Tuesday

♣ 9 March 2010--Week 10 of 2010: 68 days this year…297 remain ♣
♣ Two Quotes to think about…Today ♣
"If you always postpone pleasure you will never have it."
~fortune cookie
“The wise person understands that his own happiness must include the happiness of others.”
~Dennis Weaver: (1924-2006); Actor
♣ Free Ramblings ♣
We didn’t get a lot of snow overnight, and the roads were clear and fairly dry when I set out on some errands. I’ve learned that Monday is not usually the best day to run errands. First the stores are empty..a good thing, but so are the shelves..a bad thing. Second, the lack of traffic in the stores also means fewer cashiers, so lines are not unusual. Today seemed to be a ‘training day’ at a couple of the stores, with the limited cashiers not real sure how to use the scanner or the cash register. I am always saddened when I see a customer in front of me not able to pay for all the stuff that they bought. It seems to me if you have twenty dollars in your wallet; you know that you can’t buy all that stuff. Then there is always the ‘take this back’ thing. Today it was a young lady with a small child. Unfortunately she was not a math wiz. The exchange of items took some time, as she took off one thing, and it wasn’t enough, then another and that was too much, so she put the first item back in and paid her $19.65 bill and left. Had this been a grocery store, I might have stepped up and helped, but it wasn’t, and none of the items seemed to be ‘essentials’. Next errand trip may wait until Tuesday, since it isn’t very busy, and the shelves have been replenished after the weekend.

The weather guy says to get ready for more snow. Tonight they had a college student weatherman on the local channel. He did a good job as a first timer. Turns out that yesterday’s storm—the one with the big flakes—actually dropped 7.3” of snow. Not being a meteorologist I will have to take his word for that. I do understand the concept of a rain gauge—on a pole, away from buildings and trees. I guess I don’t get the concept of snow gauge. If the snow is falling, and melting as soon as it hits the ground, doesn’t it melt in the gauge too? Is the gauge some very cold tube, kept cold by dry ice so that the falling snow doesn’t melt right away? Doesn’t really matter I guess. As our snowfall depth rises with each storm, it lets people around the country learn that Arizona is a lot more than cactus and desert. I have heard many a traveler, foreign and domestic, who came to Arizona in the winter with shorts and T-shirts and decided that it would be an adventure to visit the Grand Canyon, only to find cold temperatures and snow in the canyon. We were only 36° today, and last night only dropped to 26°.

