MAY 16, 24 .. NATIONAL TODAY.. TIM McBRIDE SURFING..

By Cap Chastain May 16, 2024 Guest Contributor(s), Surfing, Tim McBride, To Feel Good? Do Good! No Comments

NATIONAL TODAY..

NATIONAL LOVE A TREE DAY..

These two photos (the screen shot above) and the photo below, are part of a bookmark that I call National Today 1.

National Love A Tree Day is celebrated every year on May 16 and it falls right in the middle of Garden for Wildlife Month. Did you know trees actually didn’t exist for the first 90% of Earth’s history? Shocking, isn’t it? Before trees, our Earth had fungi that grew 26 feet tall and resembled trees. Trees have played an irreplaceable role in the smooth functioning of our environment and celebrating this special day dedicated to them is the least we can do to appreciate them.

Trees can be thousands and thousands of years old with many species tending to have long lifespans. In fact, trees can be traced back to the creation of the world, according to the Bible and the story of Adam and Eve who ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

From well-preserved cellular anatomy, it has been found that Cladoxylopsida were the first species of large trees to appear on Earth almost 400 million years ago in the Devonian period. The other earliest trees were known to be tree ferns, horsetails, and lycophytes and, currently, it is estimated that there are close to three trillion mature trees in the world.

Trees have so many benefits — they provide us with lumber, food, nuts, oxygen to breathe, home for wildlife, and much more. Trees are even used for ornamental and decoration purposes. In the United States itself, there are approximately 766 million acres of forest land.

Trees form an essential part of our environment and, over the years, their importance has been taught to children growing up. Even in recent times, individuals have become so environmentally conscious that a sustainable lifestyle to protect our trees has become the norm. Most people now want to protect and preserve our trees, which make the world a better and safer place to live in.

While the hunt to find the origins of this day is still on, an entire day of appreciation for trees that have given us so much is the least we can do.

I have several National Today websites that I visit. They may have the same National Today yet have different photos accompanying the text.

The  below photo is for the same day May 16. Yet it is a different photo from the above ones! The below photo comes from a bookmark that I call National Today 2.

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To Feel Good? Do good!

NATIONAL DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR DAY..

Jesus said “Love thy Neighbor” and National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day is celebrated on May 16 to express gratitude to those who are closest to us. In fact, a neighbor is not merely the person who lives closest to you but can be anyone with whom you share a kinship. Therefore, your colleagues, friends, or fellow commuters also qualify as your neighbors! When we get too caught up in our busy lives, we forget how much fun it is to hang out with our neighbors and have a good chat with them.

National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day was first celebrated in 2009 by Starr Valentino. He believed that good things happen only when people come together as a community and help each other during good times and bad. Valentino has worked selflessly for years and today he has over 500 proclamations for Do Something Good For Your Neighbor Day. These proclamations have poured in from villages, towns, and cities across the U.S. and Canada.

Starr Valentino founded this day of care and consideration 12 years ago. What started as an altruistic effort gathered a lot of recognition from local politicians and, today, over 100 cities in the United States recognize this day! Valentino says that the day is dedicated to helping and kindness and a day for Americans to express love and gratitude toward each other. The day is celebrated in neighborhoods by acts of compassion, sharing, and caring.

12 years since the day was first celebrated, Valentino continues to spread joy through every channel available to him. He asks people to open up their hearts to those in need as well as to those who make our lives happier. So get together with your neighbors to celebrate this day by spreading love and happiness in your neighborhood!

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From Our Guest Contributor, Tim McBride. Patti and I never know when or where Tim will be at any given moment.

SURFING USA. 1963 by The Beach Boys!

Thanks Tim so very much for this, and for your other, contributions to us.

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Tim also has a “sense of humor”! 

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And? 

Over And Out!

Cap and Patti

MAY 15, 24 .. NATIONAL TODAY.. SURVIVOR..

By Cap Chastain May 15, 2024 Flowers, Kathleen 94591, Survivor Season 46 6 Comments

The first National Today is thanks to Kathleen who suggested we select it.

Very good choice Kathleen! 

NATIONAL TODAY..

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CHIP DAY..

We might not know which came first — the chicken, or the egg — but when it comes to chocolate chips and their namesake cookie, the history is well-documented, and it might not be what you think. Chocolate chips actually came after the chocolate chip cookie, and despite their ubiquity, are likely younger than your grandmother (they were first marketed in 1940!). Legend has it that the chocolate chip cookie was a happy accident, born when baker ran out of baker’s chocolate and opted for semi-sweet instead.

Creation of Chocolate Chips. Ruth Graves Wakefield creates the chocolate-chip cookie by accident.

 The recipe spread like wildfire, and after a few years of selling their semi-sweet chocolate bars with a chopping tool (for easy chunking of the bar), Nestlé went one step further by introducing chocolate “morsels” to the world. With such a history, and with so much mass appeal, it’s no surprise that this kitchen delight deserves celebration, and that’s why, on May 15, we’ve got National Chocolate Chip Day.

We have asked Kathleen IF she was a National Today follower on-line before we discovered it or IF we opened up a new window for Kathleen with our Posts. 

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The below National Today is a “no brainer”!

BRING FLOWERS TO SOMEONE DAY..

Bring Flowers to Someone Day is held annually on May 15. The gift of flowers is a universal way of showing love, appreciation, sympathy, or thanks. Today is the perfect day to explore the history of giving flowers and the meanings behind them. You won’t need a reason to give flowers to someone — any or no reason will do! Everyone is encouraged to spread joy through beautiful blooms. Buy an arrangement from a florist or pick blooms from your garden. Flowers add a personal touch to a thoughtful gift.

The language of flowers is called Floriography.

Every flower is thought to have its special meaning, which can change due to its color or variety. Lady Mary Wortley, a feminist poet married to the British Ambassador of Turkey, wrote about this and other fascinating customs of the people of Turkey in a series of letters. ‘Selem’ was a tradition that originated in Turkish harems. It was a secret flower language used for communication by harem women and decoded by attaching rhyming words to certain flowers and other objects.

This form of communication became a big hit in the conservative Victorian era, which lasted from 1837 to 1901. In response to the rigid social constructs of the time that valued chastity, many courtships consisted of secret affairs and flirtations. Couples embraced this creative and secretive way of communicating, as it was forbidden to openly talk about such daring pursuits.

The craze soon traveled across the seas and between 1827 and 1923 there were numerous flower dictionaries published in the U.S. Magazines like “The Atlantic” regularly wrote about flower codes. Then came World War I. Producing food and munitions instead of flowers became the focus and the fad died out.

Nevertheless, the practice has still taken root. Today, we continue to associate meanings with certain flowers. Red roses mean love. Chrysanthemums mean friendship. Rosemary means remembrance. With many other flowers symbolizing many more feelings, there’ll be no shortage of blooms that you can give to someone not just today but on any day of the year.

Oh How Patti Loves Her Flowers. 

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Hello Sam! Hello Ginny. Hello Survivor fans everywhere!

The end of Season 46 is fast approaching. Next Wednesday, May the 22nd, will be the final episode of Season 46.

Some photos from last week’s show.

Dum De Dum Dum!

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Cap and Patti

When, and if, we have significant progress on Patti’s health challenge (her doctor has advised us it will be awhile) we will let you know here on dotnet.