May 6 History National Nurses' Day

Believe It Or Not—May 6, 2015 Trust you survived Cinco de Mayo in good order and your Wednesday is proving to be a great one.  If you are rattled by the difficulties inherent in waiting to the last moment in picking out the appropriate Mothers’ Day gift which (see below) is easy to solve. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids of interest, a music video of Wishing Well and a relevant quote from Finley Peter Dunne, looking forward to topping off a meal with a crepe Suzette, 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 Mothers’ Day, 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 No Diet Day—celebrated since 1992 and promoting acceptance of all weight sizes and body diversity and a healthy life style. Nice, noble sounding proclamations but the fact of the matter is that Americans are becoming more and more obese each year with significant long term health problems like Type II Diabetes, heart attacks and high blood pressure. The best exercise one can do is limit the number of times one lifts the fork or spoon and lower the weight of the food on either.                                                                   

       2.  National Nurses Day—commemorating since 1982 the vital contribution nurses make to the delivery of health care of this nation and the beginning of National Nurses Week. Where would patients be without the caring buffer of nurses between them and the unholy trinity of doctors, hospital administrators and insurance bean counters?
       3. 1988 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1988 on a brief one week run Wishing Well  by Terence Trent D’Arby, an American pop and RandB singer of the late 80’s and 90’s who is still performing.   Here is a link to a music video of him performing Wishing Well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynIHsHYaig0
       4. National Crepe Suzette Day—if you have a small CO2 fire extinguisher and can disconnect your smoke alarms this is a great desert to impress your guests at home with--crepe with beurre Suzette, which is a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier or orange Curacao liqueur.  The alcohol is set afire and evaporates quickly, resulting in a fairly thick, caramelized sauce. If not, go to a restaurant and have the waiter prepare it at your table.

       5. If Only the Jihadists Were Fans of Silent Films--celebrating the birthday on this day in 1895 of one of the icons of silent films, Rudolph Valentino who was noted for such films as the Sheik and the Son of the Sheik, whose films will always be silent as he died tragically at the age of 31 following complications after appendicitis.  
      6. Ride a Bike to School Day—a great way to start your kids off on a life of exercise; encourage them to ride their bike to school even if later in high school it may not be cool although will be on college campuses like Stanford or any other campus which is reasonably large with classrooms a good distance from living accommodations on campus.  
On this day in
       a. 1844 in proving the old adage that it is better to go to the snow and ice than to have the snow and ice come to you, the Glaciarium, the world’s first mechanically frozen ice rink, opened in London.    
      b. 1882 in one of our more xenophobic moments, the Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited skilled and unskilled laborers and those engaged in mining from entering this country or becoming citizens. The act was finally repealed in 1943 to the joy of our ally China. Talk about gratitude for the countless Chinese laborers who died building the Trans Continental Railroad through the Sierra Nevadas.
       c. 1949 EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, ran its first operation. Looking back one can only ask how visionary must have the early computer scientists have been to envisage the evolution of the computer to where it is today with no end in sight in terms of improved capabilities at faster speeds.
       d. 1954 Roger Bannister became the first person to break the four minute barrier for running the mile.
       e. 1994 former Arkansas state worker Paula Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against President Bill Clinton claiming he assaulted her in 1991. The case was settled by a payment of $895,000. If Hillary becomes president, for the sake of the country, one can only hope with his bypass surgery, Clinton has lost some of his libido such that we will not be embarrassed with a repeat of a Monica Lewinsky type scandal by the First Man.
Reflections on National Nurses’ Day: “If Christian scientists had more science and doctors more Christianity, it wouldn’t make any difference which you called in — if you had a good nurse. ~Finley Peter Dunne, 19^th and 20^th Century humorist and writer from Chicago. As the son of a Registered Nurse I can attest to the veracity of that statement.
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 158 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
© May 6 , 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

May 5 History Cinco de Mayoe

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—May 5, 2015 Trust your Cinco De Mayo is proving to be a great one (what better time to celebrate Taco Tuesday than on Cinco De Mayo) If you are rattled by the difficulties inherent in waiting to the last moment in picking out the appropriate Mothers’ Day gift which (see below) is easy to solve. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids of interest, a music video of (I Just) Died in Your Arms and  relevant quotes from unknown sources on Cinco de Mayo, having enjoyed a dozen oysters, 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 Mothers’ Day, 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. Cinco de Mayo—celebrating the victory by Mexican forces outnumbered 2 to 1 over the French in the battle of Puebla in 1862. Cinco de Mayo is not a national holiday in Mexico although the schools are closed but has been celebrated in California since 1863 and took off in terms of celebrants in the 1940’s with the Chicano movement. In the 50’s and 60’s the holiday began spreading to other states and once the beer companies got off the wagon so to speak in the 80’s Cinco de Mayo has become a major celebration rivaling St. Patrick’s Day in terms of beer consumption and celebrants.
                                                                      

                                                               

Cinco de May performers at the White House, date unknown.

