~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
May 16th, 2011

One time, … I was doing ‘Studs Place,’ my early TV show, and I’m supposed to be quitting cigars and I’m yearning for a smoke and I quote from the ‘Odyssey.’ I say, I am Ulysses passing the Isle of Circe. Meaning I got these temptations. Truck drivers called in and said they liked the classical reference.” Studs Terkel

★~ Wear Purple For Peace:

I love purple, so for me this is a very easy day to celebrate. Just put on your favorite purple outfit, or add a purple accessory, and you are ready to celebrate Purple for Peace Day. Purple is a such a peaceful vibrant color—the perfect color for a Monday morning. It’s also believed that the purpose of today’s holiday is to welcome aliens to earth because they apparently like purple too. So, whether your pacifist goals are intergalactic or earthbound, give purple a chance; and who knows, you might have an alien joining you for Coquilles St. Jacques tonight at your dinner table!

★~ Hug a tree:

Here’s how to become a tree hugger for a day: First pick the right tree—a tree that you can match life energies with, a tree that smells good, or whose bark is inviting. It can be a tree that beacons to you with it leaves, or a tree that seems a little shy. Don’t rush. After you have found the perfect tree, introduce yourself, chat for a minute, and getting to know your new tree friend. Then encircle its trunk with your arms, and place your cheek against it. Breathe deeply. Be at one with your tree. If you find the experience to be a positive one, feel free to offer a hug to another tree. I am sure each tree you hug will feel tree-rrific

★~ Be Amused by a Sea Monkey:

I’m not sure how we missed sea monkeys on our long list of different kinds of pets and campers that have come through our back door over the years, but we did; so I cannot offer you a lot of personal experience on how to spend this special day. My El Morno research did ferret out a little information. Sea monkeys are small shrimp-like creatures. The name sea monkey was chosen for these creatures because of their playful, monkey-like behavior. Sea monkeys hatch almost instantaneous when they are put into their special salt water solution; this is known as “instant life.” Once they are happily hatched and monkeying around in their sea solution, you will notice that they have three eyes on their head, but what you might not notice is they breathe through their feet. I’m told the best way to celebrate this day is to buy and experience these little creatures first hand. However, I would like to suggest a second best way to celebrate them for those of us who hold tight to “not one more thing that breathes (even through its feet) will come to live with us!” YouTube Video

★~ Dine on Coquilles St. Jacques:

What’s for dinner? We are having Coquilles St. Jacques. The recipe I found does not look impossible to make, and it does sound very yummy: scallops, mushrooms, butter, wine, bread crumbs, and some Gruyere cheese. Gruyere Cheese is part of the Swiss cheese family; if you want something milder, I am told you can use a Cheddar.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1960 – On the cover of LIFE magazine: the wedding of England’s Princess Margaret.

♥~ 1971 – An ounce of first-class mail rocketed to eight cents for delivery — two cents more than the previous stamp.

♥~ 1981 – Bette Davis Eyes, by Kim Carnes, climbed to the top spot of the pop music chart and stayed there for five straight weeks, took a week off (replaced by Stars on 45 Medley by Stars on 45) and came back to number one for four more weeks! It

♥~ 2002 – Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones opened in the U.S.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1912 – Studs (Louis) Terkel writer: “Chicago is not the most corrupt American city. It’s the most theatrically corrupt.”   Studs Terkel worked as a young man living in Chicago and went on to host TV and radio programs interviewing writers and celebrities but at heart Studs was a story teller. In the 1960’s Studs began interviewing ordinary people about different subjects and published  a series of books that included:Working (1974), “The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II (1984), RACE: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel about the American Obsession (1991), and Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith (2001). Hope Dies Last (2003)

♥~1921 – Harry Carey Jr. actor: Comanche Stallion, Last Stand at Saber River, Tombstone, The Exorcist III, Back to the Future Part III

♥~ 1955 – (Mary) Debra Winger actress: Forget Paris, Shadowlands, A Dangerous Woman, Leap of Faith, Legal Eagles, Terms of Endearment, An Officer and a Gentleman, Urban Cowboy, French Postcards, Slumber Party ’57, Wonder Woman

♥~ 1966 – Janet Jackson singer: Again, Control, Miss You Much, That’s the Way Love Goes, What Have You Done for Me Lately; LPs: Janet Jackson, Dream Street, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, janet, Design of a Decade, The Velvet Rope [has sold some 40-million albums worldwide]; actress: Good Times, Fame, Diff’rent Strokes; Michael’s sister

♥~ 1973 – Tori Spelling actress: Beverly Hills, 90210, Co-ed Call Girl, Scream 2, Perpetrators of the Crime, Scary Movie 2

★~ Did You Know:

♥~ A first class stamp cost 4 cents in 1960

♥~ The United States Congress approved the use of stamps in 1836, but the first American versions didn’t appear until 1842, the same year the U.S. Post Office was founded.

♥~ The first national stamps from the U.S. Post Office featured George Washington and Benjamin Franklin

♥~ The all-time most popular stamp was a 1993 U.S. First Class stamp featuring an image of Elvis Presley.

♥~ Early stamps had no adhesive. Users had to use paste or staple the stamp to the envelope.

♥~ According to the American Philatelic Society, an estimated 20 million Americans are stamp collectors

♥~ One of the most prized collectors stamps is known as the Inverted Jenny. The 1918 stamp features an image of an airplane that was mistakenly printed upside down. Only six mint condition Jennys were known to exist as of 2010; one sold for $825,000 in 2008.

Today’s Silly:

A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named “Ahmal.” The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him “Juan.” Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, “They’re twins!  If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal.”

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Hope you have a most wonderful Monday! Our cello teacher Mr Hoppe always said, “The hardest part is starting!”

Odd Loves Company!

♥~