Today is Sunday, July 1 and there are only 128 days until National Nachos Day, so get your chips ready.  Today we remember the birthdays of Thomas Green Clemson, Estee Lauder and Evelyn “Champagne” King.  On this day in 1776 the first vote on the Declaration of Independence was held, in 1870 James W Smith of South Carolina was the first black to enter West Point and in 1941 Bulova Watch Co. paid $9 for the first ever network TV commercial.  In the British Virgin Islands it is Territory Day, in Ireland it is the Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Blessed Oliver Plunkett, in Ghana it is Republic Day and in the US it is National Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day and National Gingersnap Day.  As I am sure everyone knows Wednesday is also Independence Day in the US.

 

There are some items that we need to address, so let’s take them in order.  Since it is now July (I know. Time flies.  It seems like only yesterday it was June) … but I digress.  It is time for your monthly information.  The seventh month of the Gregorian year is named in honor of Julius Caesar.  The month of July holds many celebrations, from Canada Day and Parent Day to Chocolate Day and Moon Day.  Relaxing and enjoying National Hammock Day, fishing or attending reunions are just some of the summer diversions enjoyed during July.  This month is known for firsts. Louis Pasteur tested the first rabies vaccine in 1885 during the month of July and Bikini’s made their debut in 1948. In 1978, space travel took great strides and Neil Armstrong put the first footprints on the moon. Delaware became the first state to declare independence from Britain.  That should satisfy your need for unimportant information so let’s put the trivia folder away for this month.

The next thing I want to cover is just who Oliver Plunkett is.  Saint Oliver Plunkett (November 1, 1625 - July 1, 1681) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. He maintained his duties in Ireland in the face of English persecution and was eventually arrested and tried for treason in London. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on July 1, 1681, and became the last Roman Catholic martyr to die in England. Oliver Plunkett was beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1975, the first new Irish saint for almost seven hundred years.  That should answer the question of why there is a pilgrimage to his shrine.

Independence Day, also referred to as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On that day the Continental Congress declared that the 13 American colonies were no longer part of the British Empire.  I could go on about the Declaration of Independence and the holiday itself, but it is stuff we should all know.  The only thing I would like to point out is that most school children nowadays will not be able to read the original document.  It was written in cursive and they do not teach that anymore.  Just thought that was an interesting point.

As you may have seen, I did not post last week.  I was on vacation and intended to run an encore post.  I was unable to copy and paste anything so I had to skip it.  I am sorry, but I am back this week!

Let me first say that New Jersey does not hold the corner on bad driving.  Our little travel group - my brother Jack, our friends Suzanne and Dick, Barbara and I - visited the Great Smokies, Oak Ridge, TN, the Biltmore Estate and Charlotte, NC.  We had a great time, but I found that bad drivers are everywhere.  People down there speed like maniacs, sit in the middle lane and go five miles under the speed limit, pass on the right and all the other things I have railed about here at home.  Having driven here all these years, I was not particularly surprised by the bad driving, but I was hoping for better.  I guess that is too much to expect.  Maybe the driving manuals were written in cursive.

I have mentioned in the past my despair over our inability to use language correctly.  Things are not getting any better as time goes on.  I have noticed a trend lately when people are being asked questions.  They start their answer with the word so.  “Tell me Louise, how did you become a juggler?”  Louise responds, “So, I was trying to carry some plates to the cabinet and they started to slip and I just discovered I could juggle them to keep them from falling.”  Or, “What made you decide to go into acting Joe?”  Joe answers, “So, one day I decided to try out for a school play and found that I was good at it.”  Why is it necessary to use the word “so” to open the sentence?  So, I have heard this a lot and was just wondering.

One thing I discovered while we were traveling is that some of the people we saw do not have a very good sense of what looks good.  How do you put on a red and green plaid blouse and a pair of purple shorts, look at yourself in the mirror and think, “Yeah that looks good”?  I am not discriminating toward people with a weight problem, but if you have arms bigger than some people’s thighs, a tank top is not a good idea.  I saw a guy with a stomach that hung down lower than other parts of him (if you know what I mean) and he was wearing a t shirt that fit him maybe 150 pounds ago.  Just because you like it doesn’t mean you should wear it!

This week our fact tells us that 85.7% of statistics are made up.  Are they really or is this one of the ones that is made up?

