~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
March 27, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote:  Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. -John Wayne

★~ Quirky Country Western Song Titles Day:

Which of the following titles is actually the name of a country hit? “Leave the Kids at Home, Baby, We’re Off to Nashville,” “My Bougainvilleas Turned On Me,” or “One Last Kiss before I Go Hunting.” Give up? Okay, none of them are real titles, but we all know they might have been, which is why we love the quirkiness of country music. Country music didn’t get its start until the 1920s. Around this time, folk music became slightly more sophisticated and the Grand Ole Opry radio station opened in Nashville, Tennessee. The sounds and style of country music have changed drastically over the years, however one thing hasn’t changed,  quirky country music titles. Old country gave us “Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart” by Johnny Cash and new country has given us “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” by Kenny Chesney.

★~  Joe Day:

“Joe” Day celebrates you if your name is Joe. The name Joseph reached the height of its popularity in the 1890s (ranked no. 6) and 1910s (ranked no. 5). From 1911 to 2011, Joseph was the eighth most popular baby boy name in the United States, trailing behind James, John, Robert, Michael, William, David, and Richard according to the Social Security Administration.

Enjoy a “cup of Joe,” (a cup of coffee)! This phrase originated from a modification of the words java or jamoke. The use of Joe in phrases was common in the 1930s and appeared in various expressions, including “an ordinary Joe” and the reference to an enlisted man as “GI Joe” according to World Wide Words. And let’s not forget “Joe Camel,” created in late 1987 as the mascot for Camel cigarettes. Here is a piece of trivia for you: in 1991, the American Medical Association published a report stating that five and six year olds could more easily recognize Joe Camel than Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Bugs Bunny, or even Barbie. Joe Camel was retired in 1997, but a marketing test done in 2009 showed that Joe Camel lived on. When five and six year olds were shown a picture of the camel without any brand attached alongside other popular TV characters, they easily recognize him as Joe Camel.

★~ Spanish Paella Day:

Paella is a Spanish dish made from rice, spices, and pretty much anything else you please. Popular additions are mussels, calamari, and other seafood as well as chicken, pork, sausage, and rabbit. Not sure what to make for dinner? Have you got a fridge full of leftover rabbit? Well then, you, my friend, have the makings of something you can try to pass off as paella. Here is a recipe for Artichoke Paella that I wanted to share because it was on the One Green Planet web site, an online destination for the ecologically ethical generation. One Green Planet delivers relevant insights into and opinions about the world of ecology, the environment, and vegan living. “Ha ha!” I say to all of you who think I only live a selfish air-conditioned life! Not true. No, of course I am not making it! Did you see the intimidatingly long list of ingredients? I am sharing it, so you can make it, and I can help you stay on the straight and narrow, righteous path. Your welcome!!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1912 – One of nature’s most beautiful spectacles is the blooming of 3,750 cherry trees, the first two of which were planted on this day in 1912 by First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Ambassador of Japan. The cherry trees, a gift of friendship to the United States from the people of Japan, are located in West Potomac Park around the Tidal Basin, at Haines Point in East Potomac Park and on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

♥~ 1976 – Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw’s  recording of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” reached #17, the highest position the country classic had ever reached on the country charts.

♥~ 2001 – Twelve days before his 88th birthday, Berry Thomas became the oldest bowler in America to roll a perfect 300 game.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1868 –  Patty Smith Hill, kindergarten teacher, and later influential educator wrote a song called “Good Morning to All” in 1983 to start the day with her kindergarten class. Her sister Mildred, an accomplished musician, provided the melody.  The Hill sisters’ enjoyed their version of “Good Morning to All” so much they began spontaneously singing it at birthday parties changing the lyrics to “Happy Birthday.”  “Good Morning to All” was published in the songbook Stories for Kindergarten. Over time the Happy Birthday version of the song began to take over.  The song appeared in the Broadway musical “The Band Wagon” (1931), and was used for Western Union’s first singing telegram in 1933. A third sister, Jessica Hill, noticed the similarities between “Happy Birthday to You” and the song her sisters wrote, and sued to copyright the song in 1935.  According to Forbes magazine, the song produces about $2 million in licensing revenue each year. ”

♥~ 1963 – Quentin Tarantino Academy Award-winning screenwriter: Pulp Fiction [1994]; writer, director: From Dusk Till Dawn, Four Rooms, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Reservoir Dogs

♥~ 1970 – Mariah Carey Grammy Award-winning singer: has sold more than 120 million albums and singles since her debut in 1990; only artist with a #1 single in every year of the 1990s; has spent more weeks at #1 than any other artist.

