“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
― Mark Twain
Happy National Doctors’ Day. This day was created to show appreciation to your doctors. Doctors perform vital diagnosis, treatment and care for you and your family. Observances of Doctors‘ Day date back to March 30, 1933. Eudora Brown Almond of Winder, Georgia started it. The day marks the anniversary of the first use of general anesthesia in surgery. The first National Doctor’s Day was celebrated in 1991.
March 30th is I am in Control Day. President Ronald Reagan was wounded in an assassination attempt on March 30, 1981. During the confusion that prevailed, Secretary of State Alexander Haig was taken a little out of context in the White House when he said “I am in control here.” Instead of focusing upon the entire statement, people and the press focused upon these few words. Political uproar eventually led to his resignation. Thought Alexander Haig’s statement has been all but forgotten, this day continued on and evolved. People started to personalize it into a day to get their life in control. This is a good chance to get things in order and under control in your own life. Take a deep breath, relax, and assess the situation. Then get things under control.
Today is Take a Walk in the Park Day. It is an opportunity for exercise and relaxation. A walk in the park will likely be the most enjoyable part of you day. Keep your eyes open and your mind clear. Take in the beauty of nature‘s wonders all around you. Bring one of your favorite people to enjoy with you the flowers, trees, birds, wildlife and fresh air.
It is also Grass is Always Browner on the Other Side of the Fence Day. This holiday was created to honor the people who never left their old life just because they thought the “grass was greener on the other side” and to inspire people to be happy with what they have, rather than selfish and greedy and envious of other people. The holiday celebrates anyone who has not been fooled by seemingly greener pastures.
Today is Turkey Neck Soup Day. For most people this does not sound all that appealing of a meal. The stock is made by slow simmering the tough, flavorful meat on actual turkey necks. But once it’s strained of bones and cooked with vegetables and rice, your family will regard it simply as a delicious dinner of turkey soup.
Pencil Day is a holiday on March 30 in celebration of the first patent on the modern pencil. Hymen Lipman was issued a patent on March 30, 1858 for a pencil with an eraser. Many participating libraries and businesses distribute free pencils in honor of this significant achievement. Pencils are usually made of wood with a graphite or charcoal center, though modern inventions have also created plastic mechanical pencils that can be replenished and use almost indefinitely. Did you know that a single wooden pencil can write 45,000 words or draw a line that is 35 miles long? A pencil can also write under water, upside down, or in zero gravity. Manufacturers painted the first pencils yellow because the color was associated with royalty and honor. People quickly began assuming that yellow pencils were the best type. To celebrate Pencil Day, set aside your laptop and use a pencil and paper to write today!
NanoDays 2013 is from March thirtieth through April seventh. NanoDays is a nationwide festival of educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering and its potential impact on the future. NanoDays events are organized by participants in the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE NET) and take place at over 200 science museums, research centers, and universities across the country from Puerto Rico to Hawaii. NanoDays engages people of all ages in learning about this emerging field of science, which holds the promise of developing revolutionary materials and technologies. A list of the this years participants can be found on the nisenet.org website.
Some of the writers born March 30th include:
Maimonides (1135), Anna Sewell (1820), Mihály Zsupánek (1830), Paul Verlaine (1844), Mary Whiton Calkins (1863), Franz Oppenheimer (1864), Sean O’Casey (1880), Jean Giono (1895), Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (1899), Brooke Astor (1902), Countee Cullen (1903), Frankie Laine (1913), Milton Acorn (1923), Alan Davidson (1924), Tom Sharpe (1928), Rolf Harris (1930), Graeme Edge (1941), Ryszard Kotla (1947), Naomi Sims (1949), Tina Monzon-Palma (1951), Randy VanWarmer (1955), Shahla Sherkat (1956), Tracy Chapman (1964), Piers Morgan (1965), Efstratios Grivas (1966), Norah Jones (1979), Yalın (1980), Anna Nalick (1984), Beni (1986), and Sarah Solovay (1994).
Today we remember Alistair Cooke, who was a British/American journalist, television personality, and broadcaster who passed away nine years ago today. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke’s America, he was well known in the United States as the host of the PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992. After holding the job for 22 years, and having worked in television for 42 years, Cooke retired in 1992, although he continued to present Letter from America until shortly before his death. He was the father of author and folk singer Jonn Bryne Cooke. He achieved his greatest popularity in the U.S. in this role, becoming the subject of many parodies, including “Alistair Cookie” in Sesame Street and No.39’s “Monsterpiece Theater”. On 2 March 2004, at the age of 95, following advice from his doctors, Cooke announced his retirement from Letter from America – after 58 years, the longest-running speech radio show in the world. Cooke died at midnight on 30 March 2004, at his home in New York City. He had been ill with heart disease, but died of lung cancer, which had spread to his bones. He was cremated, and his ashes were clandestinely scattered by his family in Central Park. After Alistair Cooke’s death the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Award in Journalism was established as a tribute to the man and his life and career achievements. The award supports students from the United Kingdom to undertake studies in the US and for Americans to study in the UK.
The Florida Territory was created in the United States on March 30, 1822.
Ether anesthesia was used for the first time in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long on this day in 1842.
Origins of the American Civil War include Bleeding Kansas – “Border Ruffians” from Missouri invaded Kansas and forced election of a pro-slavery legislature on March 30, 1855.
Alaska was purchased from Russia on March 30, 1867 for $7.2 million by United States Secretatry of State William H. Seward. The price amounted to about 2 cents per acre ($4.19/km2).
Texas was readmitted to the Union March 30, 1870, following Reconstruction.
The Queensboro Bridge opened on this day in 1909, linking Manhattan and Queens.
The Mississippi Legislature founded The University of Southern Mississippi on March 30, 1910.
The first subway in Canada, the Yonge Street subway line, opened in Toronto on this day in 1954.
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was signed in New York City on March 30, 1961.
During the Vietnam War, a car bomb exploded on this day in 1965 in front of the US Embassy, Saigon. Twenty-two were killed and 183 were wounded.
As part of the Space Shuttle program, the STS-3 Mission was completed March 30, 1982 with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
Today’s highlighted title is Haunted House by Charles Dickens. We have new copies of this paperback in stock. Amazon gives the following short description:
The popularity of A Christmas Carol excited demand for more tales of ghostly visitation, and the great Victorian storyteller happily obliged. A Yuletide gathering in an eerie country retreat provides the backdrop for Dickens and his friends — including acclaimed authors Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins — who take turns spinning supernatural yarns.
Village Book Shop 