You Might Learn Something

Holidays coming up tomorrow have some historical significance. First of all, and this was news to me, it will be National Navajo Code Talkers Day. This holiday was first named by President Reagan to commemorate the bilingual Navajo Natives who were recruited during WWII by the Marines to transmit secret tactical messages.
Speaking of WWII, Saturday is also V-J Day which means "Victory Over Japan", representing the day that Japan surrendered at the end of World War II. I am guessing this holiday is not celebrated in Japan.
Celebrate "Sandcastle and Sculpture Day" preferably at the beach, unless you like lugging tons of sand to your house. An alternative could be cat litter, I suppose but your sculpture might be rather grainy. And not smell too good.
Then my favorite. "National Garage Sale Day." I love a good garage sale. They are sprinkled all over south Florida. You can just get in the car on a Saturday morning and drive. Our car is equipped with a GSF, a Garage Sale Finder. It automatically turns to the nearest garage sale, especially when I am driving. It's a little hot right now, but when it cools off I'm there. We buy tons of crap at a really cheap price, get it home and never use it. A year later, I put it on Freecycle, or sell it at a garage sale. Politicians refer to these items as the Gross National Product, so-named because nobody wants them.

Holidays for Tomorrow

I am not really thrilled with the holidays for tomorrow so therefore I may go back and celebrate Barbie-in-a-Blender again. Tomorrow, Aug 12th is IBM PC Day. Now, as a family that has all Apple computers, and having a son that works at Apple, I can tell you right now that we will not be celebrating this one.
It will also be International Youth Day, which to me is a little bit of an oxymoron. When my kids were growing up, it seemed like every day was their day. Has that changed? Anyway, this holiday was developed by the United Nations and this year's theme is communication among youth of different cultures. Now I get it. That sounds good. Communication leads to understanding which leads to tolerance.
Next is Sewing Machine Day. This also will not be celebrated at our house. Although I wish I could sew (my sister is a whiz at sewing) I was not blessed with the sewing gene. I can't even sew a button on. I get threads all over the outside of the button and it looks terrible. The sewer in my home is my husband George. So I hand over my mending projects to him. And ironing projects. I don't iron either. For that matter, I don't cook. He does all the cooking. What is it that I do? I'll get back to you on that in a future blog.
The final holiday, which just fills me with nostalgia, is Vinyl Record Day. I remember fondly my collection of 45s and 33 albums. The 45s had a bright yellow adapter that fit in the middle so that you could put the record on the turntable. Scratchy sound, it was great. The 45s always had a hit on one side and an unknown song on the back. One of the 45s I owned had a song called "Parkin' Meter" on the back. The lyrics consisted of

"Parkin' meter
Parkin' meter
Put a penny in the parkin' meter."
I believe that was about it for the lyrics, along with some sound effects to sound like coins dropping.
I also owned an "Asian" record recorded by Hari Kari and His Six Saki Sippers. Why I bought it I don't know but I did have many hours of hilarious fun listening to the two songs, sung with authentic "Asian" accents: "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby", and "Yokohama Mama" (Twas in Yokohama, I met this hot mama. She served radishes, octopus, rice and fried squid)
Not sure about those lyrics. They were a little unclear.
Then there was "Sandy Went Away." Another lyric sensation.
"Sandy went away
Oh how I miss her.
Sandy went away
I long to kiss her.
Maybe some day I pray
She'll come back to me to stay, to stay,
Wo wo wo wo wo..."
This one was a special favorite of my sister's.

We lost something when we gave up our vinyl records. You haven't lived till you have put a record on the spindle and watched it drop down, with the needle arm moving over to play it. Talk about technology!

Holidays for Tuesday

Some important holidays are coming up tomorrow. First and I think foremost, S'mores Day. Boy, those were a favorite when I was a girl scout. Yes, I was a scout. Hard to believe. We would make those s'mores when we went camping. It is also Smithsonian Day. If you are up that way, stop in at the Smithsonian and see Archie Bunker's Chair or Dorothy's red ruby slippers. Cool stuff.
Tomorrow is also Perigean Spring Tides Day. Now some of you uninformed people may need a little help on this one so I am going to provide some information on this most auspicious occasion.What I have been able to ascertain is that perigee is when the moon is closest to the earth. So this day would celebrate the tides that occur when the moon is closest to the earth. Some scientists claim this causes flooding. Others say no it doesn't. I say don't spend much time on this holiday. Just eat your s'mores.
Now the last one I have no clue why this would be a holiday. It is National Duran Duran Day. Now I ask you, Did you like Duran Duran during their day? Are they still around" Why did they have a first name and last name exactly the same? I am just going to wait till National Neil Diamond Neil Diamond Day.

Holidays for Sunday

I am taking a break from painting my cotton candy bedroom to provide you with tomorrow's holidays so that you will not be cast adrift like a piece of flotsam at sea.

For our writer friends, tomorrow is the "Day to Create." So no more excuses. BIC (Butt in Chair) and write. Celebrate writing.
It is also Eleanor Roosevelt Day. Celebrate her day by learning a few facts about her.
I have a couple of quotes from her that you may enjoy. "A woman is like a tea bag- you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water." and my favorite one..."I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall." What a sense of humor!

It is also "Happiness Happens" Day. Seems to be an offshoot of the one that says "Shit Happens." And remember, you can create your own happiness by being true to yourself.
It also happens to be "Assistance Dog Day" which is kind of cool. I did some research on Assistance Dogs and have a great respect for what they can do and how their owners depend on them.
Finally, my favorite. I am hoping none of my neighbors are reading my post. It will be "Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night." I have not researched this yet but have my own suggestions to make this a safe and fun night.
1. Decide on cooked or raw zucchini.
2. Raw zucchini should not be hurled from a car window. That is a sign of aggression.
3. Cooked zucchini in a casserole is an appropriate expression of holiday celebration.
It also should not be hurled from a car window.
4. Anonymous gifts will probably be trashed. If you took a long time to make a
delicious zucchini pie, you might want to take credit for it.
5. Do not include random objects in the zucchini casserole or pie. This does not make
good neighbors.
I will personally be celebrating "Happiness Happens Day" because I will be having lunch with my husband, my son, Cory and his girlfriend, Ashlee. That sounds pretty happy to me.