February 20 History World Social Justice Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—February 20, 2015 Trust your Thursday is off to a fine start and you are anxiously awaiting the start of the Iditarod in 17 days. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and relevant quote by Emo Phillips with a smile on your face, enjoying a slice of cherry pie, 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 any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, 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 Social Justice Day—celebrating an observance promulgated by the UN General Assembly to promote social justice but burdened by the fuzzy ideas of redistributing wealth and income which are killers of economic development.
       2.  National Handcuff Day—celebrating on this date in 1912 that US Patent Office’s issuance of patent 1,017,955 to George A. Carney for a "swinging bow ratchet - type" adjustable handcuff, making it easier for police to restrain criminals.
       3. 1962 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1962, as part of a three week runs Duke of Earl,  by Gene Chandler; the song sold a million copies in less than a month, prompting Chandler to outfit himself as an English nobleman and go by the stage name of “the Duke of Earl.”
        4. National Cherry Pie Day—the perfect end to a hard day of work—a slice of cherry pie, probably America’s favorite, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

        5. Smile Day—commemorating the birthday on this day in 1902 of the most famous landscape photographer in history, Ansell Adams, whose black-and-white photographs of the American West, have been widely reproduced. He helped create the Zone System, a technique that figured out the optimal film exposure and development.

On this day in

     a. 1792 the Postal Service Act creating the U.S. Post Office was signed into law by George Washington; internet notwithstanding it is still limping along today although running huge deficits.

     b. 1872 the Metropolitan Museum of Art was opened in New York City.

     c. 1877 Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake premiered at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
     d. 1931 the U.S. Congress authorized the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
     e. 1962 aboard Friendship 7 John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth; he later became the oldest man to go into space on a Space Shuttle mission. 
Reflections on the Russians and the Post Office. “The way I understand it, the Russians are sort of a combination of evil and incompetence... sort of like the Post Office with tanks.” Emo Phillips, noted American entertainer and comedian. Watching Putin dealing with Obama, I fear the Russians have lost their incompetence, at least in the foreign policy arena.
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© February 20, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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