April 29, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not International Dance Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 29, 2016 Unfortunately still 266 days to go in President Obama’s   pathetic lame duck term; in the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa, before a cheering capacity crowd of 18,000 Trump shed his “presidential” posture to slam “Ly’n” Ted and “Crooked” Hillary with his mantra of “Make America Great Again” while outside a couple thousand protestors gathered many waving Mexican flags but after event ended they tried to block supporters from leaving, assaulted a Trump supporter and damaged a police car, resulting in 20 arrests. Cruz still whining about Boehner’s caricature of him as “Lucifer in the flesh” but hoping the endorsement of Indiana’s governor will help while ICE gets lambasted for releasing almost 20,000 convicted illegal aliens, including almost 2,000 violent felons into this country instead of being deported—look for more Trump rallies to begin with banners showing the faces of Americans killed by illegal aliens. Not to be totally dwarfed in the news HRC is now sending out a “Woman’s Card” to her supporters. Leaving the political theater, as always, I hope  you enjoy today’s holidays and observances,  music links to Robert Palmer and the duo of Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye, factoids of interest, a  relevant quote from Dave Barry,  while looking forward to enjoying a large serving of shrimp scampi (recipe included), blessed with a positive attitude and  secure in  the knowledge that, if you want to find a gift for any memorable events 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. International Dance Day—observed since 1982 to promote the appreciation and enjoyment of dancing from ballet to waltzing and everything in between. Today would be a good day to take in a performance or put on your best dancing shoes and head out to the nearest place that has live music or a DJ and a dance floor.

Whether the music is fast or slow

A chance for a couple to meld or skills to show

Children have ears like adults but they are needed not

Music not needed for this young dancing lot

And those in the winters of their lives they can still in rhythm tap their feet

As from those dancing memories of youth they begin their slow, shuffling retreat

 © April 29, 2016 the Alaskanpoet   

2. National Zipper Day—celebrating that usual invention that enables us to close up suitcases, backpacks, tents, pants, boots, sleeping bags and a whole host of items and when it’s a race to the bathroom,  just a few seconds more to successfully use it—the zipper which after failed attempts by Elias Howe in 1831 and Whitcomb Judson in1873, was invented in its modern form by Gideon Sundback in 1913 under the lifeless marketing name of “Separable Fastener,” which was relegated to the advertising trash heap when in 1923 B.F. Goodrich started using the term “zipper” for its boots and pouches.

3. 1986 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1986 on a brief run of one week in that position Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer. Here is a link to Robert Palmer (with four females on guitars that look like clones) performing Addicted to Love:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcATvu5f9vE

4. National Shrimp Scampi Day—celebrating one of this highly evolved omnivore’s seafood dishes either as a main course or as a side dish complete with a link to an easy recipe you should enjoy although a little light of the garlic:  http://blog.thenibble.com/2015/04/29/recipe-national-shrimp-scampi-day/  If you are lucky enough to live or work near a Red Lobster good chance they will have a special on this dish.

5. There Can Be a Mountain Too High to Climb—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1945 of the Motown singer Tammi Terrell who thrilled us with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and six other top forty hits and would have thrilled us with many more had not she run into Mt. Tumor Cancer in her brain in 1967 and despite a struggle of 3 years and seven surgeries died in 1970. Here is a link to Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye performing Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: 

On this day in:

a. 1910, a date which must be forever holy to Socialist Bernie Sanders, the British Parliament passed the 1909/1910 People’s Budget,  the first budget in British history aimed at the redistribution of wealth and income.

b. 1916 after six days of fighting against British forces in Dublin, the Irish who risen up against British rule were forced to surrender superior numbers and artillery  ending the Easter Rising but not the execution by the British of many of the ring leaders and the internment of close to 2000.

c. 1945 with the consent of German forces the RAF started Operation Manna which was joined on May 1 by the USAF in Operation Chow Hound to drop food supplies into German occupied Holland to prevent famine; in the days before Germany’s surrender on May 7, 1945 the combined operations dropped 11,000 tons of food—the bombers finally were running out of targets to destroy and civilians to kill but not starving civilians to feed.     d. 1953 the first experimental 3D Television broadcast of Space Patrol occurred in Los Angeles on ABC’s KECA-TV.

e. 2015 the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox played a Major League Baseball Game with the lowest attendance in history of the league—0 as the Stadium was closed due the riots in Baltimore linked to the death of Freddie Gray while being transported in a police van.  

Reflections on International Dance Day if your are watching others but not doing:  “Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance” Dave Barry, noted Pulitzer Prize winning American author.

Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and 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 or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day In History.                                                                           

© April 29, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
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