June 27, 2013

Today we celebrate:

Sunglasses Day – This is a day to celebrate eye protection. Even primitive societies have been known to devise some sort of covering that can be seen out of but still protect their eyes from the sun. These days we have a myriad of styles and colors of sunglasses to choose from. You can make them part of your fashion statement if you want to. The important thing is to realize that your eyes do need to be protected from the sun so that your eyesight will last longer.  My daughter, who goes for crazy colors in her glasses would really love this pair.

Decide To Be Married Day – This is a day to celebrate couples who decide to get married. It is based on a poem entitled, “Decide to be Married”. Oddly enough, my happily married husband of 19 years always tries to talk people out of making this decision. Do you think he's trying to tell me something?

National HIV Testing Day – Every year on this day, since 2005, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has promoted an HIV testing day. They want everyone who could possibly be at risk to be tested today. The earlier you are diagnosed, the earlier you can begin treatment and the longer you can live a normal lifestyle.

National Bomb Pop Day – Bomb Pops are a frozen Popsicle type of dessert that is made by Blue Bunny. They were invented in 1955 by James Merritt and D.S. Abernethy in Missouri. They even have a sugar free variety so unless you are allergic to one of the ingredients, you have no reason to not get them for your family today.

National Handshake Day – Celebrated on the last Thursday in June, this is a day for an old fashioned hand shake. No fist bumbs or high fives or crazy secret handshake routines. No sir, people have been shaking hands for centuries. There was a time when a handshake was as good as a signed contract. To say hello and to say goodbye, the handshake rules today.  You may be thinking that you are experiencing some deja vu today because we just had a Handshake Day back on the 21st, but that was a worldwide event.  This day is only for the United States to celebrate.  The rest of the world can just put their hands back in their pockets today.  Unless you want to come over here and shake our hands, that would be perfectly acceptable.

“Happy Birthday To You” Day – This song has been around longer than I would possibly have guessed. The melody was composed in 1859 by Mildred J. Hill, a schoolteacher from Kentucky. It was first published in 1893 with the lyrics her sister, Patty Smith, wrote for it and it was called “Good Morning To All”. It was changed to a birthday song and copyrighted in 1935. Find someone who has a birthday today and sing it to them.

Industrial Workers Of The World Day – On this day in 1905, The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was formed. The concept of the IWW is that all workers should be united as a social class and that capitalism and wage labor should be abolished. Sounds great in theory, but history has shown us that putting it into practice is difficult and so far has not been very successful.

To celebrate today, wear sunglasses and shake hands with everyone you meet today. After breakfast, gather the whole family and head out to a testing center to be tested for HIV. Then find a union meeting for the IWW and sing Happy Birthday to them. Finally, find a couple who has decided to get married and treat them to a Bomb Pop in celebration (and whatever you do, do not let them talk to my husband).