January 4 History World Braille Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 4, 2015:    Let’s hear it for the PAC 12 and Oregon’s total destruction of the Seminoles at the Rose Bowl and another exciting win for the Bruins against Kansas State decided in the last minute by a failed onside kick by Kansas State and kudos to those who are still after four days adhering to their New Year’s Resolutions. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from President Lyndon Johnson,  with a smile on your face, savoring a plate of spaghetti with one of your favorite sauces, 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. World Braille Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1809 of Louis Braille blind from the age of three who invented the Braille Code at the age of 15 which has enabled millions of blind persons to be able to read.

        2. World Hypnotism Day—celebrating the art of hypnotism and its practical benefits like stress reduction and weight loss or as an aid to stop smoking or drinking.  

       3. 1974 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1974 Time In A Bottle by Jim Croce.

        4. National Spaghetti Day—yesterday we celebrated the birthday of Sergio Leone, the master of the “Spaghetti Westerns.” Today it is the real pasta.

         5. Apples Keep Falling On My Head Day—celebrating on the birthday on this day in 1643 of Sir Isaac Newton whose fertile mind provided the frame work for understanding the laws of physics.

On this day in

      a. 1865 the New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent headquarters in New York City. 

      b. 1903 in a reason why we have the ASPCA Topsy the elephant who, after being stabbed her trainer with a pitchfork, went on a rampage in Coney Island  was euthanized by her owners by electrocution an act filmed by Edison in a film called Electrocuting an Elephant.

       c. 1965 Lyndon Johnson in his State of the Union Address proclaimed his agenda to create his Great Society. 

      d. 2007 the 110^th Congress convened and elected Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House, the first female to hold that position for four years until the Reds regained control due in large part to the rejection of the voters of Obamacare.

Reflections on LBJ’s Great Society: “The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where the city of man serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community. It is a place where men are more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods.” President Lyndon Johnson Unfortunately despite billions of dollars spent, the achievements in achieving the Great Society never matched the rhetoric, due in large part to the billions also being spent on the Vietnam War.

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© January 4, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

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