April 3, 2016 Ridley's Believe It Or Not American Circus Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For April 3, 2016. Only 292 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term but if a North Carolina or Villanova fan, yesterday was a great day and conversely if a Sooner or Syracuse fan yesterday was a disaster. The women’s semifinals featuring the unbeatable Huskies from UConn and two teams from the Pac 12 are playing today. Great political theater as Trump out of character came as close to an apology as his narcissistic ego would allow by stating he regretted the photo of Cruz’s wife compared to his really attractive wife; further theater in his grumblings that he may run as a third party candidate because the RNC is not treating him “fairly.” Not to be outdone in the theater arena the Clinton and Sanders campaign are like spoiled children arguing over debate dates after Clinton proposed April 4, the day of the NCAA men’s final to insure that no one would watch the debate.  As always, I hope  you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, music links to Percy Faith and Doris Day (2), factoids of interest, a  relevant quote from Steven Spielberg while looking forward to enjoying a large serving of chocolate mousse, blessed with a positive attitude and  secure in  the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like birthdays, weddings, or  anniversaries, 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. American Circus Day—celebrating the introduction of the circus to America on this day in 1793 in Philadelphia by John Bill Rickets; even with the disappearance of elephants from the big top, a circus is a great family entertainment venue.

2. World Party Day—first celebrated on this day in 1996 with the slogan that “Party is the opposite of war.” In the same way it is hard to find fault with someone with whom you are sharing a meal with; it is also difficult to wage war with someone with whom you are partying with.                        

3. 1960 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1960 on a long run of nine weeks in that position Theme From ‘A Summer Place’ by Percy Faith. Here is a link to Percy Faith performing Theme From ‘A Summer Place’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSsiS-v6_6M

4. National Chocolate Mousse Day—celebrating especially if you are a chocoholic the epitome of a really great dessert.    

5. A Great Day Seems To Last Forever—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1924 of Doris Kappelhoff better known to her fans as Doris Day who turns 92 today and who has in the UK the distinction of being the oldest singer at 89 to have released an album that made it to the top ten. From her first record Sentimental Journey released in 1939 to her 29^th album My Heart she has had an incredible singing and acting career. Here are links to Sentimental Journey and My Heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDFH8jzuHMw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jykW6d6ATc0

On this day in:

a. 1860 the first run of the short lived Pony Express commenced at St. Joseph, Missouri enroute to Sacramento, California, arriving some ten days later.       

b. 1936 Bruno Hauptmann was hanged for the kidnapping and death of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., the baby son of Charles Lindbergh.          

c. 1948 President Harry Truman signed legislation authorizing $5 billion in aid to Europe in what became known as the Marshall Plan.  

d. 1973 to the distress of future diners wanting to enjoy a quiet meal at a restaurant, Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs; it would take ten years before the DynaTAC 8000X became the first such mobile phone to be commercially released.      

e. 1981 the Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, was introduced at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco at a price of $1795 (almost $5,000 in today’s dollars). Its small screen of 5 inches, little memory, weight of almost 24 pounds and competitors offering larger screens, more memory and lighter weight doomed Osborne Computer Corporation and the company went bankrupt in 1983—proves the adage that all fame is fleeting.   

Reflections on the cell phone which appeared in increasing numbers in the early 80’s: “Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we're too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back

to the office on the cell phone.” Steven Spielberg 

Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day In History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day In History.          

© April 3, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
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