Sunday, July 4, 2010

Good Morning! Sunday July 4, 2010

Good morning! It is a beautiful morning! It's bright and clear, and will get to about 90ish today. A perfect lovely day for America's birthday celebration! :)
Yesterday was busy, though we didn't end up doing all that much. I took my grandson out to breakfast; then we took him and my friend to Smithfield. We had planned to stop by and recylce 3 bags full of cans .. but the place wasn't open. :( We went on to Lowe's and got stuff to fix chairs, to put up some shelves, to caulk around the tub, and the (hopefully last) piece to get my new pond filter up and running. Then we spent several hours browsing through a huge flea market (and telling my grandson NO you can't take home a kitten!! LOL!!). We ate barbeque sandwiches on the way home. Later, one more quick stop at the grocery store, and that was it. Meantime, there were 6 little boys in my den playing TV games. Yikes! LOL!
Today will be much quieter. I'll be doing laundry, putting up the new shelves (painted them last night), and hopefully find time for some reading, some sewing, and maybe even some baking. We're invited to a cook-out tonight, but it's some people that we don't know (son's girlfriend's family), so probably won't do that. I dearly love fireworks, so mostly hoping to just ride into town to watch. Or else will go to a friend's house and go with them ... just haven't decided yet. :)

Today is "Independence Day, USA" ... "Fourth of July" ... "Independence-From-Meat Day" ... "Indivisible Day" ... "International Drive Your Studebaker Day" ... "Anniversary - America the Beautiful (song) Published" ... "Anniversary - "American Top 40" (radio)" ... "Birthday - Koko the Gorilla" ... "Fil-American Friendship Day (Philippines)".

Quotes of the Day:
"If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."
-- Tallulah Bankhead

"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives."
-- Abba Eban

Today in history:
In 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming U.S. independence from Britain.

In 1817, construction began on the Erie Canal.

In 1826, in one of history's notable coincidences, former U.S. Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

In 1895, the poem "America the Beautiful," by Wellesley College Professor Katherine Lee Bates, was published.

In 1914, director D.W. Griffith began filming his controversial film "Birth of a Nation," which introduced important new filmmaking techniques and influenced many other directors.

In 1986, more than 250 sailing ships and the United States' biggest fireworks display honored the Statue of Liberty in its 100th birthday year.

In 1997, NASA's Pathfinder landed on Mars to become the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the planet in more than two decades.

In 2005, NASA's "Deep Impact" spacecraft wound up an 85 million-mile journey by intentionally slamming into the Tempel 1 comet to learn more about comets and other aspects of the solar system.

In 2006, the first U.S. space shuttle flight in almost a year began when the Discovery was launched from the space center at Cape Canaveral.

In 2007, the Russian resort city of Sochi was selected to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, marking the first time the country has been the site of the Winter Games.

Today's birthdays include
- Author Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1804
- Songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susannah," "Beautiful Dreamer") in 1826
- Circus operator James Bailey (Barnum and Bailey) in 1847
- Calvin Coolidge, 30th president of the United States, in 1872
- Innovative cartoonist Rube Goldberg in 1883
- Louis B. Mayer, film mogul and co-founder of MGM, in 1885
- Actor/politician George Murphy in 1902
- Conductor Mitch Miller in 1911
- Ann Landers, advice columnist, in 1918
- Abigail Van Buren, advice columnist, Ann Landers' twin, in 1918
- Former hotel executive Leona Helmsley in 1920
- Actress Eva Marie Saint in 1924
- Playwright Neil Simon in 1927
- Actress Gina Lollobrigida in 1927
- Al Davis, Oakland Raiders owner, in 1929
- New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in 1930
- TV reporter Geraldo Rivera in 1943
- Tennis player Pam Shriver in 1962

Everyone have a Great Sunday!

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