Present Reality (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy’s Poetry Day and Brian’s Thankful Thursday, an A to Z Post

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Ms. G wants to stay home and organize her own house and do her own projects; Ms. G spends almost all her time doing everything but that.

Ms. G is the kind of realtor who walks into some pretty tatty places, homes that have been treated horribly by renters, homes that have had the same couple in them for 50 years and at the end they couldn't keep up and let the place go somewhat to ruin, places that haven't seen a lot of love or care in a long time, mostly belonging to friends or family of friends, neighbors, people she grew up with, etc.

She hires workers (the good ones she's worked with for years), gets initial cleanouts done, gets walls repaired and painted, flooring replaced, doors rehung, whatever it takes (all paid by the owner) and gets them sold, that's what buys her groceries and makes the payments on "Patience," her camper.

As a favor to the painter, she hired his daughter to do a cleaning on the house he was working in, but when she went in to inspect the work, the young lady had fallen way short of the mark, as her father agreed.

Yesterday, instead of the two of us being able to tackle those long deferred projects at her house, we went to the place she's readying for sale and armed with Ring King, 409, steel wool, rubber gloves and an attitude, i attacked the bathtubs with a vengeance, as well as scrubbing toilets, vanities, and getting paint and crud off mirrors.

It's not how she wants to be spending her time when she has me on Wednesdays, but for the present, it's the reality of her life.

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Present.      

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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!

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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my poem:    

I love to come to the park each week

with the whole family.

The kids are now in the big kid swings

so mamma can push me!

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Angel Brian's Family of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

This week i am thankful not every week turns out to be quite so topsy-turvy as this one seems to be going.  It's not bad, it's just busy and the scheduling of everything is uncertain.

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Today is:

Adult Autism Awareness Day  

Army Day -- Iran (Rouz-e-Artesh)

Get to Know Your Customers Day (celebrated the 3rd Thursday quarterly)

Gio to Hung Vuong Day -- Vietnam (National Day; celebrating the founding of the nation by Emperor Hung Vuong some three millennia ago)

Goddess Month of Maia begins

Independence Day -- Zimbabwe(1980)

International Amateur Radio Day/World Amateur Radio Day -- celebrating "ham radio" around the world with the AARL

International Day for Monuments and Sites -- UNESCO

Invention Day -- Japan

Laundromat Day -- the first self-service "washateria" opened on this date in 1934 in Fort Worth, TX, US

Look-Alike Day -- internet generated, a day to try to look like someone you admire; some sites list it on the 20th

National Animal Cracker Day

National D.A.R.E Day -- US (by Presidential Proclamation)

Newspaper Columnists' Day -- The National Society of Newspaper Columnists in honor of the anniversary of the death of Ernie Pylehttp://www.columnists.com/2009/04/story-behind-national-columnists-day/

Pet Owners Independence Day -- the day to let your pet do the work and chores while you lie around and enjoy having only the responsibilities of your pet; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Poem in Your Pocket Day -- carry your favorite with you to share with friends and family to celebrate National Poetry Month     

Sleep Apnea Awareness Day 

Smile Big and Say Hi for No Particular Reason Day -- if some site gave the reason for this, it would defeat the purpose

St. Agapitus Day (Patron of Palestrina, Italy; against colic)

St. Agia's Day (Patron against lawsuits)

"Third World" Day -- the phrase was first used on this date in 1955

Ushibuka Haiya Matsuri -- Furukawa, Japan (one of the liveliest dance festivals, with elements of dance styles from around the country; through the 20th)

Zhabdrung Kuchhoe -- Bhutan (death anniversary of Zhabdrung)

Anniversaries Today:

The University of Alabama is founded, 1831

Birthdays Today:

America Ferrara, 1984

Cheryl Ann Haworth, 1983

Melissa Joan Hart, 1976

Eli Roth, 1972

David Tennant, 1971

Maria Bello, 1967

Conan O'Brien, 1963

Eric McCormack, 1963

Jane Leeves, 1961

Eric Roberts, 1956

John James, 1956

John Pankow, 1954

Rick Moranis, 1954

Dorothy Lyman, 1947

James Woods, 1947

Hayley Mills, 1946

Robert Hooks, 1937

Barbara Hale, 1921

Leopold Stokowski, 1882

Samuel Earl "Wahoo Sam" Crawford, 1880

Clarence Darrow, 1857

Lucrezia Borgia, 1480

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Beauty and the Beast"(Musical), 1994

"Real People"(TV), 1979

"Call Me Mister"(Musical), 1946

Today in History:

