May 17, 2015

Today we celebrate:

World Telecommunications and Information Society Day – Celebrated every year since 1969, this is a day to mark the founding of the International Telecommunication Union on this day in 1865. Yes, believe it or not, people did communicate back then. I'm not sure how they got a string long enough to connect the soup cans in other countries, but somehow they managed to communicate.  This is usually celebrated on May 17th, but whenever that falls on a Saturday, the powers that be move it to the 16th.

Pack Rat Day – This is a day to 'fess up. Who, among us, is a pack rat? I admit that I fight the urge to hoard certain things. Every now and then I have to force myself to clean out a closet or a room just so it doesn't get out of hand.

National Cherry Cobbler Day – Cobblers have been around since Colonial days. They are made with a little more sophistication now, of course, since we don’t cook them over a fire anymore, but they are still just as popular.

World Neurofibromatosis Awareness Day (NF Day) – This is a genetic condition that causes a wide variety of symptoms including learning disabilities, ADHD, headaches, scoliosis, bowed legs, thickening of the optic nerve, tumors, and more. Researchers are working to invent treatments and, hopefully, a cure.

National NASCAR Day – This day has been celebrated for the last twelve years.   I'm not a big NASCAR fan, but my grandmother was when she was alive, to my astonishment.  Just when you think you know someone, something like this comes out. Today drivers, millions of fans, media, businesses and more will work together to raise money for a variety of charities that NASCAR endorses.

World Hypertension Day – This day was created by the World Hypertension League which is affiliated with the International Society of Hypertension. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of hypertension, the symptoms and available treatments. People all over the world need to learn how to prevent the onset of this disease or, if it's too late to prevent, they need to learn how to control it before it kills them.

Syttende Mai – If you do not speak (or read) Norwegian, allow me to inform you that this is Norwegian Constitution Day. The name Syttende Mai means May Seventeenth.  The Constitution of Norway was signed on this day in 1814 at Eidsvoll, declaring Norway to be an independent nation. Interestingly, Norway was under Swedish rule at the time and the King of Sweden didn't allow this day to be celebrated until 1829.

Neighbor Day – There are a number of these days sprinkled around the year.  September 28, May 30, and March 29 all come to mind.  But this particular day was begun in 1993 in Rhode Island because of a tragedy which ended in the loss of one life and the incarceration of another. The hope of this day is to get to know your neighbors, be concerned for them and be willing to help them when they need it and, hopefully, they will do the same for you. We celebrate this day on the Sunday before Memorial Day Weekend.

To celebrate today, call your Norwegian friends to wish them a Happy Syttende Mai, then hop in your race car and see if you can beat all the other cars to the doctor’s office to get checked for Hypertension and Neurofibromatosis problems.  When you get home, call all your neighbors to see if they need some help with their pack rat issues before you sit down to enjoy some cherry cobbler.

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