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April 26, 2015

Today we celebrate:


Help A Horse Day - This is a day that was created by the ASPCA to support the organizations that work hard to make sure that horses are safe and not being abused or mistreated.  If you are part of such an organization, check out the link and and see how you can sign up for the contest next year.  It’s too late to sign up this year because the deadline was April 1st but see what is involved and see if you can plan to participate next year because you could win several thousand dollars to help your mission.

National Pretzel Day – Pretzels have been around for a long time.  There’s a story that they were invented by either German or Italian monks back around 600 A.D., but I couldn’t find any documentation about that so I don’t know if it’s true.  However, there is documentation in the form of illustrations dating back to the 12th century that proves that they are at least that old.

Richter Scale Day – The Richter Scale was created by Charles Richter in 1935 and, as everyone in California knows, it measures the size of earthquakes. The largest one measured so far since it's creation was the Great Chilean Earthquake which registered a 9.5 on May 22, 1960.  Between the earthquake and the resulting tsunami, more than 6,000 people died.  The only reason that number isn’t higher is because of the relative low population density in the area at the time.  Mr. Richter was born on this day in 1900.  

Audubon Day – John James Audubon was born on this day in 1785. He was an artist who dedicated more than 30 years of his life to drawing as many different kinds of birds as he could find. The Audubon Society was created after his death by one of his wife's students, George Bird Grinnell, for the purpose of studying and protecting birds everywhere. And yes, as far as I can find out, that was Mr. Grinnell's real name.  Many Audubon societies will have special events or opportunities for volunteering today.

Mother, Father Deaf Day – Also on the last Sunday of April, this is a day to honor the deaf parents of hearing children. Raising children is difficult under the best of circumstances.  If you can’t hear them when they cry or you can’t hear them when they get quiet because they’re up to no good, it gets a hundred times harder.

National Kids And Pets Day – Created by Colleen Paige, who has created a lot of different pet related holidays, this is a day to foster the belief that every child should have a pet to care for.  I had pets for most of my childhood and I can tell you that caring for them taught me a lot.  I loved them more than I can even begin to tell you.

National Drive It Day – Always on a Sunday close to April 23rd, this day celebrates April 23, 1900 and the 64 cars that left London and embarked upon the Thousand Mile Trial. Forty-six of the cars finally returned to London on May 12th. Don't forget that back then cars were very new and not accustomed to traveling very far or very fast for that matter because today it would only take about 15 hours give or take a little, depending on speed limits and street lights, to travel that distance. Plus they had the added handicap of not having paved roads because there were no such thing back then.

National Pet Parent's Day – Celebrated on the last Sunday in April, this is a day to give appreciation to the special people who open their hearts and their homes to pets of all kinds. Pets are not easy to take care of, even fish need to have their tanks cleaned and sometimes need special water and temperatures.  Bigger pets make bigger messes, need to be walked, fed, cleaned up after, and let’s not even talk about those vet bills.  Kudos to all those pet parents who take these tasks on so willingly.

Pinhole Photography Day – Celebrated on the last Sunday in April, this day encourages you to make your own camera, take a picture and share it with the world in the hopes of encouraging creativity. All you need is a “light-tight” container, a pinhole in the side of it and a photo sensitive surface inside it.

To celebrate today, pick out a pet bird for your kids to learn to take care of.  Take some pictures of it with your pinhole camera for some deaf parents to enjoy. Next, have some pretzels before you drive home to find out where the last California quake fell on the Richter scale.  Tonight, go online to donate to the effort to help horses not be mistreated.

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