Ridley's Believe It Or Not January 17 History National Hot Buttered Rum Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 17, 2015:    Trust your weekend is off to a good start and you are still following at least a few of your 2015 resolutions. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and quotes from Benjamin Franklin,  with a smile on your face, enjoying a hot buttered rum, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient.  You need only contact me for details.

       1. Cable Car Day—celebrating yet another reason to spend money in San Francisco a ride on a cable car.

        2. Kids’ Inventions Day—celebrating the axiom that you are never too young to invent as personified by Benjamin Franklin, a noted polymath born on this day in 1706,who at 12 invented swim  flippers.                                                                             3. 1986 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1986 That’s What Friends Are For by Dionne and Friends, group led by music legend Dionne Warwick.                                                                                           

        4. National Hot Buttered Rum Day—celebrating a hot drink perfect for a cold day or as a remedy for a bad cold—honey, lemon juice and rum (if it doesn’t cure the cold at least there it will help the suffering sleep easier.
        5. Junk Food Is Not Hazardous To Your Health Day—celebrating not the birthday of the crusader against junk food Michelle Obama (51) but rather the iconic TV actress Betty White still working and  born on this day in 1922 who loves French fries, Red Vines and hot dogs.  
On this day in
      a. 1917 the U.S. paid Denmark $25 million to purchase the Virgin Islands to the joy of future cruise ship passengers.
      b. 1961 in his farewell address to the nation, Dwight Eisenhower warned of the growth of the “military-industrial complex” and the growth of deficit spending, warnings that with respect to deficit spending have fallen of deaf ears as the national debt at that time was a mere $287 billion as opposed to over $18 trillion today and when Obama finally leaves office will probably top $20 trillion—mind boggling!
       c. 1966 in an oops moment a B-52 collided in mid air with a KC 135 Stratotanker killing 7 airmen and dropping three 70 kiloton nuclear bombs near the Spanish town of Palomares and one into the water. Fortunately, none of the weapons detonated and all were recovered.
       d. 1994 at 4:30:55 in the morning Northridge was hit by a massive twenty second lasting 6.7 earthquake which killed 57, injured 5,000 and caused over $20 billion in damages.
       e. 1998 Matt Drudge in his blog the Drudge Report revealed the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton scandal; hopefully, if his wife runs for President and is elected he has since 1998 learned to control his little brain and not try to seduce young female interns.
Reflections on life by Benjamin Franklin: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.”
“Many people die at twenty-five but are not buried until they are seventy-five.”
“Well done is better than well said.” Definitely applicable to our current president, especially when it comes to the War on Terror.
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© January 17, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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