~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
May 9th, 2011

★~ Today’s Quote: Always be a little kinder than necessary. James M. Barrie

★~ Drink a Coke:

Yesterday was the official Have a Coke Day. Showing sensitivity to Mother’s Day, I made the unselfish decision to postpone sharing much about this oh-so-very-important holiday until today. Coke, how do we love thee? Let me count a few of the billions of ways!

Coca-Cola is delicious and refreshing, cold and crisp, as pure as sunlight. When you are thirsty, what you want is a Coke, the best friend thirst ever had. Coke is just around the corner from everywhere, along the highway anywhere. It makes us smile, shows us the real side of life, and adds to our lives. I would like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, I would like to buy the whole world a Coke, because Coke is IT-the real thing. Whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be, when you think of refreshment, you think of ice cold Coca-Cola. When Coca-Cola is a part of your life, you can’t beat the feeling!

Today, have a Coke and a smile!

★~ Lost Sock Memorial:

Today we must face a hard fact: that our lost socks will not find their way home to their “sockmates.” There’s only one thing to do in this situation. First, grab a Coke to help fortify you, and then gather and collect your sad sock singletons and give them a reason to live…a new purpose in life, as a dust rag, drink sleeve, change purse, sock monkey, heating or cooking pad, or eyeglass case. Cut the toes from your single socks and sew them together in a long tube. Stuff the tube with dryer lint and use it as a door-stopper. Have I gone too far? Perhaps, but today is the day to re-purpose those single socks and make room for new couples of socks.

★~ Butterscotch Day:

Butterscotch Brownie Day: Sheesh. All that sock sorting makes me hungry! Time for some butterscotch brownies! Pop Quiz: Is butterscotch from Scotland? You are just guessing! Fine. I will tell you the answer; butterscotch is from the Yorkshire town of Doncaster, where Samuel Parkinson began making it in 1817. Try making your own home-made butterscotch brownies for a special treat, or mix some butterscotch-flavored chips into a boxed brownie mix before baking. Yummy!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1940 – Actress Vivien Leigh made her American theatre debut with Laurence Olivier in Romeo and Juliet in New York City.

♥~ 1959 – 16-year-old Wayne Newton made his Las Vegas debut at the Fremont Hotel. That first booking, scheduled to last two weeks, stretched into three years. Newton went on to become king of the Vegas showrooms, earning close to $20-million a year. He has been seen live by over 12 million people, more than have seen either Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley in concer

♥~ 1964 – Hello Dolly! became the top pop record in the U.S. The milestone put Louis Armstrong on the Billboard music chart in the top spot for the first time in his 41-year music career. Later, ‘Satchmo’ was cast in the movie version of Hello Dolly!.

♥~ 1984 – It took the Chicago White Sox 25 innings, eight hours, six minutes — and two days — to finally defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6. It was the longest game (in elapsed time) in major-league history. Tom Seaver pitched one inning of relief in the suspended game to notch the win. The game tied the record for the longest game played to a decision.

★~Born Today:

♥ ~ 1860 – Sir James Barrie author, dramatist: Peter Pan, The Little Minister, The Admirable Crichton, What Every Woman Knows, Dear Brutus; died June 19, 1937

♥~ 1868 – Reno, Nevada. on this day a little town in Northwestern Nevada was officially named, Reno (after General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer of the Civil War). In the mid 1800s, Reno was just another settlement of silver miners. When the Comstock Lode was discovered in the Virginia City area, intrigued fortune hunters throughout the world came to the area to strike it rich. Today, they still come to strike it rich at Reno’s glitzy gambling casinos. Reno, also a haven for quickie divorces (only a six-week residency is required), is known as the biggest little city in the world, the winning slogan from a contest held in 1929.