       2.  International Midwives Day— commemorating since 1991 the contributions of midwives in primarily developing countries to aid in the delivery of babies where doctors and nurses are often in short supply.        3. 1987 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1987 on a two  week run (I Just) Died in Your Arms by Cutting Crew, an English pop band formed in 1985 with some commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic.  Here is a link to a music video of Cutting Crew performing a musical video of (I Just) Died in Your Arms).       4. National Oyster Day—celebrating a great mollusk and reputed aphrodisiac; kill two birds with one pearl of advice so to speak—enjoy a dozen oysters with horseradish on the half shell for lunch then buy a string of pearls for the woman loved on the way home. Not sure which will work best, the oysters or the pearls but the combo should be irresistible.
       5. A Google Doodle Merits a Note--celebrating the birthday on this day in 1864 of Nelly Bly, a pioneer investigative journalist who emulated Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days by doing it in 72 and faked insanity to be committed to be able to write an expose of the horrors of treatment facilities for the insane, but at age 31 married a millionaire industrialist Robert Seaman aged 73 and ran his company after his death.

       6. Poem in a Pillow Day—a celebration started today for the first time  by Tweetspeak, the best in poetry and other things. Not sure what kind of legs this day will have but if beer companies can energize Cinco de Mayo maybe this company can energize poetry.

On this day in
       a. 1866 Memorial Day was celebrated for the first time at Waterloo, Iowa.
       b. 1901 Music Hall (later known as Carnegie Hall) opened for its first performance with Tchaikovsky as its guest conductor.
       c. 1934 the first Three Stodges short Woman Haters was released.
       d. 1977 the first of the Nixon Interviews between David Frost and Richard Nixon were broadcast.
       e. 2010 mass protests erupted in Greece in response to the austerity programs instituted by the government as a result of the Greece debt crisis; Greece the financial basket case of Europe is a preview of what will happen to us if we do not get our our rapidly expanding national debt under control.
Whimsical reflections from partgoers probably seen on Water’s World later today celebrating Cinco de Mayo;

"Is it really necessary to adopt another country's holiday just to have an excuse to drink tequila? You don't need one the other 364 days of the year.”

“Cinco de Mayo makes me long for a world in which all holidays are conveniently named after the dates on which they fall.”

“Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for ‘the fifth of May’ and not ‘chug, chug, chug, chug, chug.’ Anyway, salud!” Enjoy the party but as Dos Equis pleads, “Drink responsibly.”   
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 158 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 © May 5 , 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

