January 11 History International Thank You Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 11, 2015:    Trust your weekend is off to a great start and you are following your 2015 resolutions. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from songwriter David Byrne,  with a smile on your face, savoring a glass of cold milk, 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, 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. International Thank You Day—celebrating a day set aside since 1994 to thank those who have made your life better; after all silent gratitude is not much use to the person performing the acts for which you have gratitude to be the recipient.

        2. Smoking Is Hazardous To Your Health Day—commemorating the Surgeon General Luther Terry’s

Report on this day in 1964 that smoking is hazardous to your health; sadly the cemeteries of this country are filled with the graves of millions of Americans who died prematurely because they failed to heed the warning.                                                                          

        3. 1980 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1980 Escape (Pina Colada Song) by Robert Holmes.

        4. National Milk Day—nothing like a cold milk to go with one’s breakfast unless of course one is unfortunate enough to be lactose intolerant.

        5. To Coach Champions Be A Champion—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1926 of Jim Champion longtime football coach both in Canada and the U.S. ending his career in 1980 as a defensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers then coached by Bart Starr.

On this day in

      a. 1908 the Grand Canyon National Monument was created—definitely a trip there should be on one’s bucket list.

       b. 1922 insulin was first used to treat patients with diabetes which sadly is on the rise as the population is becoming more and more obese.

       c. 1949 the second day of a snow storm that blanketed Los Angeles dumped up to a foot of snow in the San Fernando Valley continued to turn L.A. into a “winter wonderland.”

      d. 1949 KDKA-TV, a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh aired the first networked broadcast linking east coast and Midwest programming.

         e.  2003 Governor Ryan of Illinois commuted the sentences of 167 prisoners on death row due to the scandal of confessions obtained by Chicago detective Jon Burge by torture. Burge is now serving a four and one half year sentence in federal prison not for torture but for perjury.

Reflections on the reality of smoking: “The true face of smoking is disease, death and horror - not the glamour and sophistication the pushers in the tobacco industry try to portray.” David Byrne, founder and principal songwriter for the band Talking Heads

Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join over 150 growing followers and please follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day In History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance. Go to Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times for comments on important and breaking news events that should be of interest. www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com Ridley's Believe It Or Not  Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times

© January 11, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

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