March 13th – K-9 Veteran’s Day

March 13, 2017 at 12:01 am | Posted in Today's Reasons To Celebrate | Leave a comment

Good morning dog lovers. Today is Monday, March 13, 2017. Today’s reasons to celebrate are:

K-9 Veteran’s Day 

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the day that the United States Army K-9 Corps was created, however, the earliest record of using dogs in war dates back to 600 BC. During the first world war, American soldiers took notice of the European use of canines as sentries, message carriers, and other functions. Because of that, the Dogs for Defense program was initiated by a private citizen by the name of Mrs. Alene Erlanger. Along with the American Kennel Club and a handful of breeders, the group aimed to train the dogs for military use. By November of 1942, the first Dogs for Defense were prepared for duty in North Africa. While at first, they were gun-shy, they proved to be well-trained. As the war progressed, Dogs for Defense was unable to keep up with the demand and the Remount Branch, Service Installations Divisions took over training of the dogs.
The idea of a K-9 Veterans Day originated with a retired military working dog trainer named Joseph Wright who wanted recognition for dogs who serve in the military, law enforcement, and service dogs. He selected this date because it coincides the creation of the Army K-9 Corps in 1942. To date, over 30,000 dogs have served in the military since the K-9 Corps was started, with over 1,500 deployed during the Korean conflict and 4,000 dogs deployed during the Vietnam conflicts. Currently, there are about 2500 K-9’s in service in the armed forces, with many more dogs serving with police departments, rescue operations, and as service animals. Over the years the military, police, and rescue have developed a variety of training methods for K-9 units. Their training is tailored to meet the demands of their specific job and the role of each animal and handler.
K-9 Veteran’s Day is a holiday to honor all “working dogs” – Military, law enforcement, search and rescue, assistance, and dogs trained in other specialized fields such as cadaver dogs.
Author’s Note: K-9 Veteran’s Day is not an official holiday –yet! Progress is being made, however. Legislators on both the federal and state level are showing support for national recognition of K-9 Veteran’s Day. Florida enacted legislation recognizing K-9 Veteran’s Day in 2009, as did Pennsylvania in 2014. Other states, New Jersey, Wisconsin, New York, and Kentucky to name a few have legislation pending. Who knows, maybe next year, K-9 Veteran’s Day will be a national holiday.

Good Samaritan Day  

Good Samaritan Day is a day to emphasize the importance of rendering aid to those who need it. the parable of the “good Samaritan” comes from the bible, Luke 10:25-37. Jesus told His disciples about a selfless person who assisted a man who had been stripped of his clothing, robbed of his money, beaten and left for dead. A Jewish priest walked by the victim, but went to the other side of the street and did nothing. Another person also walked by and did nothing. But the Good Samaritan saw the man, kneeled next to him, cleaned and bandaged his wounds. He then put the man on his donkey and took him to an inn. He gave the innkeeper money to care for the victim and told him if the bill exceeded the amount, he would pay the difference the next time he stays at the inn. Jesus instructed His disciples to “Go and do likewise.”
Unfortunately, this scenario occurs more often than one might think. People often ignore someone in desperate need, many times in broad daylight. While getting involved during an actual crime may not be advisable, the advancement of technology makes it easy for just about anyone to pick up the phone and call 9-1-1 for assistance from emergency responders. If the perpetrator in no longer around, do what you can to comfort and aid the victim until help arrives.
This holiday serves as an important reminder to help others in need. Whether it’s an elderly neighbor who needs a little help or a complete stranger in need, helping someone not only helps them, it sets a good example and makes you feel good too. And don’t forget the neglected and abused four-legged friends that need our help and compassion as well.
Good Samaritan Day is celebrated on this date because it is the anniversary of the murder of Catherine (Kitty) Genovese, Mar 13, 1964, in the Kew Gardens community, Queens, NY. Reportedly at least 38 of her neighbors, not wanting “to get involved,” witnessed and watched for nearly 30 minutes as the fleeing girl was pursued and repeatedly stabbed by her 29-year-old attacker.

