Friday, April 01, 2016

April Fools

We were the fools, and Mother Nature was the tricker.  After such a beautiful day yesterday, heavy winds blew in a cold front  with overcast skies and  and chilly temps.  The clouds allowed a weak sun for a few hours, but in the evening it disappeared altogether.  Duane used the am to pay leftover doctor bills that straggled in with the mail.  I did laundry and read Nick Russell's latest Big Lake offering--Big Lake Brewpub.  Very interesting.

We both had sinus headaches.  That, coupled with the weather kept us inside all day, so no trips, no pix.  However I do have some fun facts to share.  (At least they are fun for me!)

For the past seventy years Smokey Bear has warned us of the dangers of wildfires. In 1964 to accommodate his fan mail, the USPS have him his own zip code--20252.

In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Medicare program.  In 1965 I was starting my Freshman year in high school.  That means that this month I can now take advantage of the Medicare program which has been in use for the past fifty years.  I am also the recipient of all of those supplemental insurance mailings.  Win one, lose one.

Forty years ago in the 1970's we boomers were still making our mark through fashion, slang, and fads.

Fashion trends for men included leisure suits, high-waist slacks in bright colors and patterns, and close-fitting knit shirts worn open to mid chest to display gold chains or necklaces.  Women wore mini, midi, and maxi skirts, wide bell-bottom hip-hugger pants (mine were purple with big jungle flowers all over), tube tops, and "Daisy Dukes".  Both genders wore platform shoes and lots of double knits.

Everyone knew what it meant to boogie, book, jive talk,and keep on truckin'.  No one wanted to be a jive turkey, but did want to be far out, funky, or outta sight.

Cb radios, disco, pet rocks and mood rings were very "in".  Everyone made Teriyaki Chicken with pineapple and the ever popular Watergate Salad.

You're not done laughing yet.  I got this tidbit from the back of my desktop daily calendar.  It seems that among some of the large scale April Fool's Day pranks, a Danish newspaper reported on April 1, 1965, that the Danish parliament had passed a law requiring all dogs to be painted white.  The purpose of the "law" was so that the canines could be seen more easily at night and, thus, increase road safety.

Hope you had a fun April Fool's Day!

Louise and Duane

1 comment:

Paul and Marsha Weaver OCT. 17, 2009 said...

I signed up for Medicare in February. Just got my card in the mail :(