May 4 History Anti-Bullying Day aka Pink Shirt Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—May 4, 2015 Trust your weekend fulfilled all expectations and you are on all cylinders for Monday’s challenges. If you are rattled by the difficulties inherent in waiting to the last moment in picking out the appropriate Mothers’ Day gift which (see below) is easy to solve. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids of interest, a music video of West End Girls and a relevant quote from Charles Carlson, having enjoyed a refreshing glass of orange juice to start your day, 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 Mothers’ Day, 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. Anti-Bullying Day aka Pink Shirt Day—started in Canada in 2007and now observed by over 25 countries and made an world observance by the United Nations in 2012; whether it is bullying of a cyber nature or physical, this is a serious problem that far too many kids experience. Since there is a correlation between being bullied and youth suicide, this is another observance that should be taught and observed daily especially at the nation level for leaders like Putin.  
       2.  International Firefighters Day— commemorating the firefighters around the world who have lost their lives fighting fires and celebrated on this day because it coincides with the day of St. Florian, the patron saint of firefighters who if able from the heavens above watched the rioters in Baltimore throw rocks and bottles at the fire trucks responding to fires must have been saddened.        3. 1986 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1986 on a brief one week run West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys, not refugees from Petsmart but an English electronic pop duo formed in 1981 and still going strong with sales of 50 million records to their credit.  Here is a link to a music video of Pet Shop Boys performing a musical video of West End Girls.       4. National Orange Juice Day—celebrating a great way to start your morning with a good dose of Vitamin C although given the proximity to Cinco De Mayo why this is not National Lime Day is a great unanswered mystery.
       5. Birthday Boy Opened His Present Early—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1989 of the Irish golfing phenom, Rory McIlroy who won yesterday the Cadillac Match Play Championship with its over $9 million purse.
       6. Star Wars Day—a celebration honoring Lucas Films and the creation of the Star Wars franchise which like a butterfly started out in a different form following Margaret Thatcher’s election as British Prime Minister on May 4, 1979 and the headlines of congratulations “May the Fourth be with you,” which with very little urging to Star Wars fans became “May the force be with you.” With that election and the headlines a new holiday was born.
On this day in
       a. 1904 the United States took over from the French the construction of the Panama Canal; in one of the most difficult engineering projects in history and plagued with killing diseases like Yellow Fever, the Canal was completed on August 14, 1914 just in time to enable the commercial ships to transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic and avoid the dangers of the Straits of Magellan only to then face the German U-Boat menace in the Atlantic during World War I.
       b. 1932 Al Capone began serving his 12 year prison sentence for tax evasion.
       c. 1953 Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for literature for the book The Old Man and the Sea. The book was immortalized on film with Spencer Tracy in the leading role which garnered him a nomination for Best Actor but not the Oscar.   
       d. 1970 the Ohio National Guard was sent to the campus of Kent State University to quell protests by students protesting the Vietnam War and the invasion of Cambodia; the soldiers opened fire on the unarmed students without their lives in anyway threatened, firing  killing four and wounding nine, one of whom was paralyzed for life. The headline from a Georgia newspaper indicates the deep division this war was causing in America.

                                                   

Of the four students killed, two were merely walking between classes. The photo of a fifteen year old runaway, Mary Ann Vecchio screaming over the body of the dead student, Jeffrey Miller, who was standing 271 feet away won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the iconic photos of protests over the Vietnam War. No Guardsman was ever brought to justice and the civil suits were settled for $675,000 for all plaintiffs. Tragic day for this country and the ability to assemble to redress grievances.
       e. 1989 Oliver North was convicted of three felonies arising out of the Iran Contra Affair—accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and abetting the obstruction of a congressional inquiry and assisting in the destruction of documents (has a familiar ring to it as we approach the 2016 campaign). The convictions were overturned which explains why you see his commentary on Fox News.
Reflections on the protests resulting from the Kent State Massacre from Richard M. Nixon’s counsel, Charles Colson, during the 100,000 person March on Washington: "The 82^nd Airborne was in the basement of the executive office building, so I went down just to talk to some of the guys and walk among them, and they're lying on the floor leaning on their packs and their helmets and their cartridge belts and their rifles cocked and you’re thinking, 'This can't be the United States of America. This is not the greatest free democracy in the world. This is a nation at war with itself.'" Charles Carlson Sadly even with the erosion of support following TET and the nationwide student protests to the Vietnam War, over 6,000 Americans would be killed following the Kent State Massacre.  
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 158 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

