October 2, 2013

Today we celebrate:

World Farm Animals Day or World Day for Farmed Animals – This day is dedicated to saving farm animals from being raised in deplorable conditions and then being slaughtered for food. http://dayforanimals.org/

Balloons Around The World Day – This is a day to spread smiles around the world. Balloon artists all over the globe will participate in twisting balloons into a variety of wonderful shapes and giving them to people. Everyone loves balloon animals. http://www.balloonsaroundtheworld.com/

Guardian Angels Day – This day has been celebrated for a very long time. In the 16^th century, Pope Clement X chose this day for the Feast of the Guardian Angels. On this day we should thank God for the guardian angel that He has given to each of us to inspire us to do good deeds and to protect us from evil and to guide us to God at the moment of our deaths.

International Day of Non-violence – Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007, this is a day to spread the message of non-violence all around the world through educational programs and public awareness.

National Custodial Workers Day – This is a day to recognize the dedicated, hard working people who keep our schools and businesses clean. It is often a thankless and unnoticed job, but we sure notice if it's not done because then we are surrounded by a mess. Make sure you talk to the custodians in your life today and thank them for their hard work.

Phileas Fogg's Wager Day – On this day in 1872, Phileas Fogg made his famous wager that the book “Around the World in Eighty Days” was based upon. He wagered 20,000 pounds that he could navigate around the world in eighty days. You'll have to check back with me on December 21^st to see if he won the wager. Or, I suppose you could just look it up.

Name Your Car Day – This is a day to get closer to your car. We depend on our vehicles to reliably get us to wherever we need to go. So we need to treat our cars right and that begins with giving it a really good name. We tend to care for things we name more than we do things we do not name. This is why if you have a farm, you have to be careful to avoid naming the animals you intend to eat.

National Fried Scallops Day – I love scallops, and fried scallops are particularly delicious, in my opinion.

To celebrate today, begin your non-violence policy by promoting non-violence to farm animals. Next, thank God for your Guardian Angel, who probably saves your life a dozen times a day and you don't even know.  Then, make some balloon animals and leave them around the office for the maintenance workers as a thank you for their work. Make a wager with a friend that he can't go around the world in 80 days using the methods of transportation they used in 1872. Don't let him talk you into trying it because you're going to be too busy for the next 80 days celebrating other things. You can't dedicate that much time to just one. Finish up the day by driving your car, Betsy, to a restaurant for some fried scallops.