Friday, April 19, 2013

Patriot's Day, Boston Marathon, Tradition, Etc.

     
Tucson Weather Today


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BOSTON MARATHON


On April 19, 1897, John J. McDermott of New York won the first Boston Marathon with a time of 2:55:10. Fifteen runners started the race but only 10 made it to the finish line.

The Boston Marathon was originally held on Patriot's Day, April 19, a regional holiday that commemorates the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Since 1969, the holiday has been observed on the third Monday in April, providing a three-day long weekend, as well as being the first day of public school vacation week in Maine and Massachusetts. Previously, it had been designated as April 19 in observance of the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War.

Patriot's Day, and The Boston Marathon are now venerated traditions, regarded in Massachusetts with great respect and reverence.

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How much longer, I wonder, will politicians, officials, and so called businessmen be ruled by foolish 'fashion,' and wear those ridiculous suit-coats, vests, and nicely colored neckties?

Neckties. Good Lord!

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."
--Ecclesiastes 1:2

Hey! What ever happened to 'spats?'



Puttin' On The Ritz

Spats emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as a fashion accessory, evolving from the "spatterdashes" worn to keep mud out of walking boots into a fashion accessory to dress up any pair of shoes.

How about pajamas and other assorted sleep ware, and such?

Do you remember the poem, T'was Night Before Christmas, originally titled A Visit From Saint Nicholas, and the reference to:

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap...


To what exactly do her kerchief and my cap refer?

A nightcap is a warm cloth cap worn while sleeping, often with pajamas or a nightgown. Women's night caps usually consisted of a long piece of cloth (kerchief) wrapped around the head.

Nightcaps are not often worn in modern times, although they are easily obtained from, for example, better class gentlemen's outfitters.

Just sayin'.

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WORD FOR TODAY

chunter
verb (British Informal)
-  to grumble or grouse mildly or tediously.
-  to mutter or grumble incessantly in a meaningless fashion.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


Jayne Mansfield
(April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967)
 
Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer) was an American actress in film, theater, and television, a nightclub entertainer, a singer, and one of the early Playboy Playmates. She was a major Hollywood sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. Mansfield was 20th Century Fox's alternative Marilyn Monroe and came to be known as the Working Man's Monroe. She was also known for her well publicized personal life and publicity stunts. She was the mother of actress Mariska Hargitay from her second marriage to actor-bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. In 1967 Mansfield died in a car accident at the age of 34.



Dick Sargent
(April 19, 1930 – July 8, 1994)
 
Dick Sargent, born Richard Stanford Cox, was an American actor, notable as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on the television series Bewitched. He appeared in The Great Locomotive Chase starring Fess Parker, Operation Petticoat starring Cary Grant, and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken starring Don Knotts.  In 1991, Sargent publicly declared his homosexuality and supported gay rights issues. He lived with his domestic partner, Albert Williams, until his death in 1994.



Kate Garry Hudson
(born April 19, 1979)
 
Kate Hudson is an American actress. She came to prominence in 2001 after winning a Golden Globe and receiving several nominations, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Almost Famous. She then starred in the hit film How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) which gained her wider fame. She has since established herself in Hollywood after starring in several productions including Raising Helen (2004), The Skeleton Key (2005), You, Me and Dupree (2006), Fool's Gold (2008) and Bride Wars (2009). She currently appears in the musical comedy-drama television series Glee as Cassandra July.




Hugh O'Brian
April 19, 1925)
 
Hugh O'Brian, (born Hugh Charles Krampe) is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955–1961).

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It takes an endless amount of history to make even a little tradition.

--Henry James
    

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