© May 4 , 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

May 3 History World Press Freedom Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—May 3, 2015 Trust your weekend half way through is proving to be a great one especially if you were a betting person you picked American Pharaoh to win the Kentucky Derby and Floyd Mayweather to win the fight going in to next morning to squeeze some more PPV dollars. If you are rattled by the difficulties inherent in waiting to the last moment in picking out the appropriate Mothers’ Day gift which (see below) is easy to solve. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids of interest, a really great music video of We Are the World) and a relevant poem by the Alaskanpoet, having enjoyed several raspberry popovers and the satisfaction of seeing the horse and man, American Pharaoh and Floyd Mayweather, you bet on both win, 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 Mothers’ Day, 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 Press Freedom Day—established by the General Assembly in 1993 to promote freedom of the press and freedom of expression both of which are under assault as radical Islamists’ killings at Charle Hebno indicate or just as troubling are self inflicted here in the U.S. where too many main stream journalists have strayed into advocacy journalism and will not subject this administration or those Blues who wish to replace it to the critical review of its policies if a Red were in office.
       2.  National Public Radio Day— celebrating the advent of public radio created by the Public Broadcast Act of 1967, which is still going strong today with a format that must be noncommercial or educational and operate with a least 5 employees for at least 18 hours a day.
       3. 1985 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1985 on a four week run We Are the World  by USA Africa, an ad hoc group of 44 artists, primarily from the U.S., formed by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie to create and sell the record to raise money for famine relief in Africa. Everyone who performed checked their egos at the gate and created together a record that is a piece of art and along with Hands Across America raised over $100 million. Just another example of what this country can do when we act in a united fashion toward a common goal.  Here is a link to a music video of USA Africa performing We Are the World (Ray Charles, Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie are easy to pick out—see how many of the other 41 you recognize:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SGFcYLO0jg
       4. National Raspberry Popover Day—celebrating a great way to start your morning right from the toaster or the microwave.
       5. White Christmas not a Dream but a Nightmare—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1903 of one of the most successful artists of all time with over 500 million records sold and whose record White Christmas fills the airways each Christmas—the one and only Bing Crosby. God must like the song for he had the Northeast this year blanketed with an incredible amount of snow and He must have had a soft spot for Bing for he allowed him to complete a recording session in England, fly to Spain to play a round of golf which he and his partner prevailed, after pausing on the 9^th hole to sing Strangers in the Night to a group of construction workers building a house, then while walking to the clubhouse die of a massive heart attack. Great singer, great man. 
On this day in
       a. 1915 the poem In Flanders Field was composed by Lt. Colonel John McCrae of the CEFBEF; the poem is a classic but although transferred to the medical corps McCrae contracted pneumonia and then meningitis and died in France in January of 1918.
       b. 1921 to the dismay of the consumer, West Virginia became the first state to create a comprehensive sales tax but due to enforcement issues did not implement the collection for several years.    
       c. 1952 CBS televised the Kentucky Derby for the first time and fans with access to TV sets were able to watch Hill Gail ridden by Eddie Arcaro win the first televised Kentucky Derby. 
       d. 1960 the Anne Frank House Museum opened in Amsterdam; it is a very chilling reminder of the evils of the Nazis which despite insurmountable odds were countered by the brave Dutch who tried to protect Jews like Anne Frank.
       e. 1978 in a day of electronic infamy that will be repeated by many continually, a marketing representative for Digital Equipment Corporation sent an unsolicited commercial email (aka spam0 to every ARAPENET address on the West Coast.
Reflections on the most effective form of suppression of the freedom of the press, one of our most important rights:
“If you jailed editors and journalists, boycotted ad revenue, or newspapers and TV stations shut down,
You would have a rebellion of the people similar to that which occurred against the Crown
But if based on political views you slanted the coverage or the stories you chose to print or air
Such that opposing views on issues or candidates, your journalists would never share
Self censorship unseen, but more deadly than any government act

Today, exactly the source of many freedom of press attacks.” Alaskanpoet 5/3/2015 To paraphrase Marx: the last media we shut down will be the last media who our plans chose not to report.

 Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 155 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

© May 3, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

May 2 History Kentucky Derby Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—May 2, 2015 Trust your weekend is off to a great start; if you are rattled by the difficulties inherent in waiting to the last moment in picking out the appropriate Mothers’ Day gift which (see below) is easy to solve. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids of interest, a music video of Against All Odds) and a relevant quote by Willie Shoemaker, having enjoyed several chocolate truffles and the satisfaction of seeing the horse you bet on in the Kentucky Derby win, 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 Mothers’ Day, 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. Kentucky Derby Day—celebrating the “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports (or used to be until Secretariat broke the two minute barrier by .6 seconds in 1973),” the 141^st running of the Kentucky Derby, first race of the Triple Crown, at approximately 6:42 p.m. EDT, so you have plenty of time to check the recipe for a mint julep and invite friends over to watch the race and enjoy a chocolate truffle.
       2.  National Homebrew Day— celebrating not the gatherings of the Homebrew Computer Club whose members included Steve Wozniak and Al Osborne and numerous others instrumental to the creation of the personal computer industry but rather the art of home brewing beer, one of the great ways to create a fresh, drinkable beer and avoid the taxes the brewers and microbrewers have to pay.  
       3. 1984 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1984 on a three week run Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) by Phil Collins, lead singer with the band Genesis and great career as a soloist who along with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney are the only singers to have sold over 100 million albums both with a band and as a solo.  Here is a link to a music video of Phil Collins Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVjEcIANv1o
       4. National Truffle Day—celebrating treat that will knock your taste buds off into ecstasy which according to legend was invented by Louis Dufour in Chambery, France in  1895. Nothing like a chocolate with a creamy gancache filing topped with drizzled chocolate, coconut or cocoa. Take a long bike ride or go jogging so you can with a clear conscience if on a diet enjoy one or more of these tasty morsels.
       5. It’s the Real McCoy Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1844 of Elijah McCoy, an African American inventor of an oil drip cup for mechanical lubrication of steam engines and the holder of 57 other patents. If you have ever wondered where the phrase “the real McCoy (the real thing) came from, you now know.

