Here we are – already the 1st of June. School is already out in some parts of the country, and others are getting out from now through about mid-month. It’s funny, when I was a kid it seemed like the school year lasted forever, summer felt like a really long time, and now? It seems like the school year just started and if you blink summer has passed by so quickly we didn’t get a chance to experience any of it. Make the most of it since it truly will be gone before you know it!
Verse of the Day
June 1, 2018
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of thing has passed away.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of ready for that old order stuff to go away. The end of tears, death, mourning, crying and pain sounds pretty good to me! No wonder the early Christians would say, “Marantha. Come Lord Jesus!” They couldn’t wait.
ww.verseoftheday.com
Food for Thought
No matter how difficult families can be sometimes, the basic truth for most families is that they love each other. They may be angry, their feelings may be hurt, but underneath of it all, the love is still there. Wounds do heal, though they leave scars, but sometimes these things can build stronger relationships in the end.
Dare Day – Are you a dare devil? I am the first to say that I am NOT! I never liked playing truth or dare when I was a kid because the questions were usually embarrassing, and the dares were just too much for me to deal with. As an adult, I like to plan each day – and though a little spontaneity is nice, doing something daring usually makes my insides all tight and nervous. It isn’t a bad thing to take on a challenge though, a dare to yourself that pushes you to do something outside of your comfort zone. Today is a call to action for dare devils and the not-so dare devils a like. If there is something you have been thinking about trying, no matter what it is, and have been hesitating, maybe today would be a good day to stop procrastinating and go for it! What is a dare? A dare can be almost limitless in what it is, because they take all shapes and forms. It could be a prank, a challenge to get something done, or a personal action – like asking someone out (IF YOU ARE SINGLE!) that you’ve been wishing to get to know better. Make sure that whatever dare you take on, it is safe, and of course, legal. Now – remember that is someone challenges you to a dare, and they’ve taken it to the maximum challenge level . . . perhaps to the “double dog dare” stage, or even the highest degree of challenge – the “triple dog dare”. . . it shouldn’t be taken lightly or frequently, and remember – make sure it is safe.
*** The Triple Dog Dare always reminds me of that scene is A Christmas Story where Ralphie’s friend Flick was triple dog dared to stick his tongue on the frozen flag pole. I giggle every time I think about it! Some dares just stick with you! hahahaha
Flip a Coin Day – You ever have one of those days when you just can’t make up your mind about what to do about something? Well, that’s the day to flip a coin to decide! This tradition goes back to Julius Caesar. Caesar would take a coin and flip it to make decisions where the right choice wasn’t clear to him. The correct answer was “heads”, which of course was his own picture on the coin. Just for giggles, find something to flip a coin over today.
Heimlich Maneuver Day – Today is Heimlich Maneuver Day. This maneuver was created by American physician Henry Heimlich in 1974, and it has since been made the standard practice for helping choking victims by the American Red Cross. It isn’t just for choking though. The Maneuver is also used commonly on drowning victims before performing CPR. I was fascinated to read last year that Heimlich himself had never had the opportunity to use his own maneuver in a real life and death situation until he was age 96. An 87 year old lady in the senior community where he lives was choking on a piece of meat and he saved her life! How awesome is that? I’m sure we’ve all seen educational videos, or taken a first aid class, that showed us how to perform this technique, but if you haven’t learned it, please watch this video and learn. You could need it to save a life someday. Here’s also a video for Heimlich for dogs! Good to know!
Leave the Office Early Day – This day was created not to cause problems in the work place, but for those people who may have flex time at their offices who can figure out ways to be more productive and possibly leave the office early to enjoy a little more of the afternoon. For some people, this can be a good thing, for others . . . not so much. It’s more an exercise in good time management than anything else. So, if your boss is OK with it, see if you can organize your time in such a way as to give yourself some free space to leave early in the day!
Mike the Headless Chicken Day – Usually this one is celebrated on the 3rd weekend in May, but for some reason it wasn’t on any of the calendars until today. Maybe the town had weather related issues or something. Alright, this one has had me scratching my head (sorry Mike – no insult intended) every single year, and I had to do quite a bit of looking before I found out what it was all about that first time. There were plenty of references to the day, and events ABOUT it, but not what got it started in the first place. Is this story believable? I’ll let you decide for yourself, and at the end, let you know what I think . . .As legend has it, on September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, CO was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken for her to prepare for dinner, as her mother was coming to visit. Olsen chose a 5-1/2 month old Wyandotte rooster named Mike (also known as Miracle Mike). The axe missed the jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact. In spite of Farmer Olsen’s lousy aim, Mike was able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily around. He even attempted to preen and crow, though he could do neither. When Mike didn’t die, a surprised Olsen decided to continue caring for him permanently, feeding him a mixture of milk and water with an eyedropper directly into his throat. He was also able to be fed small grains of corn in this way. Once Mike got used to his new and very unusual center of mass, he could get himself to the highest perches without falling. His crowing though, consisted of a gurgling sound he made in his throat, though he did give it a valiant attempt each morning at dawn. He spent a great deal of time preening and attempting to peck for food with his neck. Because everyone thought this was a big hoax, Olsen took Mike to the University of Utah to have him studied and to establish the truth of the story. Mike’s fame was now established and he began a career of touring sideshows, accompanied by such other creatures as the two-headed calf. He was photographed for dozens of magazines and papers, featured in Time and Life magazines. He was on display to the public for an admission cost of twenty-five cents. At the height of his popularity Miracle Mike earned about $4,500 per month ($48,000 in 2010 dollars!) and was valued at $10,000. Farmer Olsen’s success resulted in a wave of copycat chicken beheading, but no other chicken lived for more than a day or two (that’s AWFUL!) In March of 1947, in a motel in Phoenix, on a stopover while traveling back home from a tour, Mike started choking in the middle of the night. The Olsen’s had accidentally left their feeding and cleaning syringes at the sideshow the day before, and they were unable to save Mike. Olsen claimed he had sold the bird, resulting in stories that Mike was still touring the country as late as 1949. Other sources said that the chicken’s severed trachea could not take in enough air to breathe properly and therefore choked to death in the motel. So, how could this have happened – and is it actually possible? Well, post mortem it was determined that the axe had missed the carotid artery, and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Though most of his head was severed, most of his brain stem and one ear were left on his body. Since basic functions like breathing, heart-rate, and reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem in a chicken, Mike was able to remain quite healthy. Today Mike the Headless Chicken is an institution in Fruita, CO, with an annual “Mike the Headless Chicken Day”, which is the 3rd weekend in May, starting in 1999. Events held include the “5K Run Like A Headless Chicken Race”, egg toss, “Pin the Head on the Chicken”, the “Chicken Cluck-Off” and “Chicken Bingo”, in which chicken droppings on a numbered grid choose the numbers. (OK, now that’s just gross). hahaha I just read also that in a “cheep” bid for attention, the city of Fruita had announced that Mike the Headless Chicken would be running in the 2012 elections as a write-in candidate. Too bad he didn’t win! Soooo, do we believe this story? I call fowl.
