December 5 History International Volunteer Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—December 5, 2014:    Trust your Friday is proving to be a great one. As always I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a quote from Bill Bryson, with a smile on your sunscreened face, wondering if this is the day you will enjoy a glass of wine or beer at your favorite tavern, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event or the coming Christmas, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient.  You need only contact me for details.

       1. Day of the Ninja (unofficial)—created by the parody website Ninja Burgers and celebrated since December 5, 2003, the release date of Tom Cruise’s movie The Last Samurai; today adherents are urged to dress as Ninja.

       2. International Volunteer Day—created by the UN in 1989 to promote volunteerism for economic and social development.

       3. Faux Fur Friday—a day favored by the minks, sables, and other fur bearing animals who are hoping for global warming to keep their pelts.

       4. 1962 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1962 Big Girls Don’t Cry by the Four Seasons.

        5. Repeal Day—celebrating the act of Utah of all states with its large Mormon population that does not drink alcohol to ratify the 21^st amendment repealing Prohibition thereby becoming the 36^rd state to do so and making it the law of the land and ending one of the greatest failed social experiments of this nation.

On this day in

      a. 1792 the noted auctioneer James Christie held his first sale in London.

      b. 1952 the Great Fog descended on London; combined with air pollution in the months and weeks that followed over 12,000 people were killed.

      c. 1969 the four node ARPANET network was established and the race to the internet was on.

      d. 2007 at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska a gunman opened up with a semiautomatic rifle on shoppers, killing eight before taking his own life.   

Reflections on Prohibition: “Prohibition may be the greatest gift any government ever gave its citizens. A barrel of beer cost $4 to make and sold for $55. A case of spirituous liquor cost $20 to produce and earned $90--and all this without taxes.” Bill Bryson author of One Summer: America 1927 Unfortunately the gift came with abundant crime, bribery and lawlessness and a new class of violent felons like Al Capone; sadly the experiment is being  repeated far worse in our ongoing war against drugs.
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© December 5, 2014 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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