Donald Duck Day

Donald Duck was first introduced in a 1924 comic strip. In 1934, the irascible character made his official debut in a cartoon by Walt Disney Productions titled “The Wise Little Hen”. His full name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck.
According to the 1941 publication “The Life of Donald Duck”, March 13th is his birthday. The evidence offered to back up this claim is his license plate number, 313. The cartoon “Donald’s Birthday” released in 1949 also offers more evidence. While his nephews Huey Dewey, and Louie are preparing for his celebration, there is a shot of a calendar showing the month of March with the 13th circled in red.
Although not my favorite cartoon character (I’m a Warner Brothers fan), in one recent survey, Donald Duck was voted the most popular animated character in the world – beating out Disney mascot Mickey Mouse.
Author’s Note: Some people celebrate Donald Duck Day on June 9th – the debut of his first cartoon.

Ken Day

A few days ago we celebrated Barbie’s birthday, so it seems only natural that there is also a Ken Day.
Ken Day marks the date in 1961 when Mattel released a ‘companion’ for their popular Barbie doll. According to Mattel, Ken (Carson) is Barbie’s boyfriend. Like Barbie, he is forever young and has been constantly reinvented. Ken is “into” everything – he’s had at least 40 ‘careers’, although his career-hopping is dwarfed by Barbie’s 78+ ‘careers’.  Apparently, one of the things that Ken wasn’t “into” was getting married. In 2004, after decades of being boyfriend-girlfriend, Barbie and Ken split up but, according to Mattel remained friends. On their 50th anniversary as a couple in 2011, according to Mattel, Ken launched a campaign to get Barbie back. and by Valentine’s Day of that year, they were reunited.
Unless you are still playing with dolls, I haven’t a clue about how you are supposed to celebrate Ken Day – but it might be an opportunity to have a “date night” with your significant other and use the opportunity go reaffirm your love and grow closer together.

National Jewel Day

National Jewel Day is a gem of a holiday that celebrates jewels of all shapes, sizes, cuts and colors. The origins of this holiday are unknown, but chances are pretty good that either a jeweler or girl came up with the idea. After all, diamonds are a girl’s best friend, right?
Fashion trends may come and go, but people have adorned themselves with jewels for centuries, and jewelry seems to be the one constant trend in fashion that never goes out of style. Early pieces of jewelry were made from stones, bones, teeth and shells. Over the years, jewelry has been worn for functional purposes, protection against various dangers (talismans), signs of political strength, decorations and as status symbols.
To celebrate National Jewel Day, “bling” yourself up and go out on the town.

Coconut Torte Day  

Together, coconut and tortes have no discernible history. However, separately, coconuts and tortes have a history of their own.
The first mention of the name coconut printed in English was in 1555. The word coconut comes from the Portuguese-Spanish word coco, and means monkey face. The Spanish and Portuguese saw the resemblance of a monkey’s face in the three round indented markings or “eyes” found at the base of the coconut. Like many different things in history, coconuts were used as currency. They were used as currency in the Nicobar Islands of the Indian Ocean. Coconuts continued as a form of currency through the early part of the twentieth century. Coconuts are fruits of the coconut palms which are native to Malaysia, Polynesia and southern Asia. Through the advancement of modern global civilization, they are now prolific in South America, India, the Pacific Islands, Hawaii, and Florida. The coconut’s name is a not actually accurate. It is not a nut, but rather a seed and it the largest known seed in the plant world.
The word torte is German and literally, means cake. One of the oldest known tortes in the world is the Linzer Torte – which was named after the city of Linz, Austria. However, while torte is the German word for what we call cake, they can refer to different confections. British cakes, German tortes, and Italian tortas are generally heartier, denser creations. The French went for lighter, richer, layered affairs stuffed with custard, whipped cream or buttercream, frosted, and decorated with fresh fruit—oh la la, but very perishable. Tortes are rich, dense cakes made with many eggs and little or no flour, using ground nuts (and sometimes breadcrumbs) for texture.
Now, the next time you’re at a party and the subject of coconuts or tortes comes up, you’ll be prepared. To celebrate Coconut Torte Day, find a recipe online and enjoy a coconut torte for dessert tonight.

