Today is a special day!!! L.B. Strawn celebrates another birthday! He is a great poet, but you don't have to take my word for it, visit: http://hometown.aol.com/petezman1/lbpoems/lbpoetry.htm While there, why not sign the guestbook! We wish him the very best of days.
BIRTHDAYS: Mary Shelley (English author whose best-known work is FRANKENSTEIN), 1797; Roy Wilkins, 1901; Fred MacMurray, 1908; Virginia Lee Burton (children's author), 1909; Ted Williams, 1918; L. B. Strawn, 1925; Donald Crews (children's author and illustrator), 1938; Elizabeth Ashley, 1941; Jean-Claude Killy, 1943; Timothy Bottoms, 1951.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1631 the settlers in New England built the first American ship intended for commerce. Six shipwrights sent to Salem from England constructed the BLESSING OF THE BAY, a 30-ton sloop, for Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop. The ship was used for trade with the Dutch of New Amsterdam.
On this date in 1682 William Penn sailed from England to America to take over a tract of land -- Pennsylvania -- granted to him by the king.
On this date in 1780 General Benedict Arnold secretly promised to surrender the American fort at West Point, NY, to the British.
On this date in 1830 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad abandoned the horse-powered locomotive for trains powered by steam.
On this date in 1963 the "hotline" between the US and Moscow was placed into operation. There is no indication (officially) that the phones are 'red' (that is Hollywood stuff).
On this date in 1967 Thurgood Marshall took his seat on the US Supreme Court.
On this date in 1970 Abraham Zapruder, who filmed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, died.
On this date in 1983 Guion Bluford Jr. became the first black astronaut in space when he blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
On this date in 1984 the space shuttle DISCOVERY blasted off on its maiden voyage.
On this date in 1985 CBS announced that Phyllis George would no longer be appearing on the CBS Morning News. I don't remember why, though...
On this date in 1986, one week after Soviet physicist Gennadi Zakharov was arrested for spying in New York, American correspondent Nicholas Daniloff was arrested for spying in Moscow.
On this date in 1991 Mike Powell leaped 29 feet 4 1/2 inches to break the previous long-jump record of 29 feet 2 1/2 inches held by Bob Beamon.
MEANINGLESS FACTS: Henry James Pye (1745-1813) was poet laureate of England for twenty-three years -- solely for the reason that he composed a new sonnet for each birthday of King George III. His poetry is forgotten but his name lives on in the nursery rhyme composed by George Stevens:
And when the PIE was opened
The birds began to sing
And wasn't that a dainty dish
To put before a king.
...Miles Long of Hominy, Oklahoma -- claimant of the "longest" name in the United States (think about it)... The letter "Y" was invented by Palamedes, one of the heroes of the Trojah War. He copied its shape from the flight formation of cranes which he observed. Believe it, or not.
TRIVIA: Who (in the Bible) said, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump"?
Albert Schnitzler said, "Martyrdom has always been a proof of the intensity, never of the correctness of the belief." True, and I really, really, really mean it... Have a nice Thursday!
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Thanks to LBS:
*Near to the door*
*he paused to stand*
*as he took his class ring*
*off her hand*
*all who were watching*
*did not speak*
*as a silent tear*
*ran down his cheek*
*and through his mind*
*the memories ran*
*of the moments they walked*
*and ran in the sand (hand
and hand)*
*but now her eyes were so
terribly cold*
*for he would never again*
*have her to hold*
*they watched in silence*
*as he bent near*
*and whispered the words..*....
*"I LOVE YOU" in her ear*
*he touched her face and
started to cry*
*as he put on his ring and
wanted to die*
*and just then the wind began
to blow*
*as they lowered her casket*
*into the snow....*
*this is what happens*
*to man alive.....*
*when friends let friends....*
*drink and drive.*
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Thanks to LBS: The Silent Sermon
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The preacher found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preacher's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.
The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since
the initial greeting. The Preacher glanced at his watch and realized it
was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and
placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow,
once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the preacher reached the door
to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you
so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be
back in church next Sunday."
We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.
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Thanks to LBS: Quiz for people who think they know everything... (There are at lease two answers, with which I do not agree. Note the remark given with the questions. L.B.S.)
(1) There's one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it?
(2) What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?
(3) Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?
(I do not agree with this, for I have had tomatoes and Collards produce for two years, as long as it doesn't get below freezing. L.B.S.)
(4) Name the only sport in which the ball is always in possession of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without touching the ball?
(5) What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
(6) In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?
(7) Only three words in Standard
English begin with the letters dw. They are all common. Name two
of them. (Dweeb isn't one of them) (I take umbrage with the answer to this
one. I know of 12 words, some of which are another form of a word. L.B.S.)
(8) There are fourteen punctuation
marks in English grammar. Can you name half of them?
(9) Where are the lakes that are referred to in the Los Angeles Lakers?
(10) There are seven ways a baseball player can legally reach first base without getting a hit. Taking a base on balls-a walk-is one way. Name the other six.
(11) It's the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. What is it?
(12 Name six or more things that you can wear on your feet that begin with the letter s.
(Answers tomorrow).
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ANSWER: Paul said (wrote), "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." I Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9.
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Good Morning: It's Friday August 31, 2001!
SPECIAL ENON BIRTHDAY: Happy Birthday Chad White!!!