★~ Did You Know:  

♥~  On this day in 1915 “Typhoid Mary” was quarantine in a cottage in the Bronx. Her name was Mary Mallon, and she was a large and fiery Irish-American woman about 40 years old.  She worked as a cook for the wealthy in New York City, and every household she worked in seemed to suffer an outbreak of typhoid fever.

In 1906, a doctor named George Soper noticed this strange pattern of outbreaks in wealthy homes. He went to interview each of the families, and found that they had all hired the same cook, but she never left a forwarding address when she moved on to other employment. He finally tracked her down after several cases in a Park Avenue penthouse.  She didn’t take to Dr Soper very well, swore at him, and threatened him with a meat cleaver when he asked her to provide a stool sample. He finally called in the police and had her arrested.

Urine and stool samples were taken from Mallon by force, and doctors discovered that her gall bladder was shedding great numbers of typhoid bacteria.  They wanted to take out her gall bladder, but she refused to believe she was sick.  They demanded that she give up cooking, and she refused to do that too. They confined her for a while and put her to work as a laundress for the Riverside Hospital, and in 1910 — after she promised to give up cooking and only work as a laundress — she was released. It wasn’t long before she changed her name to Mary Brown and took a job as a cook. For the next five years, she stayed one step ahead of the doctors and the law, spreading disease and death in her wake, until they caught up with her on Long Island. Authorities placed her in quarantine on North Brother Island in the Bronx for the rest of her life, and she died of pneumonia in 1938.  Today, Typhoid Mary is a generic term for anyone who, knowingly or not, spreads something undesirable.

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Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day is such fun! I thought of a few titles: “A No Kill Shelter Is Too Good for a Bum like You!”  “I Just Threw You Out So I Can Recycle You Again.” “So dam poor I sold my horse to buy a saddle.”

A long time ago my sweet mother wrote a country and western song for her sissy who had an unfortunate accident while gardening. I will share it with you. The music is still being worked on, but I think if my sweet mom and her sissy ever do agree on the perfect music, it will be a hit.

My Bougainvilleas Turned On Me!

I’m a poor lonely, widda women, I lost my spouse,
So, alone, I had to trim the bushes around my house
And wiliest I was trimming those bushes,
My Bougainvilleas turned on me and stuck me in the nipple,
Felt as poorly as I did the time I downed a quart of Ripple.
I let out a holler and my neighbor come on the run,
When he asked if he could see my wound, I went and got my gun.
He saw me comin’, so’s I had to shoot him in the tail,
A couple hours later the sheriff hauled me off to jail.
Had me one call, so I begged him, Mister,
Just give me a quarter so’s I can call my sister.
I pleaded and whined til he come round,
Called sister and she said, I’ll be right down.
Sister arrived and man was I glad,
That sheriff got to shakin, sister be bad!
She told that sheriff that I was no fool,
That neighbor man jest a wanted to show me his tool.
It was high time someone shot him at last,
She, said now open that cell door and make it fast….

A winner don’t you think?

Cole went for his first test drive last night, and I was amazed at how well he drove a stick shift (Thank you Richard). He drove the little VW Rabbit I have been telling you about. This car is really a perfect first car — good looking, manual, peppy, has a two-year warrantee, low miles, in our price range — but it does not make Cole’s heart sing. It’s not “his car,” so we will keep looking. In the meantime . . . guess what!!! I have my car today! I’m so excited! I’m not sure what I’ll do first, but manicure is higher on the list than grocery shopping!

Hope you have a terrific Tuesday!  Leave a comment if you have a morno moment. Do you have a quirky country and western title to add to our play list? Odd Loves Company!

♥