May 8, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not Mothers' Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For May 8, 2016 Unfortunately still 257 days to go in President Obama’s   pathetic lame duck term; Very  exciting Kentucky Derby in which the heavy favorite Nyquist held off Exagerrator’s late charge with Gun Runner coming in third. To the dismay of USC fans and alumni, Trojan Nation came in 16^th some 27 lengths back. Political theater is now  back in spades as rift between Ryan and Trump does not appear to be closing; Wall Street continues to pour money into HRC’s campaign and Trump and Warren are waging spiteful twitter wars. Radical Islam of the ISIS brand is showing its totally depraved side by beheading a 7 year old who was alleged to have been cursing at his playmates. As always, I hope your Sunday is off to a great start with Mothers’ Day brunch plans set and that  you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Ace of Base, factoids of interest, a  relevant quote from Mark Wahlberg, while looking forward to enjoying some empanadas with fillings of your choice (recipe included below), 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. V-E Day—celebrating the end of World War II in Europe which was the costliest war in terms of deaths and casualties both civilian and military but sadly if World War III were to occur in the future with nuclear weapons, the amount of dead and wounded would be  increased exponentially in a matter of hours not years.      

2. Mothers’ Day—celebrating what has grown from a small memorial service in 1908 at the St. Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia by Anna Jarvis for her mother Anne Jarvis who had died in 1905, to a day in which some $21 Billion in jewelry, flowers, candies, cards, and other gifts are purchased for mothers and more brunch and dinner reservations are made than in any day of the year.

3. 1994 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1994  on a long run of eight weeks in that position The Sign by Ace of Base. Here’s a link to Ace of Base performing The Sign:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqu132vTl5Y   

4. National  Empanada Day—celebrating a tasty treat of bread dough stuffed with meat, fish, chicken and spices then baked or fried. Here is a recipe using hamburger. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/empanadas-recipe2.html      

5. The Buck Stops Here—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1884 President Harry S, Truman who succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt on his death in the waning days of World War II and upset Thomas Dewey in 1948 but chose not to run agains Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. Here is one very happy Truman holding up a paper with the wrong headline.

                                                   

                                

On this day in:

a. 1794 branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, Antoine Lavoisier considered by many to be the father of modern chemistry was tried, convicted and sent to the guillotine on the same day—talk about swift injustice.  

b. 1963 South Vietnamese soldiers under orders of President Diem shot and killed 9 unarmed Buddhist monks protesting the ban on displaying Buddhist flags in Hue which prompted the Buddhist crisis of civil disobedience against Diem’s rule which ended in a first of many coups and his assassination on November 2, 1963.    

c. 1970 the Hard Hat Riot took place in New York City with some 200 construction workers attacking some 1,000 anti-Vietnam War protesters injuring some 66 with their hard hats, crow bars and steel toed boots while the police merely watched and did not intervene.                            

d. 1972 in an act that should have commenced back in 1965 when President Johnson authorized “Operation Rolling Thunder,” President Nixon authorized the mining of Haiphong and Hanoi to halt the flow of military supplies from China and the Soviet Union from being landed in North Vietnam.   

e. 1980 the World Health Organization confirmed the eradication of smallpox from the globe.    

       Reflections on Mothers’ Day: “As far as I am concerned there is no more important job on the planet than being a mom.” Mark Wahlberg, noted American actor, producer and businessman. 
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.

© May 8, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
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