Today is Sunday, July 1 and there are only 128 days until National Nachos Day, so get your chips ready.  Today we remember the birthdays of Thomas Green Clemson, Estee Lauder and Evelyn “Champagne” King.  On this day in 1776 the first vote on the Declaration of Independence was held, in 1870 James W Smith of South Carolina was the first black to enter West Point and in 1941 Bulova Watch Co. paid $9 for the first ever network TV commercial.  In the British Virgin Islands it is Territory Day, in Ireland it is the Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Blessed Oliver Plunkett, in Ghana it is Republic Day and in the US it is National Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day and National Gingersnap Day.  As I am sure everyone knows Wednesday is also Independence Day in the US.

There are some items that we need to address, so let’s take them in order.  Since it is now July (I know. Time flies.  It seems like only yesterday it was June) … but I digress.  It is time for your monthly information.  The seventh month of the Gregorian year is named in honor of Julius Caesar.  The month of July holds many celebrations, from Canada Day and Parent Day to Chocolate Day and Moon Day.  Relaxing and enjoying National Hammock Day, fishing or attending reunions are just some of the summer diversions enjoyed during July.  This month is known for firsts. Louis Pasteur tested the first rabies vaccine in 1885 during the month of July and Bikini’s made their debut in 1948. In 1978, space travel took great strides and Neil Armstrong put the first footprints on the moon. Delaware became the first state to declare independence from Britain.  That should satisfy your need for unimportant information so let’s put the trivia folder away for this month.

The next thing I want to cover is just who Oliver Plunkett is.  Saint Oliver Plunkett (November 1, 1625 - July 1, 1681) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. He maintained his duties in Ireland in the face of English persecution and was eventually arrested and tried for treason in London. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on July 1, 1681, and became the last Roman Catholic martyr to die in England. Oliver Plunkett was beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1975, the first new Irish saint for almost seven hundred years.  That should answer the question of why there is a pilgrimage to his shrine.

Independence Day, also referred to as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On that day the Continental Congress declared that the 13 American colonies were no longer part of the British Empire.  I could go on about the Declaration of Independence and the holiday itself, but it is stuff we should all know.  The only thing I would like to point out is that most school children nowadays will not be able to read the original document.  It was written in cursive and they do not teach that anymore.  Just thought that was an interesting point.

As you may have seen, I did not post last week.  I was on vacation and intended to run an encore post.  I was unable to copy and paste anything so I had to skip it.  I am sorry, but I am back this week!

Let me first say that New Jersey does not hold the corner on bad driving.  Our little travel group - my brother Jack, our friends Suzanne and Dick, Barbara and I - visited the Great Smokies, Oak Ridge, TN, the Biltmore Estate and Charlotte, NC.  We had a great time, but I found that bad drivers are everywhere.  People down there speed like maniacs, sit in the middle lane and go five miles under the speed limit, pass on the right and all the other things I have railed about here at home.  Having driven here all these years, I was not particularly surprised by the bad driving, but I was hoping for better.  I guess that is too much to expect.  Maybe the driving manuals were written in cursive.

I have mentioned in the past my despair over our inability to use language correctly.  Things are not getting any better as time goes on.  I have noticed a trend lately when people are being asked questions.  They start their answer with the word so.  “Tell me Louise, how did you become a juggler?”  Louise responds, “So, I was trying to carry some plates to the cabinet and they started to slip and I just discovered I could juggle them to keep them from falling.”  Or, “What made you decide to go into acting Joe?”  Joe answers, “So, one day I decided to try out for a school play and found that I was good at it.”  Why is it necessary to use the word “so” to open the sentence?  So, I have heard this a lot and was just wondering.

One thing I discovered while we were traveling is that some of the people we saw do not have a very good sense of what looks good.  How do you put on a red and green plaid blouse and a pair of purple shorts, look at yourself in the mirror and think, “Yeah that looks good”?  I am not discriminating toward people with a weight problem, but if you have arms bigger than some people’s thighs, a tank top is not a good idea.  I saw a guy with a stomach that hung down lower than other parts of him (if you know what I mean) and he was wearing a t shirt that fit him maybe 150 pounds ago.  Just because you like it doesn’t mean you should wear it!

This week our fact tells us that 85.7% of statistics are made up.  Are they really or is this one of the ones that is made up?

