CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
JUNE CELEBRATIONS: Part I
Get ready for battle! The enemy is the nasty fly! June is National Fight the Filthy Fly Month, and the war continues from last year. However, there are those who swear that the battle against the Maine black bugs is more of a priority! (read BLACK FLIES AND OTHER INSECTS: Then and Now) Something easier to handle is National Adopt a Cat Month. Every cat has a right to a good home. To read about cat’s other rights, read (WHAT RIGHTS DO CATS HAVE, I ASK & FERAL BIRDS: THE LATEST COMMUNITY HAZARD).
June is also Dairy Month, Turkey Lovers Month, and National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month. Think healthy: Milk/cheese is loaded with calcium, but if it’s not low-fat, you are at risk of ingesting more bad-fats than good fats. If you have to eat meat, turkey is far more acceptable than red-meats. However, I am wondering about JUNE being turkey-lover’s month instead of November. There seems to be nothing wrong with fruits and vegetables, especially if they are eaten raw. But the fact that June is also Candy Month—well, most candy is resistable to me—oh, though, check out those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! Get me out of here! And claims are being made now that dark chocolate is almost making it as a health food.
As for June being Aquarium Month, fish are beautiful, and observing them is perceived as being very peaceful and relaxing. I resist the beautiful creatures because I don’t want to be elbow-deep in mucky water while cleaning their shelter. And I prefer not having a huge puddle of water and dead fish when the cat tips the aquarium over.
Finally June is, appropriately, Rose Month. Unless they are overgrown and wild, the wild roses on my property have beautiful white blossoms. And the wild beach rose I’ve seen on the New England beaches is striking (pix). As for raising tame roses, I will leave that for someone else. And for a gift, I prefer hanging baskets or plants to a dozen roses, because they can be enjoyed longer.
Fishing Week is the first week in June. For fishermen, enjoy! For others, enjoy the fruits—er, the fish—of the fisherman’s labor. But all Internet junkies should enjoy themselves during the second week of June, Email Week.
When you awaken on June 1, flip a coin to decide whether to get up or to remain in bed and relax. If the coin doesn’t land correctly, then keep practicing—eventually the coin will land your way. Julius Caesar flipped a coin to make unclear decisions. Of course, the head on the coin was his own. Making decisions should be easy on Flip a Coin Day.
Although it is not the day’s intention, Laurel Mountain Borough in Pennsylvania is in line to celebrate National Rocky Road Day, since its streets are unpaved and the community, at the foot of Laurel Mountain, is very rocky. However, Borough residents can celebrate by eating Rocky Road ice cream. If you don’t have this flavor in your freezer, just add almonds or pecans, mini marshmallows and chunks of semisweet chocolate to what you do have. It could be interesting!
Honey, our orange cat, likes June 4. Not all cats like Hug Your Cat Day. Cats can be persnickety. But although Honey likes hugs, she lets you know when she has had enough by getting up and walking away.
To complete your attention to your cat, serve it a treat. After all, June 4 is also Applesauce Cake Day. Most likely your cat will not like this treat. Honey likes pumpkin pie filling, which I will suggest my husband make this day. Now, if you are a catless cat lover, June is the time to head to your local humane center to correct this situation, since June is Adopt a Cat Month.
June 4, 1738, King George III was born. It was this king against whom the American Revolution was directed.
June 4 is not just for cats. It is also for unmarried women—Old Maid’s Day, which began in the mid-1940s, when millions of World War II soldiers returned home to a healthy supply of aging maidens. The many dances and socials held for the soldiers and maidens contributed to the multitude of postwar marriages.
The Salvation Army “Lassies” of World War I, who were sent to the front lines in Europe, were honored by National Doughnut Day, June 5, 2009. Their first donut was served in 1917, and Lt. Colonel Helen Purviance is considered the group’s first doughnut girl. Besides donuts, they made home cooked food.
