Crepe Myrtles Are Blooming (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, BeThere2Day, and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by David M. Gascoigne and will appear on Elephant's Child's blog.  

This week's prompts are:

1. Damn 
2. Campaign
3. Missile
4. Vital
5. Assure

 And/or

 

1. Practitioner
2. Movement
3. Futile
4. Eternal
5. Interpret

 

An additional prompt from Charlotte (MotherOwl) is to include Bright Red Orange in your take on the prompts.

Have fun.

Hadleigh had a habit of walking into rooms when no one was looking, making people wonder if she'd just appeared out of nowhere.  One of her colleagues said she was a modern PRACTITIONER of ninja stealth, if not any of their other arts, and sometimes her MOVEMENT was almost as fluid as one.

"Someone please ASSURE me," the Chief was saying, "our CAMPAIGN to get the council to approve this is not FUTILE."

They all looked at each other, and then noticed Hadleigh had appeared in the room again.  "Where'd you come from?" the Chief asked.  "You are sneakier than my cats and they can shoot out of nowhere like a MISSILE."

"I was with Quentin.  Here's what we were working on as a presentation to the council."

She handed him a Bright Red Orange folder, which he opened and started scanning, and she continued, "We knew we needed to INTERPRET to them, in a way they'd all understand, how VITAL this really is."

The Chief went through the pages, his eyes growing wider with each one, then looked up and quietly said, "DAMN, you two hit on it.  I want this copied to each member of the council today."

"Quentin is already on it," Hadleigh said with a smile.  "He's awaiting your approval to hit send on the files."

"Tell him he's got it, and you both have my ETERNAL gratitude," the Chief said with a huge grin.

"We'll see at bonus time, won't we," she shot back, with a smile and a wink that set everyone laughing.

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Today is:

Aoi Matsuri -- Kyoto, Japan (Hollyhock Festival, a pageant reproducing ancient imperial processions)

Buddha Day/Buddha's Birthday -- dates vary by country

Cold Sophie's Day (5th Ice Saint; according to Nordic legend, this day may be very cold, but there will be no more frosts after this)

Flip Your Mattress Day -- because it's a good thing to do

Hyperemisis Gravidarum Awareness Day -- bringing attention to morning sickness that becomes life-threatening    

Ides of May -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances

     Feast of Maia and Vesta

     Mercuralia -- festival for Mercury

     Sacrifice day to the Tiber River

Independence Day -- Paraguay(1811)

International Conscientious Objectors' Day

International Day of Families -- UN

International MPS Awareness Day 

Kan Phuetchamongkhon -- Thailand (Royal Plowing and Farmers Day) 6th day 4th lunar month

La Corsa del Ceri -- Gubbio, Italy (festival on the eve of the saint day of the city's patron, St. Ubaldo)

Mother's Day -- Paraguay

National Chocolate Chip Day

National Employee Health & Fitness Day -- US (originally the 3rd Wednesday in May, but now spreading around the world as Global Employee Health & Fitness Month)   

National Safety Dose Day -- cannot confirm they sponsor a day any more, but the Safety Dose people still want us to remember that more is not necessarily better when it comes to taking medicines, and to dose them correctly for children

Nylon Stockings Day -- they went on sale at stores around the US this date in 1940

Over the Rainbow Day -- birth anniversary of Lyman Frank Baum

Police Officer/Peace Officer Memorial Day -- US (National Association of Chiefs of Police sponsor the main memorial event at the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville, FL, but there may be services where you are also)

Relive Your Past By Listening to the First Music You Ever Bought No Matter What It Was No Excuses Day -- no, i can't find out who started this, or why; maybe we should all take a pass at this one

St. Dymphna's Day (Patron of epileptics, family happiness, incest victims, martyrs, mental asylums/hospitals, mental health caregivers and professionals/psychiatrists/therapists, mentally ill people, nervous disorders, neurological disorders, possessed people, princesses, rape victims, runaways, sleepwalkers, those who have lost parents; against sleepwalking, epilepsy, insanity, mental disorders, mental illness)

