~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
May 4, 2011

I never thought I’d land in pictures with a face like mine. ~ Audrey Hepburn

★~ International Firefighters Day:

Today is the day of Saint Florian, the patron saint of firefighters. We honor St. Florian each time we say thank you to our firefighters.  International Firefighters’ Day came into existence because of a petition circulated in Australia in 1999, following the deaths of five firefighters in a wildfire.

National Bird Day:

Today is National Bird Day (I know what you may be thinking and that would be an entirely different holiday).  The holiday provides a chance to celebrate our fine feathered friends, who bring beauty and song into our world.

People love birds.  Bird-watching is said to be a favorite pastime of millions of people, although I think this might be an exaggeration.  At least a few of those millions of people are forced to partake in bird-watching because they are trapped in the backseat of a car.  As the daughter of a bird-watcher, I know these things and cannot be fooled.

Anyway, National Bird Day is a day for the obvious: watching birds and drawing attention to the exploitation of birds in the U.S. pet industry.

★~ Candied Orange Peel Day:

I have to wonder who that first pioneer women was that looked at pile of orange peels, thought, ‘Gee, what a waste,’ and then sliced the things up, boiled them in sugar-water and thought “I’ll preserve these orange peels so my family can snack on them and I can add them to my holiday cookies and fruit cakes.”  I wonder if she ever considered that there would be a Candied Orange Peel Day.  What can I say?  Somebody has to wonder about these things.

We can also celebrate orange juice today, because a day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine. Remember, if you don’t drink your juicy, you will get the dreaded scurvy. Cheers!!

★~ Today in History:

♥~1957 – This was a tough day at the Kentucky Derby for Willie Shoemaker. He misjudged the finish line while aboard Gallant Man. In the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs was, instead, Iron Liege, ridden by jockey Bill Hartack. Gallant Man and Shoemaker did win the Belmont Stakes a few weeks later.

♥~1964 – Another World premiered on NBC-TV. The soap opera dramatized the story of two families: the Randolphs and the Matthews.

♥~1968 – McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich made its debut. The introductory price was 49 cents.

♥~ 1970 – Four students at Kent University were killed and eleven wounded by National Guard troops at a campus demonstration protesting the escalation of the Vietnam War. The incident inspired Neil Young to compose ‘Ohio’ which became a hit for Crosby Stills Nash & Young.

♥~ 2006 – U.S. Judge Leonie Brinkema sent Zacarias Moussaoui to prison for life, to “die with a whimper,” for his role in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Moussaoui retorted, “God save Osama bin Laden. You will never get him.”

★~Born Today:

♥~1929 – Audrey (Edda Kathleen) Hepburn (van Heemstra) Academy award-winning actress: Roman Holiday [1953]; Gigi, War and Peace, Love in the Afternoon, The Unforgiven, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Children’s Hour, Charade, My Fair Lady; died Jan 20, 1993;

♥~ 1959 – Randy Travis (Randy Bruce Traywick) singer: Forever and Ever Amen, On the Other Hand, Diggin’ Up Bones, Always and Forever

♥~1961 – Mary Beth McDonough actress: The Waltons, Boston Legal, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Christmas at Cadillac Jack’s, One of Those Nights, Waiting to Act, Mom, Midnight Offerings, Lovely But Deadly

★~ Did You Know: Benjamin Franklin is credited with being the “Father of the Fire Service” for his salvage operations during a fire.

♥~ Fire Houses used to have spiral stair cases to prevent the horses from climbing the stairs. The pole was so the FF could easily get down stairs when the bell rang for a fire.

♥~ Before the invention of the horse drawn fire engine, fires were controled by a “bucket bigade”. A line of people passing water in buckets down a line to extinguish a fir and then back again to refill the buckets.

♥~ Volunteers comprise 73% of firefighters in the United States.

♥~ Why Dalmatians? Back in the days Dalmatians were trained to escort the horse-drawn fire engine and protect the horses from stray dogs and other animals on the way the the fire. The distinctive spots of the Dalmatian made it easy for the horses to distinguish them from other dogs (not sure about this but…). During the fire, Dalmatians seemed to keep the horses calm while safeguarding the fire equipment.  Back at the firehouse Dalmatians provided companionship and keep the firehouse free of rats. And to top it all off–Dalmatians are a darn good looking mascot.

★~ Todays Silly:

A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children fell to discussing the dog’s duties. “They use him to keep crowds back,” said one youngster. “No,” said another, “he’s just for good luck.” A third child brought the argument to a close. “They use the dogs,” she said firmly, “to find the fire hydrant.”

So . . . what about you? Do you like orange peels? I am all ears. Odd loves company.

Kb