August 21, 2013

Today we celebrate:

National Pecan Torte Day – Although torte means cake in some languages, torte is actually more dense than a traditional cake. In a pecan torte you use ground up pecans instead of flour. Try making one today to see how different it is from the pecan pie you made yesterday.

National Spumoni Day – Spumoni is Italian ice cream that is made with layers of different colors and flavors. It frequently has nuts and/or candied fruits mixed in as well. I've never tried it, but I'm certainly willing.

Earth Over Shoot Day or Ecological Debt Day – This day marks the time each year when humanity has begun using resources beyond the Earth's ability to regenerate those resources in a given year. This highlights the gap between what the Earth can provide and what humans desire to have. It would be better if this day came later in the year, but unfortunately in the mid-1970's, human consumption started outpacing the Earth's ability to keep up.

National Medical Dosimetrist Day – Celebrated on the third Wednesday in August, this is a day to recognize the importance of medical dosimetry professionals to our lives. If you have lived with cancer treatments either for yourself or for a loved one then you might know that medical dosimetrists work with the radiation oncologist team. They generate radiation dose distributions in collaboration with the rest of the team.

Poet's Day – This is a day to honor your favorite poets. A talented poet can express powerful emotions with words and make the rest of us cry, laugh, or really think.

Senior Citizen's Day – This is a day to honor the seniors of our society. This day was created in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan who was attempting to change the way we look at our elders. We need to remember that our elders have a great deal of life experience and wisdom that we can benefit from if we only open up our minds and hearts and recognize that they are still contributing members of society.

To celebrate today, make a plan for how you can reduce your reliance on Earth's natural resources. Then make a pecan torte and take it to your local medical dosimetrist's office to share with them. Next, stop at a local senior center and read a selection of your favorite poems to them. Then ask them what they thought of the poet's ideas.