St. Hallvard's Day (Patron of Oslo; protector of innocence and virtue)

St. Isidore of Madrid's Day (a/k/a Isidore the Farmer; Patron of agricultural workers/farm workers/farmers/field hands/husbandmen/ranchers, day laborers, livestock, rural communities; Angono, Philippines; Asturias, Cebu, Philippines; Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines; Carampa, Peru; Castalla, Spain; Cuz Cuz, Chile; Digos, Philippines; Estepona, Spain; La Celba, Honduras; Leon, Spain; Lima, Peru; Lucban, Philippines; Madrid, Spain; Malaybalay, Philippines, diocese of; Morong, Philippines; Nabas, Philippines; Orotava, Spain; Pulilan, Philippines; Pulupandan, Philippines; Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico; San Isidro, Argentina; Saragossa, Spain; Sariaya, Philippines; Seville, Spain; Tavalera, Philippines; Tayabas, Philippines; United States National Rural Life Conference; against the death of children)

     Carabao Festival -- San Isidro, Pulilan, and Angono, Philippines (second day and main festival; on St. Isidore of Madrid's Day; the farming communities celebrate their beasts of burden and have them blessed)

     Municipal Holiday -- Madrid

     San Isidro Day -- Mexico

St. Sophia of Rome's Day (considered by some to be among the Ice Saints, and invoked for protection against frost)

Straw Hat Day -- just as you don't wear white after Labor Day, you don't wear straw hats before today, the unofficial start of summer and the official start of straw hat season    

Teacher's Day -- Mexico; South Korea

Tuberous Sclerosis Global Awareness Day  

Turn Beauty Inside Out Day -- the day to remember what really counts is who you are, not just what you look like

Anniversaries Today:

Mary, Queen of Scots, marries James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, 1567

Airmail service begins between NYC, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, 1918 

Birthdays Today:

Jamie-Lynn Sigler, 1981

David Krumholtz, 1978

David Charvet, 1972

Sam Trammell, 1971

Emmit Smith, 1969

Giselle Fernandez, 1961

Dan Patrick, 1956

Lee Horsley, 1955

George Brett, 1953

Chazz Palminteri, 1951

Brian Eno, 1948

David Cronenberg, 1943

Lainie Kazan, 1942

Madeleine Albright, 1937

Trini Lopez, 1937

Anna Maria Alberghetti, 1936

Jasper Johns, 1930

Richard Avedon, 1923

Eddy Arnold, 1918

Max Frisch, 1911

James Mason, 1909

Joseph Cotten, 1905

Abraham Zapruder, 1905

Katherine Anne Porter, 1890

Arthur Schnitzler, 1862

Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, 1860

Pierre Curie, 1859

L. Frank Baum, 1856

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Esclarmonde"(Opera), 1889

Today in History:

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is sentenced to death, 1536

Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first European to see Cape Cod, 1602

Johannes Kepler confirms his discovery of the third law of planetary motion, 1618

James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun, 1718

The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France, 1756

Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters", at a height of 5-6 meters, during one of the first attempted flights, 1793

George III survives two assassination attempts in one day, 1800

Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1817

Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse, 1836

Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand (The King and I), 1851

Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, 1858

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman's Suffrage Association, 1869

Las Vegas, Nevada, is founded, 1905

The United States Supreme Court  declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up, 1911

The Winnipeg General Strike begins; by 11:00 a.m., almost the whole working population of Winnipeg, Manitoba had walked off the job, 1919

In an attempted Coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed, 1932

The Moscow Metro is opened to public, 1935

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3, 1958

Mercury-Atlas 9 astronaut L. Gordon Cooper becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, 1963

President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army Generals, 1970

Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million, the most expensive painting at the time, 1990

Edith Cresson becomes France's first female prime minister, 1991

California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage, 2008

Jessica Watson, age 17, becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo, 2010