On this day in

       a. 1863 in a friendly fire incident that helped doom the Confederacy to defeat, especially later at Gettysburg, General Stonewall Jackson was shot by a Confederate sentry at Chancellorsville and died 8 days later.

       b. 1885 Good Housekeeping went on sale for the first time.  
       c. 1887 Hannibal Goodwin applied for a patent for celluloid film which until the advent of digital cinema photography was the medium which was used to show motion pictures in theaters.  
       d. 1941 the FCC agreed to allow regularly scheduled TV broadcasting to begin on July 1, 1941
       e. 2000 in a blow against the clutter in one’s car and a death knell to map books like Thompson Brothers, President Clinton announced that GPS would no longer be restricted to the military
Reflections on the Sport of Kings on this Kentucky Derby Day: “Desire is the most important factor of success in any athlete. If Jack Nicklaus can win the Masters at 46, I can win the Kentucky Derby at 54.” Willie Shoemaker the most successful jockey of all time until his record was broken by Laffite Pincay, Jr. in 1999. In case you are wondering if he won the Derby at 54, the answer is yes in 1986 on Ferdinand, an 18-1 long shot.
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 155 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
© May 2, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

May 1 History International Labor Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—May 1, 2015 Trust your Friday is off to a great start with a great weekend awaiting you; if you are rattled by the difficulties inherent in waiting to the last moment in picking out the appropriate Mothers’ Day gift which see below is easy to solve. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids of interest, a music video of Beat It and a relevant quote by Robert Frost, having enjoyed  a chocolate parfait, 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 Mothers’ Day, 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 Labor Day aka May Day—created by anarchists, socialists and communists to advance the fight for workers’ rights, better pay, an eight hour week and formally recognized by the Congress of the Second International in 1891. It is also the first day of summer and the universal voice distress call which did not originate to the perceived problems of communism but rather from the thoughtful incite of a senior radio officer, Frederick Mockford at Croydon Airport in London asked to create a voice equivalent of the Morse Code SOS. Since much of the traffic was between Croydon and Le Bourget he proposed Mayday which sounds exactly like the French “m’aidez" (help me).
       2. Law Day (U.S.)— proclaimed by Executive Order by President Eisenhower in 1958 and codified by statute in 1961 to promote the rule of law as the foundation of any society ( hope the day is not observed with rioting in Baltimore).
       3. 1983 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1983 on a three week run (thought it would have been longer) Beat It  by the one and only Michael Jackson. Here is a link to a music video of Michael Jackson performing Beat It:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym0hZG-zNOk
       4. National Chocolate Parfait Day—celebrating another one of this omnivore’s favorite deserts which is why the world is populated with chocoholics.
       5. Hard to Keep a Canary in a Cage—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1852 of Martha Canary, aka Calamity Jane, noted frontierswoman along the lines of Annie Oakley. She was married to Bill Hickok and sadly died of alcoholism at the age of 51.
On this day in
       a. 1786 Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro was performed for the first time.
       b. 1866 in a riot that makes the protests in Baltimore look like a Sunday picnic the three day Memphis Race Riot began, resulting in the death of two whites and 46 blacks and massive destruction of homes, churches and schools in the black community and thankfully the passage of the 14^th Amendment by a nation outraged by the atrocities committed.  
       c. 1894 Coxey’s Army some 500 unemployed workers who had lost their jobs due to the depression of 1893 which was to last 4 years arrived in Washington, D.C. demanding public works projects be implemented to stimulate the economy (sound familiar?). The first significant protest march in our history died out when its leader Jacob Coxey and others were arrested for walking on the White House Lawn.
       d. 1927 the first airline cooked meals were introduced on an Imperial Airlines flight from Paris to London; unfortunately could not find out what the meals consisted of but without microwares and the short distance would have been interesting.
       e. 2011 President Obama announced to the nation that Osama bin Laden, the head of al Qaeda and mastermind of the 911 attacks had been killed in Pakistan. Unfortunately for us, killing a leader does not kill the ideology especially in the case of radical Islam.
Reflections on work on this International Labor Day: “By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day.” Robert Frost, noted poet but unfortunately only partially right on the amount of boss time; it is more like 16 hours.
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 155 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
© May 1, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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