Thankfully our primary local election ends tomorrow. The candidates are already planning their victory celebrations. The school district is hoping for its override. No matter how these elections turn out, the sun will still rise on Wednesday, the problems of Monday will still be here, and we certainly will continue to hear from the candidates and the school district—no matter what happens. I’m just hoping for a huge turnout and some real definitive results that will wake up our sleepy mountain town politicians and district bureaucrats. No matter what happens with the override, I want a 70-30 vote or better. That will show that our town is somewhat aware of what is happening. For the council seats, I hope that the candidates that make it to the general election have huge wins. I am tired of elections where a percentage point or two makes the difference in winning or losing.
♣Random Fact: ♣
The first living creature ever ejected from a supersonic aircraft was a bear in 1962. It was parachuted from 35,000 feet to a safe landing on earth.
♣Side Show Stories—♣
CANTERBURY, England - British police said a kick from a man in a gorilla suit helped police catch a suspect fleeing from a fight at a supermarket. Canterbury police said a 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and resisting arrest -- with the help of Andy Ingham, 30, who was dressed in a gorilla suit on a street corner Feb. 18 to promote his gym, Fit4Less, to commuters, Kentnews.co.uk reported. "Obviously I had the gorilla suit on and had my hands full of bags as well," Ingham said. "The policewoman ran up the bridge and there was this guy running over the bridge. "The police officer tried to arrest him, at which point he tried to resist -- he grabbed her and slammed her into the side of the bridge," Ingham said. "Then the man started running towards us and the police officer shouted 'assistance please!'" Ingham delivered a kick to the suspect's legs that did not take the man down, but slowed him enough for police to catch up and arrest him. Police said they are appealing to the public for information about the Feb. 18 fight at Tesco supermarket.
♣ Puzzle ♣
Word Boxes are like miniature crossword puzzles, except that each word is filled in across AND down the grid. That is, the answer to 1 across is the same word as the answer to 1 down; 2 across is the same as 2 down; etc. Can you solve these Word Boxes? To solve: draw a square that has 5 X 5 sections.
1 media anthology (HINT: A - - - -)
2 apartment security (HINT: - E - - -)
3 dull (HINT: - - N - -)
4 treatment (HINT: - - - G -)
5 hand-to-hand fight (HINT: - - - - E)
♣ Calendar Information ♣
• March’s Month Long Observances •
BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)
National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month
• Observance Weeks in March•
6-21 •Iditarod Race
7-13 •Celebrate Your Name Week:
       •National Consumer Protection Week
       •National Words Matter Week
       •Save Your Vision Week
       •Telecommuter Appreciation Week
       •National Professional Pet Sitters Week
       •Read an E-Book Week
       •Teen Tech Week
8-12:Make A Referral Week
        •National Sleep Awareness Week
        •National School Breakfast Week
8-14: Universal Women's Week
• 9 March Observances—US/UN/World •
Barbie Day
Get Over It Day
Joe Franklin Day (1st to have ‘talk show’ on radio—1950)
Organize Your Home Office Day
Panic Day (the one day a year where we can all panic together)
Unique Names Day
•9 March Observances—by country •
Belize : Baron Bliss Day (a Portuguese yachtsman who left $2mil to Belize in 1926)
Lebanon:Teacher's Day or Eid Al Moalim
Ukraine : Taras Shevchenko (Ukrainian poet) Day ( born today in 1814)
Amerigo Vespucci Day (1451)
♣ Number One Songs in…
1948 •I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover - The Art Moonie Orchestra
1956 •Why Do Fools Fall in Love - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
1964 •I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
1972 •Without You – Nilsson
1980•Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
• Holy Mackerel: 1954 •This was the day that critics called “TV’s coming of age.” Edward R. Murrow presented his report on the controversial Wisconsin Senator, Joseph R. McCarthy.
• Born on this day •
     …The Arts
Authors, Artists and Composers
Mickey [Frank Morrison] Spillane, 1918, mystery writer
Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV
Carl Betz, 1920, actor (Alex Stone-Donna Reed Show)
Juliette Binoche, 46, actress (Oscar for The English Patient; Chocolat)
Eddie (Edwin Fitzgerald) Foy Sr. , 1856, actor, comic, dancer
Charles Gibson, 67, TV news host
Mickey Gilley, 74, singer, musician (Urban Cowboy)
Will Greer, 1902, actor (Grandpa Walton-The Waltons)
Marty Ingels, 74, actor comedian
Glenda Jackson, 74, (England), actress
Raul Julia , 1940 , (Puerto Rico), actor (Addams Family-movie)
Emmanuel Lewis, 39, actor (“Webster”)
Mark Lindsay , 68 , rocker (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
Keely Smith (Dorothy Jacqueline Keely), 76 , singer: That Old Black Magic
     …Athletes
Jackie (Jack Eugene) Jensen, 1927 ,baseball: Yankees, Senators, Red Sox
Danny Sullivan , 50 , Indy-car racer
     …Business, Education
Barbie, 51, doll (Mattel)
Amerigo Vespucci, 1454, explorer
Margaret Murray Washington, 1865, wife of Booker T/head (NACW 1896..1918)
     …Politics
--
     …Science/Religion
Bobby Fischer , 1943 , US, world chess champion
Yuri Gagarin , 1934, cosmonaut, 1st man into space
George Hayward, 1791, surgeon, 1st to use ether
•Today’s Obits •
Oskar Hêks, 1943, Czechoslovakian marathon runner/antifascist, in Auschwitz @ 36
Howard Engstrom, 1962, a designer of Univac computer, dies at 59
Richard Crane, 1969, actor (Surfside 6), heart attack @ 50
Fernando Rey, 1994, Spanish actor (French Connection), cancer @ 76
Lawrence E Spivak, 1994, journalist (Meet the Press), @ 93
Notorius B I G [Biggie Small Chris Walkin], 1997, rapper, shot @ 24
•What Happened on this Day •
     …The Arts
--
     …Athletics
1979 •Bowie Kuhn orders baseball to give equal access to female reporters
     …Business, Education
--
     …Politics
1562 •Kissing in public banned in Naples (punishable by death)
1841 •US Supreme Court rules Negroes are free (Amistad Incident)
1862 •"Monitor" (Union) & "Merrimack" (Rebel) battle in Hampton Roads
1916 •General Fransisco "Pancho" Villa leads Mexican band raid on Columbus NM
1942 •Construction of the Alaska Highway began
1983 •Zimbabwe opposition leader Joshua Nkomo flees to Botswana
     …Science/Religion
1497 •Nicolaus Copernicus 1st recorded astronomical observation
1907 •1st involuntary sterilization law enacted, Indiana
1961 •1st animal returned from space, dog named Blackie aboard Sputnik 9
♣ANSWERS to puzzle ♣
ALBUM
LEASE
BANAL
USAGE
MELEE
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