~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
July 10th, 2011

★~ Today’s Quote:

If you go down to the woods today
Your’re sure of a big surprise.
If you go down to the woods today
You better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain because
Today’s the day the teddy bears
Have their picnic…

★~ Teddy Bear Picnic Day:

When Cole was small, he loved the Teddy Bear Picnic book. It included a cassette tape featuring Jerry Garcia and David Grisman singing the Teddy Bear song. We read the book and listened to the tape so many times that we knew them both by heart. The cassette became a tangled mess years ago, but the bear-eared book still has a proud spot in our “keeper library.”

My dear teddy bear Fred has been my best bear since I was about 2–I always give him a special bear hug and a dusting off on Teddy Bear picnic day. Other ways to celebrate today include: taking your best bear for a walk in the woods, packing a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and some lemonade and heading to your favorite park or neighborhood lawn for a bear picnic, or just giving someone you love a big old bear hug.

★~  Piña colada Day:

Mix up a few Pina Colada cocktails for your Teddy Bear Picnic and your picnic will be positively perfect. The piña colada is the pine-appley, coco-nutty cocktail that originated in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was first stirred up by bartender Ramon ‘Monchito’ Marrero in 1954. Ola!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1866 – Edison P. Clark of Northampton, MA patented his indelible pencil

♥~ 1900 – One of the most famous trademarks in the world, ‘His Master’s Voice’, was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. The logo of the Victor Talking Machine Company and later, RCA Victor, shows the dog, Nipper, looking into the horn of a gramophone machine.

♥~ 1913 – It’s summer in the northern hemisphere and while you are baking at the beach or lake, keep this factoid in mind: The highest temperature ever recorded in the continental United States was 134 degrees which melted thermometers this day in Death Valley, California.

♥~ 1965 – The Rolling Stones, who took their name from a Muddy Waters song, hit the top spot on the Billboard chart. It was their first time at the top. The hit, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, stayed at number one for 4 weeks.

♥~ 1985 – The Coca-Cola Company announced that the former (regular) Coke was coming back to share shelf space with the New Coke, after a consumer furor. The original formula was renamed Coca-Cola Classic.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1839 – Adolphus Busch brewer: founder of Anheuser-Busch, the world’s largest beer brewery; died Oct 10, 1913

♥~ 1875 – E.C. (Edmund Clerihew) Bentley journalist, author of the celebrated detective thriller Trent’s Last Case (1912), but perhaps best known for his invention of a popular humorous verse form, the clerihew. The clerihew consists of 4 rhyming lines of irregular length, and is autobiographical in nature, reminiscent of a eulogy. For instance: / Edmund Clerihew Bentley / Liked poems evidently / And to make them more fun / Just four lines then you’re done

♥~ 1926 – Fred Gwynne actor: The Munsters, Car 54 Where are You?, My Cousin Vinny, Fatal Attraction, Pet Sematary, Ironweed; died July 2, 1993

♥~ 1945 – Ron Glass actor: Barney Miller, Deep Space, Houseguest

♥~ 1977 – Gwendoline Yeo actress: Desperate Housewives, 24, General Hospital, Grounded for Life, NYPD Blue, JAG, The OC, Broken Trail, The Magic of Ordinary Days, The Jane Austen Book Club, I Do…I Did!, Night Skies, Broken Trail, Code, Perfect Girl

♥~ 1980 – Jessica Simpson singer: I Wanna Love You Forever, Sweetest Sin, I Think I’m in Love with You, Irresistible; actress: That ’70s Show, Employee of the Month, The Dukes of Hazzard

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~  In 1880 – Margarete Steiff created the first stuffed bear toy.

♥~  President Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear cub while hunting and the incident made national news (1902) The bear become a symbol of innocence and affection.

♥~  Morris Michtom and his wife created a pair of stuffed bears to put in their shop window. They were an instant hit. With permission from President Roosevelt, they were given the name “Teddy’s” Bears.

♥~  The song The Teddy Bears’ Picnic (written by John Walter Bratton, in 1907, lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932). was used as a theme song during Roosevelt’s subsequent election campaigns!

♥~  The most expensive recently created bear, is called The 125 Carat Teddy Bear. The fur is made with raw silk, mohair and real gold threads attached by hand. The eyes are made with 18k gold imbedded with 20 small diamonds and the pupils are made of sapphires. No doubt you would sleep tight with the 125 carat Teddy Bear!

♥~ Throughout the twenty-first century, worldwide sales of teddy bears have topped $1 billion.

♥~ The scientific term for teddy bear collecting is Arctophily; arctos for bear and philos for love.

♥~ Collection of teddy bears are often referred to as a “hug” of bears.

♥~ A teddy bear survived the 1912 Titanic disaster; its owner, Gaspare Gatti, did not!

♥~ An original Steiff bear (1926)  sold for $86,000 at Sotheby’s auction. An original Steiff bear can be recognized by it’s famous “button in ear” trademark.

♥~ 40% of all adults still have their childhood teddy bear.

★~ Today’s Giggle: 

In light of rising human/grizzly bear encounters, the Montana Department of Fish and Game recently cautioned hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and to keep alert of bears while in the field:

“We advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle the bears. We also recommend outdoorsmen carry pepper spray with them in case of a confrontation with a bear.”
The department further advised people to watch for fresh signs of bear activity:

“Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear excrement. Black bear excrement is typically smaller, and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear excrement is larger, has little bells in it, and smells like pepper.”

#

Today Cole and I will brunch at Cheeseburgers in Paradise! If you want your 15 year old boy to make and cut out sugar cookies for you then you have to bribe them with cheeseburgers and toast them with Piña Coladas on Piña Coladas day–The rum they leave out of Cole’s Piña Coladas can be added to mine!

Big Bear Hugs for everyone…especially YOU {{ }}.
Kb