U.S. scientists develop a device that can generate electricity from genetically-engineered viruses; these piezoelectric materials are a step toward the development of personal power generators, 2012

The UN Security Council condemns North Korea's missile tests, 2017

The US birth rate hits a 32 year low, including a record low level of teens giving birth, 2019

The journal Nature publishes the results of a study from China’s Chang’e-4 Moon rover that suggests the asteroid impact that created the giant crater on the Moon’s far side was so great as to crack the crust and reach the mantle below, 2019

China lands its Zhurong rover on Utopia Planitia, Mars, as part of the Tianwen-1 mission, 2021

Finland's government says it intends to apply to join NATO, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ending decades of neutrality, 2022

Short Naps, Libraries and Political Woes, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

Last week, someone asked why Carl hasn't already been trained to certain things.  He has, but it is always and will always be ongoing.

Oxygen deprivation at birth (a quick-thinking nurse saved his life before the doc could get there and they had to start his breathing) has left him with little to no executive function.  Training and retraining will be the story of his whole life, and the place where he's been accepted to go is used to dealing with this sort of thing.

He always says he wants to go back to sleep for a little while when i get there, and he grabs his pillow and blanket and goes and lies down for about 10 minutes, then comes back to say he can't sleep and takes his shower.

This gives me just enough time to get clothes and towels ready in the bathroom, and make sure he doesn't take more in there than he needs.

Once he comes out, he chats as he puts his socks and shoes on and finds a belt.

"We saw our friend across the street but he was walking fast and didn't see us so since we were busy, we just didn't say anything.  Then I went...where did I go?  Oh, yeah, and there were political signs.  Some of them say stuff and you want to debate it, you know, but oh, well."

"So, how are you?"

He doesn't often stop and ask much about me, and when he does, i just tell him i'm doing well, because for the most part, I am.

And look what we ran across!

The green apron did not go permanently AWOL after all.

While in the main kitchen, i noticed a very large stick in the garbage can, the kind that will poke a hole in the bag and make you end up with garbage everywhere which needs to be picked up.  I grabbed it and Carl laughed, "Do you need a walking stick?" he asked and i laughed.  It was almost long enough to be one for short me, but i told him i didn't want it making holes in the bag and took it out to the outdoor bin.

Then back to the kitchen to pack lunch and Mr. L was awake.  He told me i had to be  his brain, as rain was expected and we needed to remember to get Carl's rain gear in the car.

For once, it was already there.

Carl and his mother, Ms. V, had been out of town to visit Carl's brother and his wife.  Mr. L wasn't feeling well enough to go, and it was only overnight, but Carl had packed as if for a safari (sort of like me!).

As he looked for stuff he needed for work -- "Where are my throat soothing lozenges?" and i unpacked and put everything away, he started talking again.

"What do you think about the libraries?" he asked.

What about them? i asked.

"Well, about the kinds of books they should or shouldn't carry.  Some people say some books shouldn't be there...something about children."

The parents are responsible for watching what their children read.  Put the books there and let the parents actually parent and read with the kids and discuss if it's stuff they think needs monitoring, or don't let their kids read it.

He again said, "Politics gets annoying, especially on TV."

I told him we don't have a TV, it's too expensive.

"You can get some channels...free...um..."

Yes, i said, but how much of it is worth watching?  Then i gave him my favorite line, i read the newspaper every day, i read headlines online at several different sites, and i figure if the world ends, the Good Lord will tell me!

He laughed and then left for work.

How about some library funnies.