I am away this week and do not have a new post for you.  I had hoped to run an encore post from another time, but the system will not allow me to do so.  I apologize and promise I will have one for you next week.

Today is Sunday, June 17 and there are only 93 days until National Cheeseburger Day, so start looking for good recipes and sending out your invitations.  Today we remember the birthdays of William Hooper, Sir William Crookes and John Hersey.  On this day in 1837 Charles Goodyear obtained his first rubber patent, in 1885 the Statue of Liberty arrived in NYC aboard the French ship ‘Isere” and in 1950 the first kidney transplant was performed.  In Iceland it is Republic Day, in Japan it is the Lily Festival and in the US it is Father’s Day, National Apple Strudel Day, National Cherry Tart Day and National Stewart’s Root Beer Day.

Let’s take a minute to address Father’s Day.  Today is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society.  A customary day for the celebration of fatherhood in Catholic Europe is known to date back to at least the Middle Ages, and it is observed on March 19.  Father's Day was not celebrated in the US, outside Catholic traditions, until the 20th century. As a civic celebration in the US, it was inaugurated in the early 20th century to complement Mother’s Day by celebrating fathers and male parenting.  The first observance of a "Father's Day" was held on July 5, 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia. 

Grace Golden Clayton was mourning the loss of her father, when in December 1907, the Monongah Mining Disaster in nearby Monongah killed 361 men, 250 of them fathers, leaving around a thousand fatherless children. Clayton suggested that her pastor Robert Thomas Webb honor all those fathers.  Clayton's event did not have repercussions outside Fairmont and the celebration was never promoted outside the town itself and no proclamation of it was made by the city council.  A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913.  In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak at a Father's Day celebration and he wanted to make it an officially recognized federal holiday, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.

In 1966, President Lyndon B Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.  Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law.  That should satisfy your need for Father’s Day trivia.

I have noticed recently that the newest trend in driving is to ignore traffic signs that tell a driver that he or she cannot do what they want to do.  One of the signs I see ignored a lot is the STOP sign.  Many people see it as a Slow Down, Look Quickly and Then Go sign.  They never actually come to a stop.  There are stop signs in the community where I live and many of the people ignore them completely.  I guess it never occurs to them that if other people ignore them, too, there could be some interesting wrecks. 

I won’t even go into speed limit signs because we all know they are considered suggestions and not restrictions.  In our community there are a number of older people.  The speed limit is set at 20 to safeguard the people crossing the street.  The way some people drive here, I can envision some driver cruising through a stop sign and people flying into the air like in cartoons.  It is a simple thing – do 20 MPH and stop at the stop signs and yet it is such a hard thing for people to do.

Lately I have been seeing more and more people ignoring the No Left Turn signs.  Maybe they are confused about why they can’t make a left turn, or they do not understand that the arrow on the sign pointing left with a big red circle around it and a slash through it means you cannot make a left turn.  I think they don’t care because they want to make the turn rather than go a little further and do things the right way.   Generally, they do this to go into an entrance to a store parking lot.  The entrance is curved and only for people turning right into the lot.  To make the left turn, the driver has to go past the entrance and then swing around, almost making a U turn to be able to get into the lot.

There is a road near me that used to allow a left turn, but, because of construction, the area has been reconfigured and does not allow for it anymore and there are signs to let you know that there is no left turn.  Just the other day I saw several people make the turn anyway, in spite of the signs and construction workers trying to wave them off.  Maybe the drivers thought the workers were just doing some stretching exercises before going to work.  Once again, let me say that if police were stationed at some of these areas they could probably go a long way toward solving municipal budget issues.  Of course many of those police personnel are sitting in their car all day with their lights flashing while utility work is done.  

For years utility workers were able to go out on a job, place their bright orange cones and get their work done.  Now they need police cars sitting around all day.  Is this because they are afraid someone will steal the cones?  Perhaps if they were out enforcing traffic laws, they wouldn’t need to be sitting around watching other people work.  For that matter, they could give me a car with flashing lights and have me sit there.  I wouldn’t cost anywhere near as much and the money they collected from traffic fines would more than cover my time and a sandwich for lunch.

This week our fact tells us that fossilized bird droppings are one of the chief exports of Nauru, an island nation in the Western Pacific.  If we could come up with a use for fossilized bovine droppings, most of the state capitols could provide a never-ending source of income.