Boleslaw Chrobry is crowned the first king of Poland, 1025

The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid, 1506

The Real Academia de la Historia (Royal Academy of History) is founded in Madrid, 1738

The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and William Dawes, upon seeing two lanterns in the church steeple, set out to warn that "The British are coming!" 1775

Fighting ceases in the American Revolutionary War, eight years to the day after it began, 1783

Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico, 1881

The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria, 1899

Denmark becomes the first country to formally adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals, 1902

Quetzaltenango, second largest city of Guatemala, is destroyed by an earthquake, 1902

The Great San Francisco Earthquake, 1906

The Los Angeles Times story on the Azusa Street Revival launches Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement, 1906

The RMS Carpathia brings the Titanic survivors to NYC, 1912

"The House that Ruth Built," Yankee Stadium, opens, 1923

Simon and Schuster publishes the first crossword puzzle book, 1924

The first "washateria" (laundromat) opens, in Ft. Worth, Texas, 1934

The League of Nations is formally dissolved, 1949

29 nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference., 1955

A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum, 1958

The Republic of Zimbabwe is officially established with the swearing in of Canaan Banana as its first President, 1980

The Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings, from the Triple-A International League, begin the longest game in professional baseball history, 33 innings, 1981

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision, 2007

Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f, two planets resembling planet Earth are discovered revolving around the star Kepler-62 in the habitable zone, an area around the stars whose atmospheric pressure can suport liquid water at the surface, 2013

Black Panther is the first film shown at a commercial cinema in 35 years in Saudi Arabia as cinemas are reopened, 2018

South Africa declares a state of disaster in the Durban area after serious floods and mudslides resulting in numerous deaths and much destruction, 2022

On Grandma's List (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday, an A to Z Post

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by Elephant's Child.  

This week's prompts are:

• Antique
• Guide
• Celebration
• Journal
• Expressive 
  

And/or

 

• A little bird told me
• Cat got your tongue?
• Every dog has his day
  

Charlotte (MotherOwl) has selected water blue as the colour of the month.  If you can include it in your story she and I will be grateful.

As always, have fun.

My mom was always, well, my mom.

She was very intelligent and got her points across in a few well chosen and EXPRESSIVE words.  Always a JOURNAL keeper, she'd written about each of us 3 kids both in her own book and made one for each of us as we were growing up and given ours to us on our 18th birthdays.

I couldn't speak for the others, but mine was a treasure, a Water Blue cover and stories about me from the time she knew she was expecting, all the way through the story of how I almost missed my own graduation ceremony when someone rear ended my father's car on the way to the auditorium and every milestone and CELEBRATION between.

Once us children were out of the house, she and dad had become docents at a nearby famous estate turned museum.  She would GUIDE tour groups through with stories and anecdotes about every room and every ANTIQUE, while dad showed the practical areas outdoors, stables and livery and such places.

Dad had been gone about a year when I got a call from my sister and you could have almost knocked me over with a feather when she told me what was up.

"A little bird told me mom's got a new boyfriend," she said the moment I'd said hello.

 Some kind of sound, between a yelp and a gasp, came out of me, and my sister laughed.

"What's the matter?  Cat got your tongue?" she asked.

"Well, you did rather surprise me," I managed to say.

"Why would it surprise you?  She's been a bit lonely since dad died, even if she does have her volunteering and the grandchildren.  We're all busy and she spends too much time alone.  Besides, this guy is solid.  He was Navy, just like dad, a school principal and then taught at the Junior College.

"And get this, he has a motorcycle!  That's how I found out, I saw them on his bike, at least, I thought it was mom in the sidecar, but couldn't be sure because of the helmet.  She'd seen me though, and called me, and asked me to come to supper this Sunday afternoon and meet him, and she wants all of us there."

I still couldn't quite grasp what I was hearing and connect it to my mom.  Would she really date someone else, someone with a motorcycle, and ride with him?  My mother?

It seemed so.

"Of course, I'll come to supper if she wants, I'd be glad to meet him, but you have to admit it is rather shocking to think of our mom, the room mother at school and museum guide everyone loves as a motorcycle babe."

My sister laughed.  "Every dog has its day, and this is mom's.  If she wants to let her hair down a little at her age, what's to stop her?  You'll be there, right?"

"Yes, I'll be there.  Does Jim know yet?"  I wondered if my brother would flip out.

"I called him first, and he thinks it's about time.  Said she's due some happy times again like she had with dad."

That's how I met my future stepfather, the man who brought my mom out of her shell and got her journaling again.  I didn't know she'd stopped after dad died.

Now I wouldn't have things any other way.