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Carabao Festival -- Pulilan, Philippines (to honor their patron, St. Isidro [St. Isadore the Farmer], hundreds of carabaos [water buffalo] are dressed up and paraded, and eventually blessed in front of the church; through tomorrow)

Dance Like a Chicken Day -- no idea why today, but i'm waiting for wedding season

Drunk Driving Memorial Day -- not sponsored by MADD, or anyone else i can find, but let's all work and pray for the day drunk driving by anyone is just a bad memory   

Gesta de Independencia -- Paraguay

Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival -- Izumo-taisha, Japan (through tomorrow)

King Father Norodom Sihamoni's Birthday -- Cambodia

Marshmallow Fluff Day -- Mr. Durkee and Mr. Mower announced, on this day in 1920, that they were in business producing this sweet confection  

Mars Invictus Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Midnight Sun at North Cape -- Norway (the sun will not set until July 30)

National Buttermilk Biscuit Day

National Unification Day -- Liberia

President Kamuzu Banda's Birthday -- Malawi

Runic Half-Month Ing (expansive energy) commences

"Stars and Stripes Forever" Day -- first public performance of the composition was this day in 1897

St. Bonifatius' Day (4th Ice Saint)

St. Matthias the Apostle's Day (Patron of carpenters, reformed alcoholics, tailors; Gary, Indiana; Great Falls-Billings, Montana; against alcoholism and smallpox)

Underground America Day -- Malcolm Wells wants us to imagine what our landscapes would look like if more of our buildings were under ground

Yom Ha'Atzmaut -- Israel (Independence Day; began sunset yesterday, through sunset today)

Anniversaries Today:

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark marries Mary Donaldson, 2004

Carlsbad Caverns National Park established, NM, US, 1930

Birthdays Today:

Miranda Cosgrove, 1993

Amber Tamblyn, 1983

Dan Auerbach, 1979

Martine McCutdcheon, 1976

Cate Blanchett, 1969

Danny Wood, 1969

Jose Da Silveira, 1965

Suzy Kolber, 1964

Tim Roth, 1961

Valerie Still, 1961

Ronan Tynan, 1960

David Byrne, 1952

Robert Zemechis, 1951

Meg Foster, 1948

George Lucas, 1944

Jack Bruce, 1943

Atanasio "Tony" Perez, 1942

Bobby Darin, 1936

Laszlo Kovacs, 1933

Patrice Munsel, 1925

Otto Klemperer, 1885

Robert Owen, 1771

Thomas Gainsborough, 1727

Gabrile Daniel Fahrenheit, 1686

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Kids Are Alright"(Documentary), 1979

“It’s Time for Ernie"(Ernie Kovacs' TV premier), 1951

"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd: A Requiem for those we love"(Hindemith composition), 1946

"Die Hebriden/The Hebrides"(Mendelssohn Op. 26), 1832

Today in History:

Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony, 1607

Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox  vaccination, 1796

The Lewis and Clark expedition sets out, 1804

Paraguay  gains independence from Spain, 1811

The first edition of the London Illustrated Times is published, 1842

Gail Borden patents her process for condensed milk, 1853

Vaseline, the first petroleum jelly, is marketed, 1878

Lina Medina becomes the world's youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five, 1939

Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established; immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, 1948

Kuwait joins the United Nations, 1963

Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched, 1973

The Institute for War documents publishes Anne Franks complete diary, 1986

The last episode of Seinfeld airs, with commercials going for $2M per 30 seconds, 1998

Scientists at Stanford University invent a working bionic eye the is powered only by focused light; the eye could eventually restore the sight of millions of people suffering from macular degeneration and retinal pigmentosa, 2012

Gabriel Medina becomes the first surfer ever to land the move called a "Backflip" in competition, 2016

The successful transfer of memory in snails as achieved by scientists from University of California is published in the journal "eNeuro", 2018

Chinese mountain climber and double amputee Xia Boyu reaches the summit of Mt Everest, 2018

Wikipedia confirms that the Republic of China has banned all versions of its site, 2019

Surrealist artist Man Ray's photograph "Le Violon d'Ingres" becomes the most expensive ever sold at auction when it goes for $12.4 million, 2022

Cyclone Mocha makes landfall on Rakhine coast, Myanmar, near southern border of Bangladesh, the second strongest storm ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, 2023