July 30, 2014

Today we celebrate:

Paperback Book Day – On this day, in 1935, Penguin Books published its first paperback books. While there had been other paper covered books before, they were considered poor quality books to say the least, such as dime novels. These ten in 1935 were the first respectable books to be printed inexpensively in this manner and included authors Ernest Hemingway and Agatha Christie, as well as 8 others that you may not recognize as readily.

National Cheesecake Day – The flavor of the cheesecake is not specified so I think it would be acceptable to have whatever kind you like best.  I’m not particular.  I have yet to meet a cheesecake I don’t like.  I even like the Jello No Bake Cheesecake.  I pile on the mandarin oranges and I’m in heaven.

International Day Of Friendship – This day has been declared the official International Friendship Day by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2011, however some countries choose to celebrate this day on the first Sunday in August. It was actually begun by the greeting card industry in the 1920's in the United States, but it didn't do well because people thought it was a pretty obvious ploy to sell greeting cards. It never really gained popularity, but it never really went away either. Then, with the spread of the internet and mobile phone technology, it has spread to other countries who have adopted the sentiment behind the day wholeheartedly.  Maybe other countries are less cynical than Americans.

Health Care Now! Medicare's Birthday – On this day, Medicare turns 49 years old. According to the following website, it is the nation's most popular social program and has been providing healthcare to millions of people who would not otherwise be able to afford health care at all. http://www.healthcare-now.org/campaigns/single-payer-rally

Father-In-Law Day – This is a day to honor your father-in-law. Hopefully you have a good relationship with yours so call him up today or go see him if you can and wish him a very happy father-in-law day.

National Support Public Education Day – There is a petition out there on change.org that is attempting to gather support to ask the President of the United States to declare this day National Support Public Education Day. The petition was begun by the SOS Million Teacher March Organization in an effort to convince the government that public education needs the kind of support that a special day like this can give.

To celebrate everything in one day, call up your father-in-law and make sure his health care plan is up to date.  Then you can read a paperback book all about public education to your friends while you all eat cheesecake.