Ridley’s Believe It Or
Not For August 28, 2017 Harvey
continues to cause massive flooding throughout Houston and now threatens dams
in the area (New Orleans survived the initial onslaught of Katrina only to have
the levees fail and submerge large parts of the city); almost like desperate
calls for boats by the BEF from the beaches of Dunkirk, the call has gone out for
volunteers with boats in Harris County to be able to rescue people trapped their homes
by rising waters; the flooding has caused several refineries to shut down causing
gasoline futures to rise 7%; Trump will visit areas hit by Harvey tomorrow and
has been given high marks for his response to the tragedy; on the inane PC
front, the Orpheum Theater in Memphis that has been showing Gone With the Wind for thirty-four years
has decided to cease screenings due to “insensitive racial content” (when will
the leftist celebs in Hollywood start demanding that the numerous Oscars awarded
to the film be revoked?); news out that while the VA still struggles to address
wait lists, a new scandal is coming to the surface--the delay in seeing nonVA
doctors notwithstanding legislation signed into law to allow the practice if a
vet lives more that 40 miles from a VA facility or has not been sign within 30
days (why not turn the VA into a Medicare like program and eliminate it as it
seems this bureaucracy is incapable of addressing its problems?); on the powder
keg front the potential clash between India and China over some worthless territory
in the Himalayas has been solved with India removing its troops; with Nixon we
had ping pong diplomacy with China and with Putin we have judo diplomacy as he
is visiting Hungary for the World Judo Championship Matches; through
August 27, 2017 in Chicago the number of people being shot climbed to 2503, 433
of whom have died.
As always, I
hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Luis
Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, factoids of interest for this day in history, a
relevant quote by Sheryl Sandberg on facing tragedy, hoping that in dealing
with issues you face that you are not jejune, secure in the knowledge
that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like 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. Rainbow Bridge Rembrance Day—commemorating
those pets who have passed; the day stems from an anonymous story poem written
in the 80’s or 90’s called “Rainbow
Bridge” which was a bridge to enable dogs to cross over into heaven to romp and
play to their hearts content.
2. Dream Day
Quest and Jubilee Day—commemorating one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”
historic speech delivered from the Lincoln Memorial on this day in 1963 as part
of the March on Washington for Jobs.
3. 2017 Number One Song—the number one song in 2017
on a run of 15 weeks in that position was “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi
and Daddy Yankee. Here is a performance of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk
4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day is “jejune” which
means naive, simplistic and superficial which is exactly where our leaders
cannot be in dealing the complex problems that face this nation.
5. Not
Just Another Pretty Face In My Book—celebrating the birth on
this day in 1969 of Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook and who had the
misfortune of losing her husband while on vacation to a head trauma caused
while working out on a treadmill. On this day in:
a. 1898 in it’s all in the name moment, Caleb Bradhamm changed the name of his soft drink from “Brad’s Drink” to “Pepsi Cola” and the cola wars were on.
b. 1937 Toyota Motors became an independent company.
c. 1955 14 year old Emmett Till an African American visiting relatives in Mississippi was falsely accused pf flirting with a white woman that so enraged her father and uncle that they kidnapped him, beat him viciously, killed him and tossed his body into a river and to add insult to injury were acquitted by an all white jury; the murder was a galvanizing event for the Civil Rights Movement.
d. 1968 during the Democratic National Convention a police riot occurred and hundreds of police viciously attacked 10,000 anti Vietnam War protesters in Grant Park, most of whom had violated no law, had ignored no order and were not a threat to anyone.
e. 1988 at an air show at Ramstein, Germany, three Italian jets from the Italian Air Force’s equivalent of our Thunderbirds collided in the air and crashed to the ground, killing 75 people and severely injuring 346.
Reflections from the birthday woman on coping with tragedy: “I think when tragedy occurs, it presents a choice. You can give in to the void: the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even breathe. Or you can try to find meaning.” Sheryl Sandberg, truer and more profound words have rarely been spoken. 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.
© August
28, 2017, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive Lasting Lift
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