07 shopping days remain until Christmas
352 days so far this year…13 days remain in 2009
***Provocative Quote***
"To laugh at men of sense is the privilege of fools." ~unknown
***Free Ramblings***
The holidays are approaching very quickly. The dentist put in my new cap, and I scheduled an appointment in January to get another. I also went to the tax man today. Not successful at all. The guy wasn’t there. I waited 45 minutes to see someone about how mad I was. Calls were made, my job is to relax and wait for them to call me back. I got home and filed a complaint regarding this situation. Of course, it took about an hour to find someone who would help me, but I think they know they really dropped the ball. I was told, that if I did owe taxes and/or penalties, HRBlock would pay the whole thing. So while I am tired of their run-arounds, things may work out better than I thought they would. My wait period is “a couple of days”. Great, they will probably call while I’m out of town. So taxes are now again, on the back burner, just simmering a while.
Funny, sad story: In one of my 800 calls I was transferred to a voice mail that said “Thank you for contacting blah, blah….we are not currently accepting calls. Please call back later.” Hmmm. I did get through to the local number today…the one that had a full mailbox for the last week. Today’s message was unbelievable. “Thank you for calling, blah, blah…our offices are closed. To make an appointment, please call 213-0095.” And then the call is ended by the machine. That would be great; except that IS the number I had just called. I don’t think this is what Henry and Richard had in mind when they started their tax business.
There is an interesting debate in the local paper. Last year the east side junction of Hwy 89 and I-40 was redesigned. The result is a huge catch basin just off 89. Locals decided it would be great for kids to use for sledding. The city council considered it. There is no parking in the residential area surrounding the site. There is no parking on the 4 lane highway either. They told the community it couldn’t be a snow sledding area. Then the city put up a fence so they couldn’t be held liable if someone got hurt, to prevent potential traffic accidents, and to ease the concerns of neighbors near this catch basin. Now young kids are writing letters to the paper complaining that it is a perfect spot to sled and the city should open it up. I can see the draw to the place. I blame the engineer who wasn’t able to see its winter potential and do a design that made it accessible or do a design that made it much less tempting. Oh that’s right, I live in a small town that has a hard time seeing beyond today.
Flagstaff dropped to a very cool 8° last night. We made it to 45° by this afternoon. The snow piles continue to melt. While there are clouds in the forecast, no snow is expected. This is good since I have several luncheons next week, and I will fly to the Windy City on Wednesday. Next big issue will be how to get to the local airport. It seems that the airport, which is about five miles from downtown and about 10 miles from my house, has limited parking. The newspaper is saying that the lot is full—not of traveler’s vehicles, but of people who park their for free during our snowy winter. Why they would park there is beyond me, but such is the case.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~± Quotes from Values.com—Helping Others
“When a person is down in the world, an ounce of help is better than a pound of preaching.”
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton (Novelist, Playwright, Politician)
± Unusual Newspaper Ads…
-Girl wanted to assist magician in cutting-off-head illusion. Blue Cross and salary.
-For Sale. Three canaries of undermined sex.
-Get rid of aunts: Zap does the job in 24 hours.
-Christmas sale. Handmade gifts for the hard-to-find person.
± Random Fact
Jimmy Hoffa's middle name is/was, appropriately, Riddle.
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§ December Month Long Observances
Birthstone: Blue Topaz…Flower of the Month: Narcissus
Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month + Hi Neighbor Month + National Write A Business Plan Month + National Tie Month + Rising Star Month + Safe Toys and Gifts Month + Spiritual Literacy Month + Stress Free Family Holiday Month + Universal Human Rights Month + Read A New Book Month+ World Aids Month
§ Week of 17 December
Saturnalia: Roman Festival of Tomfoolery (Dec 17th-23rd)
Chanukah (Hanukkah) (Dec 12th-19th)
Gluten-free Baking Week (Dec 12th-18th)
Halcyon Days (Dec 14th-28th)
§ 18 December Observances
International Migrants Day: to protect rights of all immigrants
Islamic New Year
National Roast A Suckling Pig Day
New Jersey: Ratification Day (1787)
-Niger: Republic Day (from France since 1958)
-Qatar: National Day (free from Bahrain since 1878)
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§ Holy Mackerel: on this day in 1912..The so called Piltdown Man thought to be the missing evolutionary link between ape and man is discovered in the Piltdown gravel pit in Sussex, England, by amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson. In 1953, at an international congress of paleontologists, the Piltdown Man was first openly called a fraud, and it has since been confirmed that it was indeed a fraud made up of skull parts from humans and an orangutan.
