Poetry, Noetry

Today is Bad Poetry Day. This day was created for so many people out there and they don’t even know it. Life is like a little rose, it starts out small, and then it grows, up and up along a wall.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Actress, Madeline Stowe (1958). Although she made her start in the ’70s with TV appearances (including the blind painter, Annie Crane on LHOP),  she has many movie credits including, Stakeout; The Two Jakes; Twelve Mokeys; The General’s Daughter; and We Were Soldiers.

Actor/Dancer, Patrick Swayze (1954). We will miss you, but, we can always see you in Dirty Dancing; Ghost; Red Dawn; Road House or any one of your other films.

Actor/Director, Robert Redford (1937). He seems to have a gentle soul, don’t you think. Some of my favorite films include The Sting, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid; The Way We Were; and Sneakers.

Baseball player, Roberto Clemente (1934). He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame less than a year after his death in an aviation accident while on his way to aid earthquake victims in Nicaragua)

Film director, Roman Polanski (1933). Polanski may be know for his directing Rosmary’s Baby, Chinatown, Tess, Pirates, Death and the Maiden, The Ninth Gate, The Pianist and The Ghost Writer. But he will probably be known for the trouble in his life, the slaying of his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family, and the fleeing from a jail sentence after being convicted of a crime.

First Lady, Rosalynn Carter (1927). Not only did she make Jimmy look good, she is an advocate for mental health and caregiving and has written several books.

Actress, Shelley Winters (1922).  Featured in almost 160 titles including The Great Gatsby, The Treasure of Pancho Villa, Lolita, The Poseidon Adventure, and as Nana Mary on the TV series Roseanne.

Executive/Politician, Caspar Weinberger (1917). Historical roles including VP and general counsel to Bechtel Corp; Secretary of Defense; Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare; Director of the Office of Mamagement and Budget.

IN HISTORY:

1963 – The first black American graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in political science after just one year of attendence.

1958 – The controversial novel, Lolita, written by Vladimir Nabokov, was published in the US.

1940 – Walter Percy Chrysler, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died at the age of 65. Chrysler Corporation was formed in 1925 after he worked at several companies including Buick, Willys-Overland and Maxwell Motors.

1931 – China’s Yangtze River crests during horrible flooding. By the end of this natural disaster, nearly 4 million people will have lost their lives and this would be known as the worst natural disaster of the 20^th century.

1920 – The 19^th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified (2/3 of the states had passed it). From this day forward, women would have the right to vote.

1590 – The governor of the Roanoke Island colony returned from a supply trip to England to find his colonists missing, including his daughter and grand daughter, Virginia Dare.

1227 – The death of Genghis Khan was felt throughout his empire. In order to keep his death a secret any one who set eyes on the funeral procession. He was buried in an unmarked grave, that is still a mystery.