~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
May 23, 2011

Posted Updated: May 23, 2012

★~Today’s Quote: “Behold the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.” James Bryant Conant, Harvard President

★~ Lucky Penny Day:

It’s Lucky Penny Day! True, a penny doesn’t buy much, if anything. It used to of course, back in the days of penny candy. What can a penny buy? A smile. Most adults still smile when they see a penny. The pleasure is even stronger when we can point a shiny penny out to a small child and teach them the verse “Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you will have good luck!”  Found lucky pennies do not carry germs and are not a choking hazard — it is written.

★~ Turtle Day:

In the fable The Tortoise and the Hare, we learned that slow and steady wins the race. And that’s been the turtle’s motto since the first ones appeared on earth 200 million years ago. Maybe it’s because of the turtle’s easy-going attitude that some species live to be more than 100 years old. Or maybe it’s because they eat so much salad. Whatever their secret, the fact remains that many turtle species are endangered and need our help to make sure they get to enjoy those long lives of theirs. So see what you can do in the name of the turtle today! Even if it’s just to slow down and treat yourself to a salad.  I am not sure if chocolate covered turtles would be political correct or not….

★~ Taffy Day:

The exact history of how taffy came to be is still a mystery. Taffy has been part of American life since the late 1800s and has been a beach-side tradition since it appeared in Atlantic City more than 100 years ago. Some say taffy appeared in the Midwest at county fairs even earlier. However, Atlantic City is known as the home of salt water taffy. Legend has it that salt water taffy received its name by accident. A young candy merchant opened a taffy stand on the first Atlantic City Boardwalk — then just two steps above sea level. One night, a generous tide brought in a lively surf, which sprayed sea foam over his establishment and dampened his stock of candy. The next morning, the merchant was dismayed to find his merchandise wet and responded to a girl’s request for taffy with a quick and clever “You mean salt water taffy.” The name, stuck.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1938 – LIFE magazine’s cover pictured the actor Errol Flynn as a glamor boy.

♥~ 1969 – The Who released their rock opera Tommy.

♥~ 1975 – Singer B.J. Thomas received a gold record for the single with the extremely long title, (Hey, Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.

♥~ 1984 – U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop announced that cigarette smoking cost the country $40 billion a year in health expenses and lost productivity

♥~ 1994 – Pulp Fiction, by American director Quentin Tarantino, won the Golden Palm for best film at the 47th Cannes Film Festival.

♥~ 1995 – The nine-story bombed-out shell of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was demolished. The bodies of three remaining victims were recovered shortly thereafter.

♥~ 1991: Seinfeld’s “Chinese Restaurant” episode was broadcast.

♥~ 1998 – Mariah Carey was #1 in the U.S. with My All. It was her eighth #1 single of the year.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1846 – Belle Aurelia Babb 1st US attorney: It took some 23 years, but Belle, who later changed her name to Arabella Mansfield, became the first woman admitted to the legal profession in the U.S.

♥~ 1910 – Margaret Wise Brown author:  In the great green room…. how many times did you read this book to your children? Goodnight moon. Margaret or Brownie as her friends caller her attributed her success to being able to reach down into the soul of the child that still lived within her and bring it to life. She never had children of her own, but she left the royalties for most of her booksto a nine-year-old neighbor boy, Albert Clarke.  She said, “A good picture book can almost be whistled. … All have their own melodies behind the storytelling.

♥~ 1933 – Joan Collins actress: Dynasty, The Stud; appeared in Playboy at age 50; sister of writer, Jackie Collins

♥~ 1958 – Drew Carey comedian, actor, producer, writer: The Drew Carey Show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?; TV game show host: The Price Is Right

★~ Did You Know: These facts about turtles:

♥ ~ This is a picture of of Camp-Run-A-Pups favorite turtle Maxine-we have enjoyed her camp visits over the last couple of summers

♥~ The first known turtles existed 200 million years ago.

♥~ Turtles live on every continent except Antarctica

♥~ Some female turtles produce eggs four years after mating.

♥~ Some land turtles can out run a human

♥~ Turtles have good eyesight, seeing in full color and a strong sense of smell.  They have excellent hearing and sense of touch.  Their shells have feeling due to nerve endings.

♥~ Some turtles can live up to a year without food.

♥~ Several species, including the American Box turtle, can live to be over 100 years old. One documented case of longevity is of an adult Indian Ocean Giant Tortoise.  After being captured and estimated to be 50 years old, it lived another 152 years in captivity.

★~ Today’s Silly:

A small boy was looking at the red ripe tomatoes growing in the farmer’s garden. “I’ll give you my two pennies for that tomato,” said the boy pointing to a beautiful, large, ripe fruit hanging on the vine.”No,” said the farmer, “I get a dime for a tomato like that one.”The small boy pointed to a smaller green one, “Will you take two pennies for that one?””Yes,” replied the farmer, “I’ll give you that one for two cents.””OK,” said the lad, sealing the deal by putting the coins in the farmer’s hand, “I’ll pick it up in about a week.”

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I am hitting the road early this morning in order to send Cole off on his school trip. Cole and I declared ourselves packing Ninjas as we managed to stuff all the required items into one duffle bag. I will be back later for a little a cuppa El Morno and for a little musing. In the meantime, if anyone asks you to take bets on whether or not I will cry when he leaves, the better bet will be if I make it until he is out of the car.

♥