~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
December 16th

★~ Today’s Quote: It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about. ~ Dale Carnegie

★~ Re-Gifting Day: 

If Jacqueline Onassis re-gifted, how tacky could it be? In 1971, she gave hubby Aristotle Onassis a watch once owned by JFK that had been a gift from a socialite couple. A few years ago, the watch auctioned for more than $150,000. Emily Post also views re-gifting as an acceptable practice.

So instead of letting an unwanted gift clutter up your closet, cupboard, or watch drawer, think about giving it a new home where it will be loved and appreciated.

As long as we choose the recipient carefully and re-gift to someone who will appreciate the gift, there is no reason to feel guilty about passing on a gift to someone else…we’re in good company.

★~ Underdog Day:

Underdog Day got me thinking about why we love the underdogs, the people that take on Herculean tasks against what appear to be insurmountable odds. Why do we so often root for the ones that we expect to lose? Maybe it’s because they’re easy to relate to; they’re unpolished and authentic. In the 1980 Olympics, the U.S. Hockey team’s victory over the U.S.S.R. was called the “Miracle on Ice.” Why? Because the U.S. team was comprised of amateurs and college kids who fought a team of hardened, well-trained professionals and came out on top. When we see a rag-tag band of misfits like the Mighty Ducks pull out a win against overwhelming odds, we’re reminded of regular people like ourselves. There’s no pleasure in watching people who have had every advantage do what they’ve been trained to do—win. It’s hard to feel a kinship with a girl whose parents spent millions teaching her to be a tennis champion. We’d rather root for the average kid who picks up a racquet and discovers a preternatural gift for the game. We can’t relate to flashy packaging, expensive image-consultants, or artifice.

We long for the real deal.

Who are a few of your favorite underdogs? These are a few I collect from the Facebook El Morno Gang: The 1969 New York Jets, Rocky Balboa, Tolkien’s Frodo (“You are a Ring-bearer, Frodo. And to be a Ring-bearer is to be alone.”), Doctor Frankenstein’s monster, Tuco in “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” Bill Chiero, and Jim Braddock, aka “Cinderella Man.

★~ Chocolate Covered Anything Day:

Chocoholics, rejoice! Chocolate Covered Anything Day is your day to top everything that you eat with chocolate. You’ve got your chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered almonds, chocolate-covered potato chips, chocolate-covered sardines. Or what about a nice chocolate-covered tuna noodle ring? I plan to dip some fruit in chocolate FUNdue.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1773 – Boston Tea Party Day:  The people of Boston made the biggest ever batch of iced tea by boarding a British vessel and dumping its cargo — 342 chests of tea – – into the harbor. The British responded by sending ships with lemons and drinking straws, but by the time they arrived, all the iced tea had floated to Long Island, creating a whole other reason to celebrate.

♥~ 1901 – Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter, was printed for the first time, complete with Potter’s watercolor illustrations. Ms. Potter had come up with the Peter Rabbit concept eight years earlier when she sent a story, told in pen and ink drawings, to a five-year-old who was sick in bed. The first story about the ill-behaved rabbit was meant to cheer up the little boy. Children throughout the world enjoy the first and 22 more tales about the cotton-tailed bunny and his friends.

♥~ 1951 – NBC-TV debuted “Dum-de-dum-dum. Dum-de-dum-dum-daa.” Dragnet made it to TV, in a special preview, on Chesterfield Sound Off Time. The Jack Webb (Sgt. Joe Friday) police drama opened its official TV run on January 3, 1952. Trivia factoid: Sgt. Friday’s boss in this preview was played by Raymond Burr (later of Perry Mason and Ironside fame).

♥~ 1971 – Melanie (Safka) received a gold record for the single, Brand New Key, about roller skates and love and stuff like that. This one made it to #1 on Christmas Day, 1971.

♥~ 1971 – Don McLean’s eight-minute-plus (8:32) version of American Pie was released. It became one of the longest songs with some of the most confusing (pick your favorite interpretation) lyrics to ever hit the pop charts. It was a disc jockey favorite since there were few songs long enough for potty breaks at the time. American Pie hit #1 on January 15, 1972.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1770 – Ludwig van Beethoven composer: Regarded by many as the greatest orchestral composer of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven was born at Bonn, Germany. Impairment of his hearing began before he was 30, but even total deafness did not halt his composing and conducting. His last appearance on the concert stage was to conduct the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, at Vienna, May 7, 1824. He was unable to hear either the orchestra or the applause. Often in love, he never married. Of a stormy temperament, he is said to have died during a violent thunderstorm Mar 26, 1827, at Vienna.

♥~ 1775 – Jane Austen author: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility; died July 18, 1817

♥~ 1943 – Steven Bochco Emmy Award-winning executive producer: Hill Street Blues N.Y.P.D. Blue, Cop Rock, Capitol Critters, A Fade to Black; writer: Ironside; story editor: Columbo

♥~ 1943 – Anthony Hicks musician: lead guitar, songwriter: group: The Hollies: Stop, Stop, Stop, The Air that I Breathe, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

♥~ 1949 – Billy Gibbons musician: guitar, singer: group: ZZ Top: Salt Lick, Jesus Just Left Chicago, La Grange, Tush, Gimme All Your Lovin’, Legs, Sharp Dressed Man,Sleeping Bag

♥~ 1962 – William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry football: Chicago Bears defensive tackle: Super Bowl XX

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~ Born in 1770, Beethoven performed in public by the age of seven, and while not quite the sensation that the young Mozart was, he was quickly recognized as a brilliant musical talent.

♥~ There were three major periods of Beethoven’s musical life. The second period, sometimes called the “Heroic” period, lasted from 1803 to 1814 and is named for the tremendous works that express struggle and heroism. His famous Fifth Symphony was one of the many pieces of music written during this period.

♥~ Beethoven always put exactly sixty coffee beans in every cup of coffee he drank.

♥~ Beethoven began having hearing problems as early as 1802. What started as an annoying ringing in his ears worsened until he was almost totally deaf by 1816.

♥~ In 40 years, he changed his place of residence more than 70 times!

♥~ Despite his reputation for being rude and angry, Beethoven had many friends and was well liked. More than 20,000 people attended his funeral.

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I am dashing, dancing and prancing today, and by the fall of it all, I will probably be blitzed.

Wishing you a Fab Friday. If you have a Morno moment, leave a comment. Odd Loves Company!

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