March 31, 2014

Today we celebrate:

Seward's Day – Always on the last Monday in March, this day celebrates the purchase of Alaska from Russia by Secretary of State William Henry Seward on March 30, 1867 for $7.2 million. Most people at the time thought that was a ridiculous thing to do and called it “Seward's Folly”. Mr. Seward suffered a great deal of criticism until they discovered gold in Alaska in 1897. Sadly, Mr. Seward died before that happened so he never knew the full extent of what he did for the United States.

National “She's Funny That Way” Day – Today is a day to celebrate women and all the ways we make everyone laugh. Some women make a living out of being funny, such as Ellen Degeneres, one of my favorite comedians  For others it's a pleasant hobby, and for the rest, like me, it's a happy accident.

National Clams On The Half Shell Day – These are clams that are served on an open shell. They are usually raw but I think if you look hard enough, and you better believe that I will, you just might be able to find a recipe for cooked clams on a half shell.

Eiffel Tower Day – On this day in 1889, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, was dedicated. It took two years, two months and five days to complete. It was built by Gustave Eiffel for the International Exhibition of Paris in that year. The tower had the distinction of being the tallest structure in the world until 1930.

National Bunsen Burner Day – On this day in 1811, Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen was born in Germany. He was a professor of chemistry and created the Bunsen burner which has made life so much easier for chemists and chemistry students. I'm not sure how they conducted their classroom experiments before then.

International Day Of Prayer And Remembrance For Terri Schindler Schiavo, And All Our Vulnerable Brothers And Sisters – You probably remember the big controversy regarding Terri Schiavo. I'm not going into details and taking sides here, I'll just say that today is a day to remember her and everyone else who is or has been in her and her family's heartbreaking position. It was on this day in 2005 that she died. http://www.priestsforlife.org/terri/terris-day.htm


To celebrate today, pray for the people who have to make difficult, life and death medical decisions, then get out your Bunsen burner and use it to cook some clams on the half shell. Lastly, take the funniest woman you know to go see the Eiffel Tower, stopping in Alaska on your way home for a quick visit.

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