Something Is Happening

Respond to this Friday Faithfuls challenge by writing anything about May 26th, or any other thing that you are going through in your life, possibly as a way of recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month, or you can go with whatever else that you think fits.  If you live in the US, I want to wish you a happy Memorial Day weekend and if not then I wish you peace on Earth.  If you have a baby that is due on May 26th, 2023, then the most likely time of this conception was around September 2nd, 2022, and going the other way if your baby is conceived on May 26th, 2023, then the new bundle of joy will be due around February 16th, 2024.  It doesn’t matter if the baby was born on May 26th, 2023, or if it will be on February 16th, 2024, as either way it will be a Generation Alpha as that runs from 2010 to 2024, and Generation Beta will go from 2025 to 2039.  I don’t know anything about mental illness, but I do sympathize with anyone who suffers with anything like this, so I am just letting you know that I won’t be able to help anyone with their problems, but I don’t mind listening in case you want to spill your guts.  There seems to be a lot of information about mental illness out there, but I think that even the psychiatrists are struggling to understand what causes this, so I am going to move on to other things that are happening.

Where am I going today, for what it is worth, I guess I am just wondering about that Buffalo Springfield song, and if there’s something happening here, even if it ain’t exactly clear yet.  Shah-la, la-la-la-la, let’s live for today and don’t worry about tomorrow and thank God it is Friday.  Wait, that sounded like I am rambling when I have a clear purpose for why I am writing this, which is anything that I was able to find out about May 26th, 2023.  I originally thought that the most important celebration that takes place today is Buddha Day where you are supposed to be able to learn some history and see how others celebrate this day around the world.  The holiday is usually observed during the first full moon in May, but that passed us by on May 5 when we had the Flower Moon and I imagine that since it was such a long time ago when Buddha was born that people around the world might be getting confused about his birthday, but like every other person, he should only have one birthday.  Either there is some confusion here or else somebody has the authority to switch the date of the event.  I found something called Vesak which is also called Buddha Day and it was celebrated on May 5th this year, so this is not a good celebration to start with, meaning that we are moving on and this time we will do it a bit differently by listing the best things that are happening first.

If you like deserts, and if you are celebrating Shavuot by lighting candles, staying up all night to learn about the Torah, participating in a reading of the Ten Commandments at a synagogue, or feasting on dairy foods on May 26th, 2023, today also is National Blueberry Cheesecake Day and National Cherry Dessert Day and to top that off this is also National Cooler Day, National Road Trip Day, National Wig Out Day, National Title Track Day, Carb Day and World Red Head Day, so it looks like every dog has its day, even if we just missed Chardonnay Day, which was yesterday.  Does anyone need an excuse for eating some blueberry cheesecake, well if you do, today is your excuse and if that is not for you, then you can indulge in some cherry pies, cherry tarts, and cherry pastries.  What makes a classic blueberry cheesecake delicious is to have one that is bursting with blueberries.  It has to be deep, smooth and have a tangy base that will balance out the sweetness of an oozing blueberry compote topping.  There are a lot of choices when it comes to cherry desserts, but you can never go wrong with a Cherry Pudding Cake, which is a cross between a cake and a cobbler.

National Cooler Day always happens on the 1st Friday before Memorial Day and on this day, you are supposed to appreciate that somebody invented the cooler, because it is cool and it can keep your beer cold.  The history of the cooler is pretty fascinating and I was surprised to find out that it wasn’t even a thing till December 1953, when Richard C. Laramy from Illinois filed a patent for his invention.  Anyways if you don’t want to spend your time appreciating Laramy’s invention, then you could use this day to get your cooler ready for National Road Trip Day, which is observed on the Friday before Memorial Day.  I think that National Cooler Day is one of these newer celebrations that nobody has figured how to properly celebrate it yet.

National Wig Out Day is observed 10 days before the first Monday in June and if you enjoy wearing silly wigs, then this is your day.  National Title Track Day is celebrated every year on the fourth Friday of May and this is the day in which we remember our favorite title tracks in albums and movies.  If you listen to albums, you will find that some are defined by a single track, ones that tie the entire album together and will be the banner for the sound it brings, and often the best of these are the title track of the album.  The Title Track is the song on an album that has the same title that the album has.  Artists usually put a lot of thought and consideration into choosing the title track of their album, because they expect it to be a memorable song.  Today is supposed to be the day that you dust off and break out those albums, spin some tunes and then you could write back to share the music that you enjoyed.  Carb Day is celebrated at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it is for racing enthusiasts.  This is supposed to create excitement for the Indianapolis 500 which will be on Sunday, May 28.

World Red Head Day sounds like a lot of fun and for you maybe it is the day where you take the plunge and go red, or you could host a dress up party where everyone wears a costume of their favorite red-haired celebrity, or you binge-watch some movies that feature red heads with your friends.  Maybe you would enjoy watching Vivian in Pretty Woman, or possibly Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.  Perhaps Rose from Titanic is more your style or better yet Miranda from Sex and the City.  Anne of Green Gables has red hair and Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Molly Ringwald, Kate Winslet, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Nicole Kidman, Judy Garland, Susan Sarandon and they all know how to rock their red hair.

What is left, let’s see as we have National Paper Airplane Day, Sally Ride Day, National Heat Awareness Day, World Lindy Hop Day, World Dracula Day, European Neighbor’s Day, Mother’s Day in Poland, National Death Busters Day and National Sorry Day.  National Paper Airplane Day is an unofficial observance of the aeronautical toy that has been around for thousands of years.  Sally Ride Day honors the first American woman in space.  National Heat Awareness Day is also called National Don’t Fry Day and this is a health reminder holiday that warms you that things are only going to get hotter from here on, so you should try to stay cool.  World Lindy Hop Day is a reminder that this style of dancing never disappeared.  World Dracula Day is where we can celebrate Bram Stoker’s masterpiece, or do anything vampire related.  European Neighbor’s Day is a day to unify Europeans, kind of the opposite of Brexit, a day where you can invite your neighbors over to a nice meal and get to know your community better.  National Death Busters Day is a day where we are supposed to remind ourselves and our loved ones to buckle up, be cautious, and drive safely, as there are often a lot of accidents on holiday weekends.  National Sorry Day is an Australian holiday where they commemorate the mistreatment of the continent’s indigenous people.

On May 26, 1805, Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark first sighted the Rocky Mountains.  The Rocky Mountains were covered with snow, but the sun was shining on them and that gave them a spectacular view.  Captain Clark felt a secret pleasure in finding himself so near the end of the conceived boundless Missouri territory, but he also reflected on the difficulties which this snowy barrier would most probably throw in their way to reaching the Pacific.  In 1896, the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, was crowned in Moscow by the controversial holy man Grigori Rasputin on this day.  He ruled till November 7, 1917, when the Bolshevik party seized power in Russia’s capital, starting the communist October Revolution and leading to the founding of the Soviet Union.  The next July, Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.  In 1897. Irish author Bram Stoker published “Dracula”.  Dracula was well received when it was published, but its success is even better measured by the number of adaptations it inspired.

On May 26, 1927, Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produce the last (and 15th million) Model T Ford / Tin Lizzie.  By 1926, the Lizzie had become outdated in a rapidly expanding market for cheaper cars.  Henry Ford had hoped to keep up production of the Model T while retooling his factories for its replacement, the Model A, lack of demand forced his hand.  On May 26 in 1967, EMI rushed out the release of The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in London and select markets in the UK, prior to nation-wide release.  It would go to #1 for 15 weeks in the US and 22 weeks in the UK.