A Day in History - August 13, 2012

August 13, 2012.  This is one of those days that seem like just another day.  Blah.  Surprise!  It’s not.  In fact, it’s quite an impressive day.  Many people don’t realize that it is National Left Hander’s Day.  The best day of the year! 

Even if you didn’t realize the importance of the lefty day, here are a few marks in history that occurred on the 13^th day of August. 

13th Aug. 1905 : In Chine, residents were tossed about by an earthquake and then to add insult to injury, nine hours of aftershocks..

13th Aug. 1920 : The U.S. Deputy Marshals, went out and rounded up 212 draft dodgers in the Chicago area.

13th August 1920 : The Soviet Union began it's assault of Warsaw, Poland.   

13th Aug. 1943 : The German Army, after an assult of five hundred anti-aircraft guns, fled in full retreat across the Messina Strait to Italy.

13th Aug. 1953 : Four million workerd in France went on a massive strike, as the unions argued with the government over economic policies. The situation was so bad that convicts were pressed into service in order to fill the gap left by the union workers.

13th Aug. 1961 : The German Communists started putting up barbard wire, the first step in the building of the Berlin Wall.  

13th Aug. 1969 : The Tic-a-Tape parade through New York City, saw Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins exuberantly welcomed and cheered.   The paper tossed into the streets in celebration of the first walk on the moon was ankle deep!

13th August 1979 : After Watergate and President Nixon’s downfall, President Ford promised to listen and cooperate with Congress. At the time Congress was predominantly Democrat and Ford was a Republican, so the relationship was particularly challenging. During Nixon’s presidency the limits of executive power verses the power of Congress had been a huge issue.

13th Aug. 1988 : Actress, Anne Ramsey, died of throat cancer at age 59. Her most famous role was the harping mother in the movie, “Throw Mama Off the Train”. Other flicks of Ramsey’s were, “Up From the Sandbox”, “For Pete’s Sake”, “Weeds”, and “Goonies” (my favorite).

13th Aug. 2004 : The Summer Olympic Games in Athens Greece, kicks off.  These games are officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad.

13th August 2004 : Hurricane Charley, a Category 3 hurricane, with winds in excess of 150 MPH makes landfall in Florida. This hurricane caused 10 deaths and over $15 billion dollars in damages.

13th August 2007 : The Taleban freed two South Korea aid workers after three weeks of captivity.

13th August, 2011 : Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, hosted its first gay pride march in the city.

13th August, 2011 : At the Indiana State Fair, due to a fierce storm, a stage collapsed just as the band Sugarland were about to perform.

And last but oh so not least, 13th August, 2012 : Sidney Marie turns 17 years old.  A milestone of great import, as her parents were amazed she made it past 13.  Love ya, Boo!  Lets see if you can make it 18.

See you had no idea how exciting this day in history was did you?  It’s amazing what you can find now-a-days on line.  Simply amazing.

Have a great week everyone.  Happy Birthday, to my Sidney.

Ctny