This Day In History

It's hard to believe that on this day 40 years ago, the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, died.   I remember the day well, not just because Elvis died, but because it was a day when I thought the 'Rents were going to have to take me to the hospital on the eve of our summer vacation to Florida. 

Mom was in the bathroom cleaning (she didn't want to leave a dirty house while we were gone) and she had the radio on.  I was also in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bathtub thinking I was having a wicked case of appendicitis.  My stomach had never hurt as bad as it did that afternoon. While sitting there in pain, the report came on the radio that Elvis had died.  I remember my Sweet Mother dropping a can of cleaner she had been holding, because she was so shocked. Not 30 seconds later, Gram yelled the news from the family room.  

It turns out it wasn't appendicitis, and our trip to Florida went on as scheduled.  Back then I had no sense of direction or geography, and I asked The Old Man if we could stop in Memphis on our way to Florida.  He said no, because that would be almost a day's drive out of our way.  But we did make a pitstop in Nashville on the way down.  I remember buying a newspaper at every gas station we stopped at on the way down to keep in my archives.  And yes, I still have those newspapers down in the basement. 

Happy National Relaxation Day

TWIT and I would like to wish everyone a very happy national Relaxation Day!  I'm going to celebrate by relaxing this evening at a double-header Bats game at beautiful Slugger Field.  

I hope you, faithful readers, will have some time to celebrate this holiday today by relaxing and doing nothing.  

Happy Birthday, Girls

  I'd like to wish my Girls a very happy birthday.  Today they are 18 weeks old.  Compared to human years, it's as big of a deal as a teenager turning 21.   18 weeks is the "magic number" for when you can expect the pullets (aka hens) to start laying.  Today, The Old Man took the cardboard off of the opening to the nesting boxes, and put fresh shavings in the nesting boxes, along with fake eggs.  Don't laugh; the experts say to put fake eggs in the nesting boxes to teach them that is where they go to lay their eggs.  

As you can see from this latest picture, they seem to love their new play pen.  They especially like to jump up on the roosting bar when one of us is out there so they can look us in the eye.  

As always, stay tuned for updates on the forthcoming eggs. 

 

Procrastination Pays Off, Kinda

I'm glad that I procrastinated and didn't buy any lottery tickets for Friday night's Mega Millions.  Someone had all numbers and will win the $393 million prize.  If the winner takes the lump sum of $247 million, they will end up paying about $100 million in taxes.  Why, $147 million is hardly enough to live on.  I sure am glad I saved my money.  Said no lottery player ever. 

All Hail King Puck

KILLORGLIN, Ireland, Aug 10 (Reuters) - For a few days this week a goat will be king of a small town in Ireland's rural south west.

Billed as one of Ireland's oldest festivals, the Puck Fair sees locals in the town of Killorglin pluck a wild mountain goat from its habitat and crown him 'King Puck' for the duration of the event.

This year's king was paraded through the town on Thursday, where he was crowned by the Queen of Puck - an honor bestowed on a local schoolgirl. He appeared relaxed, if occasionally bemused, during his coronation.

"I've seen it for the last 11 years so it's nothing new but when I first moved here from England I thought it was strange," festival-goer Ben Henry, 25, of Killarney told Reuters.

"I heard a fella today saying he's been coming to Puck for 57 years so that says a lot!" he added.

The festival will feature music, street performers and a horse fair.

The origins of the event are unclear, though there are many local theories from a harvest festival to tales of a lone goat fleeing Oliver Cromwell's troops into the village.

Organizers say historical references to the festival date back to the early 17th century.

As for King Puck, organizers say he is to be treated royally during his brief reign with a diet of ash tree branches, water and cabbage to sustain him until he returns to his mountain home following his dethronement ceremony.

Organizers expect to welcome more than 100,000 visitors during the festival which runs until Aug. 12.

This Little Chicken Got Loose

In addition to yesterday's overturned semi hauling pigs that got loose incident, there was an additional animal-related wreck.  I don't know what interstate it was, but somewhere close to downtown Louisville, another semi hauling chicken parts was overturned.  It was a bad day for edible animals in Louisville.  

This Little Piggy Got Loose On I-65

This morning during the peak of rush hour traffic, a semi loaded with pigs overturned on one of the busiest areas in all of Louisville.  Here's a live action shot of some of the pigs being loose on I-65.  

You can't photo-shop something this interesting, faithful readers. 

FYI - the big rig was headed to the Swift pork processing plant just a few miles away.