More Holidays

• Commonwealth Day
• Earmuff Day
• Fill Our Staplers Day
• National Napping Day – Day after Daylight Saving Day
• National Open an Umbrella Indoors Day
• Smart & Sexy Day 

On This Date

• In 0607 – The 12th recorded the passage of Halley’s Comet occurred.
• In 1519 – Cortez landed in Mexico.
• In 1639 – Harvard University was named for clergyman John Harvard.
• In 1781 – Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus.
• In 1852 – The New York “Lantern” newspaper published the first “Uncle Sam cartoon”. It was drawn by Frank Henry Bellew.
• In 1861 – Jefferson Davis signed a bill authorizing slaves to be used as soldiers for the Confederacy.
• In 1868 – The U.S. Senate began the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson.
• In 1877 – Chester Greenwood patented the earmuffs.
• In 1878 – The first collegiate golf match was played between Oxford and Cambridge.
• In 1901 – Andrew Carnegie announced that he was retiring from business and that he would spend the rest of his days giving away his fortune. His net worth was estimated at $300 million. In today’s dollars, that fortune equates to a little under 8.6 billion dollars…or enough to run the government fo 19¾ hours in today’s economy.
• In 1911 – The U.S. Supreme Court approved corporate tax law.
• In 1925 – A law in Tennessee prohibited the teaching of evolution.
• In 1930 – It was announced that the planet Pluto had been discovered by scientist Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory.
• In 1935 – Three-thousand-year-old archives were found in Jerusalem confirming some biblical history.
• In 1942 – Julia Flikke of the Nurse Corps became the first woman colonel in the U.S. Army.
• In 1943 – German troops liquidated the Jewish ghetto in Kraków. Thousands of men, women, and children were murdered by the nazis or deported to extermination camps. The horrific event is portrayed in the film, Schindler’s List.
• In 1951 – The comic strip “Dennis the Menace” appeared for the first time in newspapers across the country.
• In 1957 – Jimmy Hoffa was arrested by the FBI on bribery charges.
• In 1969 – The Apollo 9 astronauts returned to Earth after the conclusion of a mission that included the successful testing of the Lunar Module.
• In 1972 – “The Merv Griffin Show” debuted in syndication for Metromedia Television.
• In 1974 – An embargo imposed by Arab oil-producing countries was lifted.
• In 1980 – A jury in Winamac, IN, found Ford Motor Company innocent of reckless homicide in the deaths of three young women that had ridden in a Ford Pinto.
• In 1991 – Exxon paid $1 billion in fines and for the clean-up of the Alaskan oil spill.
• In 1997 – A series of unidentified lights appeared over Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix Lights caused heated debate in the UFO community. It emerged later that some of the lights were caused by illumination flares dropped from a U.S. Air Force plane.
• In 1997 – Sister Nirmala was chosen by India’s Missionaries of Charity to succeed Mother Teresa as leader of the Catholic order.
• In 2002 – Fox aired “Celebrity Boxing.” Tonya Harding beat Paula Jones, Danny Bonaduce beat Barry Williams and Todd Bridges defeated Vanilla Ice.
• In 2003 – A report in the journal “Nature” reported that scientists had found 350,000-year-old human footprints in Italy. The 56 prints were made by three early, upright-walking humans that were descending the side of a volcano.

Noteworthy Birthdays

If you were born on this date, Happy Birthday. You share your birthday with the following list of illustrious individuals – and about 20-million other people.

• Joseph Priestley 1733 – Theologian.
• Charles Earl Grey 1764 – British statesman.
• Lorenzo Delmonico 1813 – Restaurateur.
• Percival Lowell 1855 – Astronomer.
• Sammy Kaye 1910 – Band leader.
• L. Ron Hubbard 1911 – Author.
• Peter Breck 1929 – Actor.
• Neil Sedaka 1939 – Singer, songwriter.
• William H. Macy 1950 – Actor.
• Deborah Raffin 1953 – Actress.
• Dana Delany 1956 – Actress.
• Christopher Collet 1968 – Actor.
• Tracey Wells 1971 – Actress.
• Annabeth Gish 1971 – Actress.
• Danny Masterson 1976 – Actor.
• Emile Hirsch 1985 – Actor.