Ridley's Believe It Or
Not--April 25, 2014: Today is National
Zucchini Bread Day mentioned here as I ran out of space below. As
always, after some searching, I found
these holidays, some unknown but worthy of mention or celebrating with a red
hat, to go with the factoids and quote to enjoy.
1. DNA
Day –celebrating this day in 1953 when Watson and Frick published in
Nature the sequence of DNA and the same day in 2003 that the Human Genome
Project was pronounced essentially complete.
2. Parent Alienation Awareness Day—observed since 2006 in
a growing number of countries and States, but not the biggest divorce maker of
them all California nor the United States, to create an awareness of the really
dark side unfortunately of too many divorces in which one parent tries to
alienate the children of the marriage from the other—parents at absolutely
their worst behavior.
3. International
Malaria Awareness Day—proposed
by President George W. Bush in 2007 to support and encourage programs to
eradicate malaria, especially in Africa where it kills a million people a year.
4. Red Hat Society Day—celebrating the founding of this woman’s
social group with over 40,000 chapters by artist Susan Cooper here in Orange
County California at a tea party held on this day in 1998 with the women in
attendance all wearing red hats---so if you see a women wearing a red hat
today, she is likely a member, not out seeking support for Republican causes.
5.
National Arbor Day—first celebrated in 1872 in Nebraska and now
yearly worldwide on the last Friday in April; good day to plant a tree, but if
in California try to plant one that is not a big user of water given our
drought.
On this day in:
a. 1859 construction on the Suez Canal was commenced.
b. 1959 hundred year later, the St. Lawrence Seaway, linking the Great Lakes to
the Atlantic Ocean was opened to traffic.
c.
1960 the US nuclear powered submarine Triton completed the first circumnavigation
of the world completely submerged—so much for the phrase “Join the Navy and see
the world.”
Maybe it is his atonement for no
longer supporting Windows XP, but Bill Gates should be applauded for the work
of his foundation especially on this day: “There will be statues of Bill Gates across the
Third World. There's a reasonable shot that - because of his money - we will
cure malaria.” Malcolm Gladwell, noted Canadian writer, journalist, and author
of David and Goliath.
Please
enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below
(if you like them, retweet and join almost 140 growing followers
and please follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and
entertaining poems on my blogs--click on links below. www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for
poems on the Mustangs going to the Dance with a losing record; to honor Cindy
Abbott, a half blind 54 year old mother suffering from a rare disease who
competed in last year's Iditarod until forced out with a broken pelvis after
600 miles; on Bode Miller and the human spirit; for Cupid on Valentine's Day;
to honor Cory Remsburg to join a great collection of my poems to inspire,
touch, emote, elate and enjoy. Go to Rhymes
On The Newsworthy Times for poems on the futility of aiding
Ukraine with MRE’s; the cowardice of the Korean ferry boat captain abandoning
his ship while over 300 students were being drowned; the Overland Park shootings;
the stupidity of Caprock Academy trying to ban a nine year old for shaving her
head to provide support for her 11 year old friend undergoing chemo; Putin
pulling the Moscow broadcast plug on Voice of America; Obama's
"sanctions" compared to Rolling Thunder 49 years ago; the
banning the wearing of the American flag on Cinco de Mayo to join numerous
other comments on news events always in rhyme of course.
©April 25, 2014 Michael P.
Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
