~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
June 21st

★~ Today’s Quote: “Just living is not enough” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom and flowers.” –  Hans Christian Andersen

★~ Summer Solstice Day:

“Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here, While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend: if you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck, Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends. “ (Shakespeare-Mid Summer Night)

With Puck’s words, the “Midsummer Night’s Dream” ends, but each June 21st, we celebrate the summer solstice. Some ways to celebrate today—find ways to be outside in the sunshine; if you have a friend in need or is feeling a little low, give them yellow and orange flowers or an orange; or add brightly colored flowers to your own home.

★~ Baby Boomers Day:

A “Baby Boomer” is technically anyone born between the years 1946 and 1964.  This was the period after World War II ended, during which Americans were having babies at a greater rate than they ever had before the war.  They are considered the largest generation ever: today they are 76 million strong and turning about 65 years old. They pushed the divorce rate up to 50 percent and marched to support civil rights for racial minorities and equal rights for women. Some went to war; some name-called those who did, demanding their return. They started the sexual revolution and were known for smoking dope and dropping acid. For some, demonstrating was their passion and pride. They saw it all on television: Vietnam, assassinations, Watergate, and a walk on the moon.  Many explored the inner self through transcendental meditation and therapy.

★~ Skateboarding Day:

Even if you’ve never tried skateboarding before, and feel like you’re three times the age of the skaters in the park, take today to hop on a board and give it a shot. Don’t have a skateboard at home? Take the wheels off those rollerblades in your closet and slap em on the bottom of your tabletop ironing board. No?  Or maybe just skip saying, Gosh dangit those kids on skate boards will be the death of me…

★~  Peaches and Cream Day:

First, you need to know that the peach is a drupe, similar to the cherry, plum, or any fruit with a hard stone. Recipe for celebrating today: get one large fresh peach—peeled, pitted, and sliced—one teaspoon of brown sugar, two tablespoons of sour cream, and one tablespoon of chopped pecans.  Place the sliced peach in a small serving dish.  Sprinkle with brown sugar, and spoon sour cream on top. Sprinkle with pecans (optional, of course).  Now, isn’t that just a peachy way to celebrate today?

★~ Today in History:
♥~ 1958 – Splish Splash, Bobby Darin’s first million-seller, was released by Atco Records. The song, written by Darin and Jean Murray, was Atco single #6117, recorded Apr 10, 1958. Today is our Bird Solstices anniversary–she came to live with us 3 years ago today. The video is of her performing to Splish Splash

♥~ 1975 – The Captain and Tennille’s Love Will Keep Us Together jumped into the #1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed there for four weeks.

♥~ 1976  – For a movie remake, a 110-foot artificial King Kong was dropped off the World Trade Center in New York City.

♥~ 1989 – A 15-year-old West Palm Beach, Florida, girl received $81.25 in damages after she sued her prom date for standing her up.

♥ ~ 1977 – “When Kellogg’s Frosted Rice was, it contained so much iron that consumers found they could pick it up and eat it with a magnet. After the problem was fixed, a company spokesman assured the Wall Street Journal that the new, improved – and demagnetized – version of the cereal could not be lifted with magnets ‘unless they are very, very strong.'”

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1905 – Jean-Paul Sartre Nobel Prize-winning philosopher, writer: Being and Nothingness; playwright: No Exit, The Flies, The Age of Reason; rejected Nobel Prize for literature [1964]. In 1964 Sartre rejected the Nobel Prize for Literature when it was awarded to him. In Being and Nothingness, he wrote:  “Man can will nothing unless he has first understood that he must count on no one but himself; that he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets for himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth.”

♥ ~ 1947 – Meredith Baxter actress: Family Ties, Bridget Loves Bernie, Til Murder Do Us Part

♥ ~ 1947 – Michael Gross actor: Family Ties, Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland, In the Heat of Passion 2: Unfaithful

♥~ 1982 – Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor) Duke of Cambridge

★~ Did You Know:

♥ ~ Sol + stice come from the Latin words sun which mean “sun” and “to stand still.”

♥ ~ Awed by the great power of the sun, civilizations have for centuries celebrated the first day of summer otherwise known as the Summer Solstice, Midsummer (Shakespeare), St. John’s Day, or the Wiccan Litha

♥ ~ The Celts & Slavs celebrated the first day of summer with dancing & bonfires to help increase the sun’s energy. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.

♥~ Pagans called the Midsummer moon the “Honey Moon” for the mead made from fermented honey that was part of wedding ceremonies performed at the Summer Solstice.

♥~ Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires, when couples would leap through the flames, believing their crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump.

♥~ Midsummer was thought to be a time of magic, when evil spirits were said to appear. To thwart them, Pagans often wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers. One of the most powerful of them was a plant called ‘chase-devil’, which is known today as St. John’s Wort

★~  Today’s Giggle:

A woman was staying at a hotel and she decided to go sunbathing on the hotel roof. When she laid down to sun her back, her bikini top fell off. She didn’t care so much, though, because nobody ever came up to the roof anyway. Which is why she was surprised when she heard footsteps. It was the Maitre’D from the restaurant.

“Ma’am,” he said, “we were all wondering if you could put your top back on.”

“Why? I’m not disturbing anybody.”

“Ma’am. You’re on the skylight.”

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Cole and are back from our Ireland vacation. I have one more Irish muse to post and a lot more to catch up with on the home front. So keep me company with your sunny thoughts and comments! Odd Loves Company!

♥
Kb