I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Events and Celebrations

 NATIONAL CANCER SURVIVOR’S DAY is truly a celebration.  Patients who have battled against cancer and have not let that demon win, along with their loved ones, can truly be thankful and today is the day to celebrate that.  You deserve a day to honor your strength, perseverance, and fortitude.  Keep your spirits up and don’t let that disease win.

Today is also PENTECOST, which is celebrated by the Jewish People as the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of Weeks.  For Christians, it is the 50^th day after Easter and the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Christ as recorded in the book of Acts chapter 2.  This begins the ministry of the church.

For those who do not partake of animal flesh, we offer up NATIONAL VEGGIE BURGER DAY.  This phenom has gained momentum as you can get these substitute wannabes at the grocery store, fast food places and restaurants.  I do think it’s a great idea for those who don’t eat meat but still wanna get their burger on.

Lastly, we celebrate this dessert, treat and medicine all rolled into one.  NATIONAL GINGERBREAD DAY bakes up a storm with this sweetened bread made with molasses, honey and of course, ginger.  Around, 1000 AD, gingerbread was being used to help with indigestion.  Today, we have gingerbread cakes, cookies, houses and whatever else you want to build and decorate with this tasty stuff.

On this day…

1893 – The Orient Express departs for its maiden run

1956 – Elvis shocks us with his “Hound Dog” moves on the Milton Berle Show

1967 – The 6 Day War starts with Israel taking on Egypt, Jordan and Syria

1968 – Robert F. Kennedy is shot by Sirhan Sirhan

1981 – The first 5 cases of AIDS are reported by the CDC.  At first, they are diagnosed as a rare strain of pneumonia found in people with weakened immune systems

Happy Birthday to…

 Pancho Villa – 1878 – From bandit to general, he fought against Mexico and the U.S.

John Maynard Keynes – 1883 – Knew a little something about economics, unemployment and how they affected each other

Ruth Benedict – 1887 – Studied the Southwest Native Americans and had great interpretation skills

Bill Moyers – 1934 – From Press Secretary for President Lyndon Johnson to newsman extraordinaire

Richard Scarry – 1953 – Author of children’s books – most notably the “Busytown” series, which was filled with different characters including Lowly the Worm.  This worm was on every colorful page of every Busytown book and I was not allowed to turn that page until my son found it

Mark Wahlberg – 1971 – From Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch to bona fide actor – geez, it was hard to find a pic of this guy with his shirt on

Neil Patrick Harris – 1973 – Little Doogie Howser grew up

Enjoy the day and make it your own

Dearest Heavenly Father, thank you for this beautiful day and all of these wonderful people.  Watch over them, bless them and may they feel your loving presence.  I ask this in your name, Jesus, Amen.

Thank you to National Day Calendar; National Today; History.com; Britannica.com; Wikipedia;