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June 4, 2016

Today we celebrate:

Hug Your Cat Day - This is a day for cat lovers. Dog lovers, you’re out of luck. If you have a cat or know someone who does, give that cat a great big, but gentle, hug. If you have a cat that doesn’t appreciate hugs, you should probably steer clear of them and find one that does because you don’t want the consequences of hugging a cat that doesn’t want to be hugged.

National Cheer Coach Day - This is a day for cheering! Even better if you do your cheering with a team that has a cheer coach. Coaches are essential for any team sport. They give guidance, enthusiasm, experience, and essential expertise. Apparently the first group of official cheer leaders began in 1897 at Princeton. I wonder if they had a coach. Or maybe the first coaches came from the first group of cheer leaders.

Turtle Races Day - Celebrated on the first Saturday in June, this is a day that is apparently all about repeating the story of the turtle and the hare. At least that is what I found on every website that talked about this day. I also found reference to children cheering on turtles that were apparently racing. I couldn’t tell for sure because normally pictures of anything racing involve a little blurriness because of rapidly moving body parts. There was no blurriness in these pictures. So I’m not sure if they were racing or posing.

Shopping Cart Day - On this day in 1937, Sylvan Goldman invented shopping carts. I never gave a single thought to the fact that there was a time when shopping carts didn’t exist. What did people use to hold their groceries before there were shopping carts? Anyway, Mr. Goldman had a store and wanted something that would help his customers hold merchandise while they were shopping in his store, so he came up with a basket on wheels. Pretty ingenious and probably encouraged his customers to buy more items since they didn’t have to worry about only getting what they could carry.

National Family Recreation Day - All too often we get caught up in the things we have to do and forget about having fun. So find something fun the whole family can do today that doesn’t involve staring at phones. How about a water gun fight or a rousing game of volleyball, basketball, or bocce ball. If there are enough of you, arrange a game of tag football. If the kids are really young, have a great game of hide and seek. What you do doesn’t matter as much as making sure you have fun together.

National Cheese Day - We had a Cheese Lover’s Day on January 20th, but this is not about the lovers of cheese, it is all about the cheese. Cheese comes in all kinds of different textures and flavors. Some have holes, some do not. Cheese can be made with milk from cows, sheep, goats, and even buffalo. Some cheese even comes with mold on or in it, which I find incomprehensible, but I am not an expert by any means.

Mike, The Headless Chicken Day – Celebrated on the first weekend in June, this is a day to learn the story of Mike. Mike was a chicken who was supposed to be dinner back in 1945, but when his owner, Lloyd Olson, chopped off his head (Mike's head, not Lloyd's), Mike just refused to die and carried on his chickenly duties such as attempting to peck for food and preen his feathers. He lived without his head for another 18 months because Lloyd was so amazed, he worked to keep the bird alive by feeding it with an eye dropper. Impossible, you say? Well, apparently Lloyd botched the chop job and left behind the lower portion of his brain that was attached to his spinal column. This is apparently a true story that was documented by scientists and you can read all about it and see pictures here.

National Trails Day – On the first Saturday in June, the American Hiking Society organizes “the country’s largest celebration of trails”. There are thousands of events celebrating this day occurring all over the country. See this web site for information on how to find an event in your local area.

Old Maid Day - I don’t like the terms “Old Maid” and “Spinster”. They imply that life is only complete if a woman has a mate to share it with. I don’t think that’s true. I think it is perfectly possible and acceptable to live a happy and fulfilled life without one. But regardless of the name issue, this is a day for unmarried women around the world to revel in their carefree, unencumbered, independent status.

National Cognac Day - This is a famous variety of brandy. This beverage is named after Cognac, France and has traditionally been reserved for rich people because it is expensive.  
Audacity To Hope Day – This is a symbolic day. A salute, if you will, to all Americans who have (or had, if they are no longer with us) a dream. Almost all dreams are achievable if you have enough audacity to hope.

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression – Created in 1982, this is a day that was created by the United Nations and is dedicated to protecting all children, regardless of their nationality. It acknowledges the pain of children all over the world who are victims of physical, mental or emotional abuse whether that abuse is created by wartime activities or not.

Drawing Day or Pencil Day – Celebrated on the first Saturday in June, this is a day to drop everything, except babies, pick up a pencil and draw a picture. That's the easy part. The hard part, for some, is that when you are finished with your picture, you need to share your art with others. This is a day to encourage the love of art and drawing and to share art amongst ourselves.

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