§ BIRTHS ON THIS DAY
~ The Arts
Christina Aguilera in 1980: singer
Tracy Byrd in 1966: country singer
Ossie Davis in 1917: actor/playwright
Betty (Ruth Elizabeth) Grable in 1916: Pinup; actress
Joseph Grimaldi in 1778: clown: ‘greatest clown in history’, ‘king of pantomime’: Joey the Clown
Katie Holmes in 1978: actress, Mrs. Tom Cruise
Leonard Maltin in 1950: movie critic
Brad Pitt in 1963: actor
Keith Richards in 1943: Rolling Stones
Saki (Hector Hugo Munro) in 1870: (Burma) author
Steven Spielberg in 1947: movie director
Kiefer Sutherland in 1966: actor
Casper Van Dien in 1968: actor
~Athletics
Don Beebe in 1964: NFL wide receiver (Packers-Superbowl XXXI)
Ty Cobb in 1886: Baseball batted .367, stole 892 bases (Tigers)
Hubie Green in 1946: PGA golfer
Charles Oakley in 1963: NBA: Bulls, Knicks
~Business, Education, Politics
Willy [Herbert Frahm] Brandt in 1913: German chancellor (Nobel 1971)
Robert Moses in 1888: power broker (built Long Island & NYC parks & roads)
~Science/Religion
Joseph John Thomson in 1856: (England) discovered electron (Nobel 1906)
Charles Wesley in 1707: co-founder of Methodist movement
§ In Remembrance~
John T "Legs" Diamond US gangster, murdered @ 35
Chris Farley comedian (SNL) heart attack/cocaine @ 33
Mark Goodson TV game show producer (Goodson-Toddman) @ 77
§ Historical Events on this day
1777…1st national Thanksgiving Day, commemorating Burgoyne's surrender
1787…New Jersey becomes 3rd state to ratify constitution
1839…1st celestial photograph (the moon) made in US by John Draper
1892…Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "Nutcracker Suite" premieres
1920…1st US postage stamps printed without the words United States or US
1936…Su-Lin, 1st giant panda to come to US from China, arrives in San Francisco
1956…"To Tell the Truth" debuts on CBS-TV
1957…The US first large scale civilian atomic power plant--in Pa.
1960…General Meeting of United Nations condemns Apartheid
1961…The Tokens’ “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (Wimoweh for the purists) is a #1 hit single.
1966…Dr Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" airs for 1st time on CBS
1976…"Wonder Woman" debuts on ABC
1980…Vietnam adopts constitution
1985…UN Security Council unanimously condemns "acts of hostage-taking"
1987…Union Carbide Corporation was ordered to pay out $270 million in temporary relief to Indian victims of the 1994 disastrous gas leak which took 2,000 lives.
1996…TV industry executives agree to adopt a ratings system
1996…The Oakland, California school board passes a resolution officially declaring "Ebonics" a language or dialect
1999…Environmental activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill came down after spending two years living in a 180-foot-tall, 600-year-old California Redwood tree nicknamed (LUNA) for 738 days to prevent loggers of the Pacific Lumber Company from cutting it down. She agreed to vacate the tree when the Pacific Lumber Company agreed to preserve Luna and all trees within a 3-acre buffer zone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~§ Rhyme & Reason
Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)
1. bad news, then the good (5,5):
2. spoil an even round at the links (3,3):
3. failure to point your toes after springing? (5,5):
4. percussionist one season per year (6,7)
5. 10 cent couplet (4,5):
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ANSWERS1. bad news, then the good (5,5): worst first
2. spoil an even round at the links (3,3): mar par
3. failure to point your toes after springing? (5,5): vault fault
4. percussionist one season per year (6,7) summer drummer
5. 10 cent couplet (4,5): dime rhyme