On June 5, 1783, brothers Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier launched the first sustained hot-air balloon flight at Annonay, France. Up, up, up, to about 6,000 feet rose their 33-foot diameter balloon. (read BLANCHARD: THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL AERONAUT & AMERICA’S FIRST MANNED HOT AIR BALLOON)
If the Montgolfier brothers were to take a hot-air balloon flight over America today, what would they see? At just 500 feet above the Penobscot River in Maine (read THE SPECTACULAR PENOBSCOT RIVER A Natural Wonder in Maine: Part 1 & THE SPECTACULAR PENOBSCOT RIVER A Natural Wonder in Maine: Part 2 & THE PENOBSCOT NARROWS BRIDGE AND OBSERVATORY) ribbons of pollution could be seen. Likewise, on the water’s edge of some New England beaches (a Newport, R. I., beach was polluted enough that I wouldn’t go into the water). How much of the earth’s damage could be seen from a hot air balloon? On June 5, World Environment Day, focus your attention on important environmental issues. This is a principle goal of this day, founded by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. The theme for 2009 is Climate change and the broader consequences of environmental change.
Fitness is important (read Spring has sprung…with yard work and fitness workouts & Exercise/Fitness Program Landmark). On June 6 celebrate National Gardening Exercise Day and National Yo-Yo Day. Gardening and yo-yos exercise different parts of the body. Perhaps the flowers you grow and your yo-yo expertise could impress your office mates (read WORKPLACE STRESS REDUCTION ACTIVITIES: MORTIFYING AND FUN) The day commemorates the birthday of American businessman Donald F. Duncan Sr., who manufactured the Duncan Yo-Yo in the early 1900s.
Exercise enough, and you can enjoy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day.
And it was on June 8, 1867, that Frank Lloyd Wright, an American architect who built Falling Water and Kentuck Knob in Southwestern Pennsylvania, was born in Wisconsin. He lived until 1959. A book club is studying this architect.
It’s said if you have three good friends in your lifetime, you are rich. June 8 is Best Friend Day, a time to honor and cherish your relationships with friends. These are not the “friends” gathered by Internet social groups, but the true friends gained over time through shared experiences.
This day is also Name Your Poison Day, a day to choose between a number of options, perhaps, but not necessarily all negative.
Get out your DVDs etc to enjoy June 9, Donald Duck Day. Are you old enough to recall enjoying the Saturday morning cartoons? If so, you can enjoy this day by curling up in your favorite chair with a cup of hot coffee or tea, a doughnut, and perhaps a blanket, if this day is cool like the days of early June. And if you didn’t enjoy iced tea with your cartoon fest, June 10, National Iced Tea Day, offers another opportunity to enjoy this cool beverage. I will enjoy my tea made in a gallon jar, filled with water and a mixture of tea bags and fresh mint from my yard, and set in the sun to steep. Add ice cubes and a few drops of lemon for a delightful treat. I, for one, am certainly glad that Richard Blechynden altered his hot tea with ice cubes to create iced tea at the St. Louis World Fair in 1904.
Roses of different colors have different meanings. June 12 is Red Rose Day. The red rose signifies love. My husband’s birthday is June 12. Perhaps I should present him with a red rose. Anne Frank, Frankfurt, Germany, was also born on June 12, but it would be difficult to present her with a red rose, which she deserves for writing her diary, because she died in 1945, a victim of the Nazi Holocaust.
The first sewing machines were made in France in the 1830s, but it was not until the 1830s that they were patented in the United States. Thank goodness for this invention. I have sewn everything from men’s suits to baby clothes to clown costumes. I’ve also created many crafts using this machine (picture?) So celebrate Sewing Machine Day, on June 13, with me.
Unfortunately for Betsy Ross, who stitched the first United States flag at the request of George Washington, the sewing machine was a future invention. But she did a good job handstitching the flag in June, 1776. Celebrate her work on Flag Day, June 14, which is the day, in 1777, that the Stars and Stripes officially became the country’s national symbol.
June 14 is also the day that Pierre Charles L’Enfant, architect who designed Washington, D. C., died.
The photographer’s directive. “SMILE,” is celebrated June 15: Smile Power Day. A smile is a happy thing, and it’s contagious. It is also powerful, able to change a person’s day by using only six pair of muscles: the levator anguli oris, levator labii superioris, obicularis oculi risorious, zygomaticus major and zygomaticus minor. Another reason to pass your smile on to someone who needs uplifting this day is that it is A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed Day.
However, historical events—such as the first fatal aviation accident this day in 1785, and the Ellis Island immigration station being destroyed by fire this day in 1897, are not smile-worthy events.
Revisit this site to learn about the days to celebrate in the second half of the month.
