April 27, 2016

Today we celebrate:

Denim Day - At first glance you might think that this day is about jeans. Well, that is indeed what  Peace Over Violence wants you to do. But the reason why is the important part. This is a day to spread awareness of the prevalence of Sexual Violence and to protest the fact that in many societies in this world it is allowed. In others, it may not be allowed, but it certainly isn’t punished as it should be. The day was begun when the Italian Supreme Court ruled against a victim because they decided that since she was wearing tight jeans, she had to have helped her rapist remove them which they said implied consent. So that is why jeans are the visual symbol of this social statement. Wear them today and remind the world that no one has the right to force any woman to do anything she doesn’t want to do. And if you don’t know if she wants to or not, ask her. Anything other than a “yes” means “NO”!

International Noise Awareness Day - Who doesn’t love to crank up the volume when jamming to Iron Maiden, Kelly Clarkson and Frank Sinatra? Don’t judge me, I have eclectic tastes. Today however is a day to raise awareness of the effect noise has on your health. We don’t usually think about it unless the police come knocking at our door telling us that the neighbors are complaining….not that that has ever happened, because of course it has not. But since we don’t usually think about it unless it comes to extremes like that or in the opposite direction with deafness, this day was created by the Center of Hearing and Communication (CHC) to be celebrated on the last Wednesday of April by taking part in in lectures from health specialists, sound specialists, and other assorted experts.

Administrative Professionals Day or Secretary's Day – Celebrated on Wednesday of the last full week in April, this is a day to recognize the hard work of receptionists, secretaries, administrative assistants, and other administrative support personnel. Without their support, the management of almost any company would not be able to function. Other countries also have special days like this celebrated at different times of the year.  Australia, for example, celebrates on the first Friday in May.

International Guide Dogs Day – There is some discrepancy on when this day is to be celebrated, so I could be mistaken but I believe it is on the last Wednesday of April.  This is a day to celebrate the important role that guide dogs play in maintaining the independence and mobility of people with a wide range of disabilities. It started out in the late 1920's with Dorothy Eustis, who had heard about the possibility of training dogs for this purpose from a school in Pottsdam, Germany, that went out of business after World War I. She wrote an article about it which Morris Frank, a blind man from Nashville, heard about and it went from there. Mr. Frank was the first blind man to have a seeing eye dog and he went on to create a training program here in the states that is still going today. Guide dogs are such amazing creatures that can be trained to do an amazing number of things from the simple to the impressively complex. They can even detect when your sugar levels are going too high or too low so that a diabetic can fix it before it becomes a dangerous problem.

National Prime Rib Day – Are you a beef lover? Well, then, today is your day. Have some prime rib for dinner tonight.

Babe Ruth Day – Proclaimed by Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler, this was a day to support Babe Ruth during his fight against cancer and it has endured, particularly with the Yankees, ever since.

Tell A Story Day – Today is a day for stories, and by happy coincidence, it just so happens that kids love stories. Tell your kids a story today. You don't even need to go to the trouble of reading it out of a book, try making one up. Maybe a story about when you were a kid or some other kind of completely made up story. If you really get ambitious, you could even write it down for them so they can read it again and again. You may find events celebrating this day at your local Library.

Mantanzas Mule Day – On this day in 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Navy bombarded a village in Cuba named Mantanzas. They hit it with everything they had. I'm sure it was impressive for its' time considering how long ago it was. When it was over and the villagers looked for dead bodies, they discovered that the entire village suffered a casualty count of...1 mule.

Morse Code Day – On this day in 1791, Samuel Morse was born. He, of course, created the Morse code which was used regularly to pass telegraph messages for many years and is probably still used today in certain circumstances. Most everyone knows at least some Morse code, even if it’s just the code for SOS( . . . _ _ _ . . .).

National Walk @ Lunch Day - Also celebrated on the last Wednesday of April. This is a day to encourage fitness for all people. Schools are encouraged to have their students participate, and businesses of all kinds are to encourage their employees to make the choice to get out there and walk as well. Hopefully it’s not raining in your area.

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