BIRTHDAYS: Michel Eugene Chevreul (French chemist who invented margarine), 1786; Maria Montessori (Italian educator), 1870; Fredric March, 1897; William Saroyan, 1908; Alan Jay Lerner, 1918; Buddy Hackett, 1924; James Coburn, 1928; Frank Robinson, 1935; Itzhak Perlman, 1945; Van Morrison (Irish singer and songwriter), 1945; Richard Gere, 1949; Edwin Moses, 1955; Debbie Gibson, 1970.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1814 Baltimore seamstress Mary Young Pickersgill and her 12-year-old daughter made the largest American flag ever -- 32 feet by 40 feet -- for Fort McHenry as a message of patriot determination to any British vessels planning to attack during the War of 1812. When the flag and fort survive a brutal bombardment on September 13, Francis Scott Key, looking on from afar, was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner."
On this date in 1881 the first men's tennis singles championships were held in Newport, R.I.
On this date in 1886 the first recorded major earthquake in U.S. history rocked Charleston, S.C. (it wasn't the first one to occur, just the first one to be recorded.)
On this date in 1887 Thomas Edison patented the kinetoscope. The kinetoscope was a device that allowed an individual to peer through a peephole to watch images that appeared to move. I think it goes by another name now...
On this date in 1903 a Packard automobile completed the first transcontinental car trip. It traveled from San Francisco, CA to New York City. It arrived on this date, after a 52-day drive! The car averaged 10 to 20 miles an hour.
On this date in 1947 the U.S. Investigating Committee recommended that Great Britain give up control of Palestine. Earlier the same year, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was made near Qumran.
On this date in 1954 Hurricane Carol hit New England, New York, and New Jersey, causing $500 million in damage.
On this date in 1963 Walter Cronkite began his 18-year stint as anchorman on the CBS evening news. In my opinion, they should bring him back...
On this date in 1964 the Bureau of the Census announced that California had surpassed New York as the most populous U.S. state.
On this date in 1980 Poland's Solidarity trade union was founded at the port city of Gdansk.
On this date in 1982 the first giant squid captured alive was taken near Bergen, Norway.
On this date in 1987, with the release of Michael Jackson's album, BAD (I thought it was appropriately titled also), CBS devoted a prime time special to the premiere of the 16-minute video of the title cut. Said one reviewer: "An embalmed-looking Jackson -- encased in buckles and sporting a new chin cleft in a face that seems no longer able to move -- plays a prep school student who comes home to the ghetto and proves he's still "bad" by grabbing his crotch a lot."
On this date in 1988 a radio station played a tape of Sen. Orrin Hatch calling the Democrats "the party of homosexuals." I am sure what he meant was that they are the party which vigorously supports the advancement of the causes of homosexuals... He is correct in that.
MEANINGLESS FACTS: Imperial etiquette required Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople (1217-1273) to take a whole day to sign his name. One half of the name was signed one day and the other exactly twenty-four hours later... Girls of the Khwa Tribe, Laos, Indochina, who reach the age of 12 without finding a husband are taken to a shallow stream and married to their reflection in the water. The marriage is valid till a real suitor shows up... Porichthys Notatus, a fish abounding from Puget Sound to Lower California, croons to its eggs while waiting for them to hatch. The melody produced in the air bladder can be distinctly heard above water. Believe it, or not.
TRIVIA: Who (in the Bible) used meal to counteract poison?
"Division has done more to hide Christ from the view of all men than all the infidelity that has ever been spoken" (George MacDonald, 1824-1905, Scottish novelist). Then let us unite upon the principles of the New Testament and speak as the oracles of God and be united. May your day be wonderful!
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Thanks to LBS: Answers to the quiz from yesterday --
1. Boxing.
2. Niagara Falls. The rim
is worn down about 2 and a half feet each year because of the millions
of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.
3. Asparagus and rhubarb.
4. Baseball.
5. Strawberry.
6. The pear grew inside the bottle.
The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired
in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the whole growing
season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.
7. Dwarf, dwell and dwindle.
8. Period, comma, colon, semicolon,
dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks,
brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.
9. In Minnesota. The team was originally
known as the Minneapolis Lakers and kept the name when they moved west.
10. Batter hit by a pitch; error;
catcher interference; catcher drops third strike; fielder's choice; and
being designated as a pinch runner.
11. Lettuce.
12. Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers,
slippers, skis, snowshoes, stockings.
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Thanks to PW: Old Junker
His beloved old white convertible was in deplorable shape, but he refused to get rid of it. So when the old junker was stolen from his office parking lot, his family was delighted. Nonetheless, they called the police and filed an insurance claim.
Their relief was short-lived, within an hour an officer was on the phone.
"We found the car less than a mile away," he said, trying to restrain himself. "It had a note on it that read, 'Thanks anyway, we'd rather walk.'"
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From a friend: ALL I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE I LEARNED FROM TREES
~ It's important to have roots.
~ If you really believe in something,
don't be afraid to go out on a limb.
~ Be flexible so you don't break
when a harsh wind blows.
~ Sometimes you have to shed your
old bark in order to grow.
~ You can't hide your true colors
as you approach the autumn of your life.
~ It's more important to be honest
than poplar.
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Thanks to JLH: School Days
Early one morning, a mother went
in to wake up her son. "Wake up, son. It's time to go to school!"
"But why, Mom? I don't want
to go."
"Give me two reasons why you don't
want to go."
"Well, the kids hate me for one,
and the teachers hate me, too!"
"Oh, that's no reason not to go
to school. Come on now and get ready."
"Give me two reasons why I should
go to school."
"Well, for one, you're 52 years
old. And for another, you're the principal!"
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ANSWER: Elisha used meal to counteract poison -- II Kings 4:40-41 "...And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot."
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