May the Fourth Be With You. Now that we’ve got that out of the way...
This month’s topic is “10”. Not the movie starring the wonderful Dudley Moore and Bo Derek, but the numeral that comes after number nine, number nine, number nine...Help! Oh, lordy.
Anybody remember a candy bar costing 10 cents? I don’t, the cheapest I remember was twenty-five cents. But the liquorice cigars were a dime and the Bazooka bubble gum was ‘two for a dime’.
The most exciting part of the countdown to a space launch is 10 seconds. As is the most exciting part to the countdown to a New Year. Heck, we could be counting down to 2022 now, if we had nothing better to do, but I bet it would get boring. Let’s try...20,908,800...20,908,799...20,980,798...anyone bored yet? Yeah, the final 10 seconds is tons more fun.
I mentioned May the Fourth at the top of this post. Other celebrations and observances we could be celebrating and/or observing are, in no particular order:
Orthodox Easter Tuesday in Cyprus. Have I mentioned that I’ve visited Cyprus? I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Greenery Day in Japan. As you might guess, it’s a day to celebrate nature, and is marked by the planting of seeds by the Emperor and Empress. I’ve not been to Japan, but my Mum has a few times to visit a niece who lives there. She’d go back in a heartbeat as well.
Declaration of Independence Day in Latvia, which declared independence from the USSR in 1990. I’m ashamed to admit I had to look it up on a map. I knew the general area, given its former inclusion in the Soviet Union, but it’s good to know the precise location of these things. Should the subject come up in a pub quiz, for instance.
National Remembrance Day in The Netherlands, commemorating all Dutch victims of war. Have I mentioned that I’ve been to The Netherlands? Another country I’d return to in a heartbeat. Also, my maternal ancestors hailed from a village in the north called Uithuizen.
And few of us would be where we are now without the skill and talents of an incredible bunch of people who are honoured on today’s National Teacher Appreciation Day.
All told, there are 10 national public holidays celebrated around the world on this day, including National Bird Day. Now get out there and hug a bird!