♥~ 1935 – Charles Roger Hargreaves:  British author and illustrator of children’s books, notably the Mr. Men and Little Miss series, intended for very young readers. The books’ simple and silly stories, with bright-coloured, boldly drawn illustrations, have been part of popular culture for over 25 years, with sales over 85 million worldwide in 20 languages

♥~ 1946 – Candice Bergen Emmy Award-winning actress: Murphy Brown [1989, 1990, 1992, 1993]; Starting Over, The Group, Boston Legal; daughter of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen

♥~ 1949 – Billy Joel Grammy Award-winning singer: Just the Way You Are [1979]; My Life, You May be Right, It’s Still Rock ’n’ Roll to Me, Allentown, Goodnight Saigon, Tell Her about It, Uptown Girl, Piano Man; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [3-15-99]

★~ Did You Know:

♥~ On May 8, 1886, a pharmacist named Dr. John Pemberton carried a jug of Coca-Cola® syrup to Jacobs’ Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, where it was mixed with carbonated water and sold for five cents a glass.

♥~ Coca-Cola’s original formula included extracts of the African kola nut and coca leaves, both strong stimulants. It was one of those patent medicines sold in the 1800’s that actually contained traces of use “spent coca leaves”. It also stopped advertising Coca-Cola as a cure for headaches and other ills.

♥~ Coca-Cola is one of the most popular soft drinks in the world. In fact, over one billion cans of Coca-Cola are consumed every day.

♥~ Coca-Cola trucks travel over 1,000,000 miles a day to supply consumers with soft drinks!

♥~ Coca-Cola was first shipped in used whiskey kegs and barrels, but they were painted red to give them a distinctive mark. The color red has been associated with the product ever since.

♥~ The first outdoor sign advertising Coca-Cola still exists. It was originally painted in 1894 and is located in Cartersville, Georgia.

♥~ In July, 1985, Coca-Cola became the first soft drink to be enjoyed in outer space…on the Space Shuttle Challenger. A special company-developed space-can was used.

♥~ The slogan “Good to the Last Drop” was first used by the Coca-Cola Company in 1908. It later became the slogan for Maxwell House coffee.

♥~ In July, 1985, Coca-Cola became the first soft drink to be enjoyed in outer space…on the Space Shuttle Challenger. A special company-developed space-can was used.

Today’s Silly:

A young couple decided to wed. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other.

The Groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. “Father,” he said, “I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage. I love my fiancée, very much, but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I’m afraid that my future wife will be put off by them.”

“No problem,” said dad, “all you have to do is wash your feet as often as possible, and always wear socks, even to bed.”

Well, to him this seemed a workable solution.

The bride-to-be, overcoming her fear, decided to take her problem up her mom.
“Mom,” she said, “When I wake up in the morning my breath is truly awful.”

“Honey,” her mother consoled, “everyone has bad breath in the morning.”

“No, you don’t understand. My morning breath is so bad, I’m afraid that my new husband will not want to sleep in the same room with me.”

Her mother said simply, “Try this. In the morning, get straight out of bed, and head for the bathroom and brush your teeth. The key is, not to say a word until you’ve brushed your teeth. Not a word,” her mother affirmed.
Well, she thought it was certainly worth a try.

The loving couple were finally married in a beautiful ceremony. Not forgetting the advice each had received, he with his perpetual socks and she with her morning silence, they managed quite well. That is, until about six months later.

Shortly before dawn, the husband wakes with a start to find that one of his socks had come off. Fearful of the consequences, he frantically searches the bed.

This, of course, woke his bride and without thinking, she immediately asks, “What on earth are you doing?”
“
Oh, no!” he gasped in shock, “You’ve swallowed my sock!”

#

Are you laughing? I hope so. The sock joke made me laugh out loud, it was just so darn silly: a joke I can share with my grumpy kid on the way to school.

I am not going to ask you what your favorite soft drink is, but if it happens to be Coke, well then please stand up proudly in the comments and pledge your undying and forever love. If it happens to be another beverage (which shall remain nameless out of respect for Coke’s special day), you may comment on some other aspect of this thoughtful and entertaining post.

Remember in the Peter Pan story, when Tinkerbell almost died because children forgot to believe in fairies? Clap twice for Tinkerbell and all fairies today, or for some child, or even adult, who might have forgotten to believe!

Tossing fairy dust your way! Hope you’re having a magical Monday!