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Today is:

American Academy of Arts and Letters Charter Day

Bat Appreciation Day -- sponsored by Bat Conservation International, at the time of year when bats begin awakening from hibernation

Blah, Blah, Blah Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Ebertfest/Roger Ebert's Film Festival -- Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL (in the best show biz tradition, the show will go on; through Sunday)

Ellis Island Family History Day -- US (by proclamation of the nation's governors and in conjunction with the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, a day to celebrate the achievements and contribution of the immigrants and their descendants who came through Ellis Island; on the anniversary of the day, in 1907, when 11,747 immigrants were processed through the island, the most in one day) 

Equality Day -- Canada (the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force on April 17, 1985, guaranteeing equality without regard to race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability)

Flag Day -- American Samoa

Ford Mustang Day -- International (on the "birthday" of the vehicle)

Independence Day / Evacuation Day -- Syria

International Day of Peasants Struggle

Myanmar New Year -- Myanmar

National Cheeseball Day

National Haiku Poetry Day -- sponsored by The Haiku Foundation 

Nosy Neighbor Appreciation Day -- to be celebrated, if you dare, by greeting and thanking your neighbor for being nosy

Nothing Like A Dame Day -- a day to pay homage to the unique wit, wisdom, style and strength of dames past and present, and to cultivate the dame in you or in your life

Ramnawami / Ramanavami / Chaitay Dashain -- India; Nepal (Hindu celebration of the birth of Lord Rama, avatar of Vishnu)

     Swaminarayan Jayanti -- birth of Lord Swaminarayan for followers of the Swaminarayan tradition

St. Kateri Tekakwitha's Day (Patron of ecologists, ecology, environment, environmentalism, environmentalists, exiles, people who have lost their parents, people ridiculed for their piety)

St. Stephen Harding's Day (Co-founder of Cistercian Order)

Thargelia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (two-day festival for the birthday of Apollon and Artemis; date approximate)

Toothbrush Appreciation Day -- think of what it would be like without one!

Tortoiseshell Cat Appreciation Day -- according to Catster Magazine  

Verrazano Day -- New York, US (Celebrates discovery of New York harbor by Giovanni Verrazano, Florentine navigator)

Women's Day -- Gabon

World Hemophilia Day

Birthdays Today:

Victoria Beckham, 1974

Jennifer Garner, 1972

Liz Phair, 1967

Lela Rochon, 1966

Norman Julius “Boomer” Esiason, 1961

Sean Bean, 1958

Olivia Hussey, 1951

Don Kirshner, 1934

Cynthia Ozick, 1928

Harry Reasoner, 1923

William Holden, 1918

Thornton Wilder, 1897

Nikita Krushchev, 1894

Adrian Constantine “Cap” Anson, 1852

J.P. Morgan, 1837

Samuel Chase, 1741

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Caveman(Film), 1981

"McCartney"(Album), 1970 (first solo album)

"No Time for Comedy"(Play), 1939

Today in History:

Geoffrey Chaucer tells his Canterbury Tales for the first time, at the court of Richard II, ten years to the day after the pilgrimage actually began, 1397

Christopher Columbus signs his contract with Spain to find the Indes, 1492

Martin Luther stands firm and refuses to recant before the Diet of Worms, 1521

Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in America, 1797

The first Sino-Japanese War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, 1895

A one day record 11,747 immigrants are processed at Ellis Island, 1907

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios is formed by the merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and the Louis B. Mayer Company, 1924

Cartoon characters Daffy Duck, Elmer J Fudd & Petunia Pig, debut, 1937

At midnight, 26 Irish counties officially break with the British Commonwealth and form the Republic of Ireland, 1949

The Bay of Pigs Invasion fiasco begins, 1961

Ford Motor Company unveils the Mustang, 1964

Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air, 1964

The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely, 1970

Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, 1982

The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly ends, 1986

NJ Devil Martin Brodeur becomes the 2nd NHL goalie to score in a playoff game, 1997

The 5th Summit of the Americas takes place in Port of Spain; Trinidad, thirty-four heads of government attend, 2005

An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, causes 15 deaths and major damage to nearby buildings, residences, a nursing home and middle school, 2013

Jazz composer and musician John Coltrane is awarded a posthumous Special Citation by the Pulitzer Prize board, 2015

A report from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital says that 10 children with SCID-X1 (Bubble Boy Disease) have been cured by gene therapy, 2019

The funeral of Prince Philip, Consort of Queen Elizabeth II, is held under Covid restrictions at Windsor Palace, 2021

Research of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch shows it now has coast creatures living and breeding in it, including jellyfish, sponges and worms, raising concerns about the spread of invasive species, 2023