3 May

 

 
Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 19 Day: 123 \ Ave. sky cover: 5% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 70° \39° 
Wind: 11mph \ Gusts: 17mph
Extreme risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 12mi \ nearest Lightning: 629mi
May Averages for Flagstaff: 68° \ 34°  (3 days of moisture)

Today’s Quote

Monthly Observations

Family Reunion Month  (Between Mother's Day and Father's Day)
Family Wellness Month
Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month
Food Allergy Action Month
Freedom Shrine Month Link
Gardening for Wildlife Month
Get Caught Reading Month
Gifts From The Garden Month
Global Civility Awareness Month
Global Health and Fitness Month Link
Go Fetch! Food Drive for Homeless Animals Month 
Haitian Heritage Month
Heal the Children Month
Healthy Vision Month
Home Schooling Awareness Month

Weekly Observations

May 1-7   Spring Astronomy Week  Be Kind To Animals Week  Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week  Link  Drinking Water Week  Link  Flexible Work Arrangement Week  Geek Week  Link  (First Week) Goodwill Industries Week   Hurricane Preparedness Week   Link International Clitoris Awareness Week    National Alcohol & Drug Related Birth Defects Awareness Week  National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week National Correctional Officer's Week    National Family Week     National Hug Holiday Week National Root Canal Appreciation Week  Link   National Small Business Week National Tourism Week Link   North American Occupational Safety & Health Week   Link Public Service Recognition Week   Link National Pet Week  Link Update Your References Week

2-6  Air Quality Awareness Week: Link  Construction Safety Week  Link National Safety Stand Down Week (Constuction Falls) Link PTA Teacher Appreciation Week Teacher Appreciation Week

2-8    Children's Book Week Link  (Also Nov. 7-13) National Sun Safety Week Link Peripheral Neuropathy Awareness Week  Link National Wildflower Week  Screen-Free Week (Digital Detox Week) Link

3-11  (World) Dystonia Awareness Week Link

 

Daily Observations

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A nice Monday with only one weather warning. Nice!

In my younger years, one favorite was The Lone Ranger. I just learned that Jay Silverheels, Tonto as I knew him, was the first Native American to star in a movie or TV show. I did know he was a full blood Mohawk from Canada and that he was born Harold Smith.

My reminiscence of May Day prompted a reader, a colleague from my early BIA days, to share two fascinating May Day memories. Very cool.

By this morning, the Tunnel Fire was 95% contained. Great News. The Flagstaff Fire Dept had to put out 3 small brush fires within the city limits on Sunday. They also found 6 abandoned illegal campfires. Humans can be so careless. Flagstaff announced Stage 1 fire restrictions: Sale or use of fireworks prohibited; Charcoal or wood fire grills prohibited, expect at private residences; smoking and electronic cigarettes prohibited in public spaces within the city.

NPR did a story on the devastation of the 25+ year drought has had on our local pinyon trees. First, years ago, it was bark beetles who thrive on pinyon needing water. They eventually kill the trees they are munching on. Now, all those dead trees…thousands of them, are fuel in our forest. Until precipitation ends this drought, more dead trees and more fires are in our forest’s future.

Favorite Memes

 

Myths that are not true

Eating carrots improves night vision

Carrots contain vitamin A, which is an important vitamin for eye health, but they will not actual increase visual acuity.

We lose most of our body heat through our head

If your parents ever told you that you needed to wear a hat every time you went outside in the winter to prevent excess body heat from escaping, they were misinformed.

Milk builds strong bones

Studies that have attempted to back up this claim have either had inconclusive results or have shown the exact opposite.

Country Names

Ethiopia

It was the Greeks who named this country "Aithiops," meaning "Land of Burnt Faces."

Greece

Greece's name literally translates to "Land of the Ionians."

Historical Events

Ø    1802 – Washington, District of Columbia. was incorporated as a city.

Ø    1901 – The Great Fire of 1901 began in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ø    1937 – Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Ø    1948 – CBS Evening News premiered with a 15-minute broadcast.

Ø    1952 – The Kentucky Derby was televised nationally for the first time, on CBS.

Ø    1952 – Flying US Air Force C-47, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher, and Lieutenant Colonel William P. Benedict became the first to land a plane on the North Pole.

Ø    1960 – The Anne Frank House Museum opened in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Ø    1971 – National Public Radio began broadcasting

Ø    1977 – British journalist David Frost interviewed former President Richard Nixon.

Ø    1979 – Margaret Thatcher won the United Kingdom general election, becoming the first female British Prime Minister the following day.

Ø    1980 – 13-year-old Cari Lightner of Fair Oaks, California, was hit and killed by a drunk driver. Her mother, Candy Lightner, later founded the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

Ø    1986 – 54-year-old Willie Shoemaker, riding 18:1shot Ferdinand, becamethe oldest jockey ever to win the Kentucky Derby.

Ø    1999 – The Dow Jones topped 11,000 for the first time.

Ø    2003 – New Hampshire’s famous Old Man of the Mountain collapsed.

Ø  2007 – Nearly 4-year-old Madeleine McCann of Rothley, England, disappeared during a family vacation at a resort in southern Portugal.

Birthdays Today

@94 – Dodie Smith, English author and playwright [101 Dalmatians] (d. 1990)

@94 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2014)

@80 – Golda Meir, Ukrainian-Israeli educator, 4th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1978)

88 – Frankie Vallie, singer

87 – Ron Popeil, American businessman, founded the Ronco Company

@74 – Bing Crosby, American singer, actor (d 1977; heart attack playing golf)

@73 – James Brown, Soul singer and actor (d. 2006; heart failure)

@67 – Sugar Ray Robinson [Walker Smith Jr.], American boxer (d. 1989; Alzheimer’s)

@52 – Doug Henning, Canadian magician (d. 2000; liver cancer)

47 – Dule Hill, TV actor