National Go Barefoot Day – Ahhhh, just kick off your shoes and stretch your toes. Every day we have our feet stuffed into our hot shoes, so we should embrace the beginning of summer by going barefoot today – well for the time you are home anyway! This day was first launched by a non-profit organization called Soles4Souls. The real purpose behind the day was to encourage people to donate new and used (in good condition) shoes to the victims of natural disasters. Take a moment and do a little spring cleaning to give away the gently worn shoes you rarely wear or no longer need. You could even organize a shoe drive in your neighborhood or community. Other ways to celebrate? Take a barefoot walk on the beach, in freshly cut grass, or go treat yourself to a pedicure! Now there’s a great way to celebrate! You’ll have to enjoy this one on my behalf. Ever since I got plantar fasciitis, I haven’t been able to go barefoot. I miss it, but it hurts too much to go without proper support for my feet. Maybe the next time we go to the beach I can go barefoot in the sand for a little bit. That would be nice.
Oscar the Grouch Day – Anyone who has ever had children, or perhaps those of us who have been children during the lifetime of the TV show Sesame Street, know who Oscar the Grouch is. For those of you who have been deprived of the joy of watching the show, Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet Character on the kids program Sesame Street. During his first season with the show he was orange, but in later shows Oscar had a green body, no visible nose, and he lives in a trash can. His very favorite thing in this world is garbage, and there was even a song he sang called “I Love Trash”! One of the running themes for his character is that he was a compulsive hoarder of things that were useless. The Grouch also is a good description of how he gets along with other characters on the show. His birthday is on June 1st, so today we celebrate this iconic character that has been so dear to so many children everywhere.
This Day in History –
1813 – The term “Don’t give up the ship!’ is coined by Captain James Lawrence, U.S. Chesapeake.
1843 – Snow falls in Buffalo and Rochester, NY, Cleveland, Ohio and other places.
1938 – Superman Comic is published.
1971 – Ed Sullivan’s final show.
Food Celebration of the Day –
Doughnut Day – This day honors the Salvation Army “Lassies” of WWI. It is also a fund raiser for the needy causes of the Salvation Army. The original Salvation Army Doughnut was served by the Salvation Army in 1917. During WWI the Salvation Army “lassies” were sent to the front lines of Europe. These brave volunteers made home cooked foods that provided a morale boost to the troops. Often, the doughnuts were cooked in oil inside the metal helmet of an American soldier. The American infantrymen were commonly called doughboys. The Salvation Army lassies were the only women that weren’t military personnel allowed to visit the front lines. Lt. Colonel Helen Purviance was the Salvation Army’s first “doughnut girl”. Today see if your local doughnut shop, or other organizations, are offering free donuts to solicit donations for the Salvation Army, or for another needy cause. If you can find one, please be generous. By the way, the original word “doughnut” is often shortened to “donut”. If you see the term National Donut Day, it’s the same day. Do you know why donuts have holes? They only cook properly with hollow centers – if they didn’t have the holes then the outside will burn while the middle stays doughy.
Horseradish Day – July is Horseradish Month, but for some reason this weekend is International Horseradish Days. I couldn’t find anything listed about it except that this is the weekend, and a few recipes. I was really more interested in why, and who started it. Without this information, I don’t have much to share with you about it. I do know that horseradish doesn’t only make a great, spicy condiment, it’s an amazing herbal remedy too. If you do a search here on the blog for “health” you can find my horseradish recipe to help with sinus infections. It’s a recipe that was given to me years ago by my herbalist. It’s one I use often in the fall and winter for sinus and upper respiratory issues – it works EVERY time!
Enjoy your weekend and the start of the new month and I think I’ll do the same. This weekend is about rest, relaxation, continuing the healing process and forgetting the woes from this past week – at least for a couple of days. God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.
Celebration lists and information are sourced from the following websites:
www.brownielocks.com; www.holidayinsights.com; www.thenibble.com; www.foodimentary.com and www.verseoftheday.com