Today is Sunday, June 10 and there are only 204 days until New Year’s Eve, so you might want to get over to NYC to stake out your spot for the big festivities.  Today we remember the birthdays of John Morgan, Frederick Loewe and F Lee Bailey.  On this day in 1752 Ben Franklin’s kite was struck by lightning, in 1776 the Continental Congress appointed a committee to write the Declaration of Independence and in 1902 HF Callahan received a patent for the window envelope.  In Portugal it is the Day of Portugal, in Azores it is Camoes Day, in Cape Verde it is National Day and in the US it is National Ballpoint Pen Day, National Black Cow Day and National Iced Tea Day.

I have a few of things to discuss this week.  None of them are particularly important, but I do feel that they warrant some attention.  One thing that managed to drive me crazy happened during our ride home from South Carolina recently.  I use a GPS device that helps me navigate the various roads I need to take to get where I am going.  The problem is that the device also gives me real-time traffic updates.  This is not a bad thing, but when it does it every two or three minutes, until I pass the alternate route cutoff, it can become a pain.  I keep hearing, “Traffic on your route has changed.  There is an alternate route that is five minutes faster.  Do you wish to take that route?”

I usually respond with a no and keep going on the planned route.  This past week, we were sitting in traffic in one of the usual bottleneck areas, around DC, and “Ethel”, as I call the device, offered me an alternate route that was 23 minutes faster.  I decided to take that route.  We followed the directions that “Ethel” gave us for a short time and then ran into more traffic.  At that point “Ethel” said, “Traffic on your route has changed and your arrival time is now delayed by 20 minutes (I won’t go into the profanity I directed at her).  There is an alternate route that is 15 minutes faster.  Do you wish to take that route?”  I responded with a disgusted yes and off we went on the alternate to our alternate.  We finally got home despite the traffic and “Ethel’s” alternate routes.

Another item I wish to discuss is the use of language lately.  One thing that makes me nuts is when people talk about getting something done right away.  They say it should be done “uhmediately” as if the word is spelled with an “a”.  Note that I said “an a” not a “a” … but I digress.  The word is immediately.  I know it is a small thing, but could we try to pronounce it correctly?  Another language issue that made me crazy the other night was when a news broadcast kept referring to “a bus accident on a highway that was packed with children.”  The highway was not “packed with children,” the bus was.  They could have said, “A bus full of children was involved in an accident on a highway…” and that would have made more sense.  If nothing else, I am sure Barbara would appreciate it if people would be more careful so that she did not have to listen to me go on and on about it.  I thank you, on her behalf.

The other day I made a trip to the grocery store.  When I got there I got a cart and noticed that there was a cup holder on the cart.  I thought that was nice until I thought about it a little more.  The holder is in the front right corner of the cart.  If you put your beverage in it, you cannot reach it while you are pushing the cart.  So, each time you want to take a sip of your drink, you have to stop the cart, walk to the front, take a drink and then go back to pushing.  In the meantime, you have managed to block the aisle you are in and annoyed the people around you.  Now, if there are some senior citizens or those people on those electric carts, they will just walk or drive into you, probably causing you to drop or spill … sorry digressing again.  Let me just say that I think this is one of those things where the person who created the cup holder idea goes home at night laughing about the confusion he or she has caused with their design.

As I was leaving the store, I watched as a car came down the aisle I was parked in, swerving and stopping, and I wondered if they were having a medical emergency.  It turns out that the woman was just putting on her seat belt.  I would think it would be simpler to buckle up before pulling out of the space.  This way you would not risk hitting people or cars in the process.  Most cars have an annoying beeping alert and a little red figure that shows on the dashboard to remind you to buckle up.  Why would you wait until you are driving to do it?  Just wondering.

This week our fact is another in the long list of laws that need some explanation as to why it was needed.  In Kentucky, it is illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket.  I may have mentioned this one before, but it strikes me as one of the more ridiculous laws and I cannot help but wonder why they felt it was necessary.  Personally, I think it would be a little crazy to carry an ice cream cone in any pocket.  I prefer to eat my ice cream cone.  If I have gotten one for someone else, it would be simpler to just carry it.  If it is in your back pocket, you might not notice that it was running and you would not have the opportunity to use the “I had to lick it to keep it from making a mess” excuse.