Pet owners also have a problem in Michigan where it is illegal to chain an alligator to a fire hydrant.  And, in Hartford, CT it is illegal to educate a dog.

In my home state of NJ, as if we didn’t have enough problems dealing with our gadabout governor, we find out that it is illegal to delay or detain a homing pigeon.  More importantly, it is illegal to wear a bullet-proof vest while committing a murder.  Why?  How did this even become an issue?

In Rhode Island any marriage where either of the parties is an idiot or a lunatic is null and void.  Based on what I have overheard wives saying, that would void almost every marriage in the state.  Men are lucky this is not a law everywhere.

There are laws to solve problems that I never knew existed.  In Idaho a citizen is forbidden by law from giving another citizen a box of candy weighing more than 50 pounds.  I would think the bigger problem would be to find one that big in the first place.  In Minnesota it is illegal to cross state lines with a duck on your head.  Does that happen often enough that it was necessary to pass a law prohibiting it?  What is the big deal if someone did?  In Iowa a man with a moustache may never kiss a woman in public.  There is also a law there that says a one-armed piano player must perform for free.  I have to believe that this is a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Lehigh, Nebraska has made it against the law to sell donut holes.  Do they mean things like the dough that comes out of the middle when a donut is cut, or is someone actually selling the space in the middle?  It is illegal to ride public transportation for at least 30 minutes after eating garlic, in Indiana.  Cleveland, Ohio states that it is illegal to catch mice without a hunting license.  Be careful if you go to Alabama.  It is illegal, there, to play dominoes on Sunday.  In Breton, AL there is a law on the books against riding down the street in a motorboat.  

In one of our favorite places to visit, Rehoboth Beach, alcohol may not be served in nightclubs if dancing is occurring on the premises at the same time.  I am not sure if this means you cannot serve alcohol while people are dancing, but you can when they stop, or you can’t at all if there is going to be dancing.  Also in Rehoboth beach, six-year-old girls may not run around without being fully clothed.  We have been there many times and I have to admit I never saw that as a problem.  My question is this – what is there about six-year-old girls that offends them?  I would think that the law should apply to all girls.  Another question is – does that mean they cannot run around in bathing suits?

And you wonder why states cannot ratify the ERA?

On another front, my younger grandson told us, recently, that there would be three big events this past Friday.  There would be a solar eclipse, a super moon and it was the spring equinox.  He then lamented that we would not see the solar eclipse unless we were in Europe, we would not be able to view the super moon because it would be cloudy and it was supposed to snow on the first day of spring.  Talk about disappointment!  On the plus side, I am impressed that my nine-year-old grandson knew about these things and knew what they meant.  When I was his age I still thought the moon was made of cheese and didn’t really care about the spring equinox, unless it meant a day off from school.

This week our fact tells us that in a lifetime, the average human produces enough quarts of spit to fill two swimming pools.  I continue to wonder why someone took the time to figure this out and what benefit there is to us knowing it.

It has been good chatting with you.  Check the water before you go swimming.  Y’all come back now, hear!