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?