Happy August

1. The birthstones for August are the peridot and the sardonyx.
2. The zodiac signs for August are Leo (July 23 - August 22) and Virgo (August 23 - September 22)
3. The birth flowers for August are the gladiolus and the poppy.
4. On August 1, 1876, Colorado, also known as the Centennial State, became the 38th state of the United States.
5. On August 2, 1909, the Lincoln penny was issued.
6. On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail on his first voyage across the Atlantic.
7. During the Civil War on August 5, 1864, the Battle of Mobile Bay was won by the Union forces.
8. August 3, 1973,  Peter James Stockwell was born.
9. On August 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederle successfully swam the English Channel.
10. On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was used in warfare on Hiroshima, Japan.
11. On August 7, 1942, the U.S. troops landed on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands during World War II.
12. On August 9, 1974, Richard M. Nixon resigned from office, making him the first United States president to ever resign from office.
13. On August 12, 1877, the phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison.
14. On August 12, 1898, Hawaii was annexed by the United States.
15. National Family Fun Month
16. National Peach Month
17. National Golf Month
18. National Picnic Month
19. Romance Awareness Month
20. Friendship Day - first Sunday of August
21. August 26 - Women's Equality Day
22. Holidays Friendship Day Raksha Bandhan Women's Equality Day National Catfish Month Harvest Month National Water Quality Month Peach Month National Immunization Awareness Month Get Ready for Kindergarten Month

Has your dog trained you?

We don't own a dog anymore but our children's families have dogs and we're often asked to dog sit.  I guess you could say they are our grand dogs so in that sense we kind of do have two dogs.  One is a boxer (Boomer) and the other a yellow lab (Daisy). 

Daisy is our guest this week while her family is on vacation. We tend to treat our grand dogs much like we do our grand children, i.e. we spoil them.

Daisy is one such example. She will probably get more treats this week than in the previous 20. In fact she has me so well trained that I never take her out with a few in my pocket.  They're a great way to keep her in our yard. 

I hope we don't send her home noticeably heavier.  We'll get in trouble!

Happy Moon Day

On this day 49 years ago history was made when the Eagle lunar module from Apollo 11 landed on the moon.  I remember exactly where I was that day. Do you? Do you think we should make more lunar landings?

Bastile Day and World War I

Recently Trump journeyed to France to join in their celebration of Bastile Day-the day French citizens stormed the Bastile thus leading to the French Revolution.

It happens to coincide with the entrance of the U.S. into World War I-supposedly the war to end all wars.

Here are some fast facts about World War I which incidentally introduced a new kind of warfare-poison gas:

Causes of World War I:
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian national leads to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia.

Ties and treaties bound countries to assist each other in time of war. When the time came, they started choosing sides. The U.S. declares neutrality until German submarine warfare threatens American commercial shipping.

The Central Powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, and Ottoman Empire (now Turkey).

The Allied Powers consisted of Belgium, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia and the United States.

Troop Statistics:
4,734,991 - Total number U.S. troops served
8,528,831 - Total Military Deaths for all countries involved

U.S. Deaths:
Battle: 53,402
Non-battle: 63,114
Total In-Theatre: 116,516
Total U.S. soldiers wounded: 204,002

Other Military Casualties by Country:
Austria-Hungary: 1,200,000 dead; 3,620,000 wounded
Belgium: 13,716 dead; 44,686 wounded
Bulgaria: 87,500 dead; 152,390 wounded
France: 1,357,800 dead; 4,266,000 wounded
Germany: 1,773,000 dead; 4,216,058 wounded
Great Britain: 908,371 dead; 2,090,212 wounded
Greece: 5,000 dead; 21,000 wounded
Italy: 650,000 dead; 947,000 wounded
Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 325,000 dead; 400,000 wounded
Portugal: 7,222 dead; 13,800 wounded
Romania: 335,706 dead; 120,000 wounded
Serbia & Montenegro: 48,000 dead; 143,148 wounded
Russia: 1,700,000 dead; 4,950,000 wounded

Timeline:
June 28, 1914 - Gavrilo Princip, who has ties to the Serbian terrorist-type group the Black Hand, assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.

July 28, 1914 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

August 2, 1914 - Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Germany sign a secret treaty of alliance.

August 4, 1914 - Germany invades Belgium. President Woodrow Wilson declares that the United States is neutral. Britain declares war on Germany.

August 10, 1914 - Austria-Hungary invades Russia, opening the fighting on the Eastern Front.

August 1914 - Battle of Tannenberg, Prussia.

September 12, 1914 - First battle of Aisne, France.

November 3, 1914 - Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire (now Turkey).

November 5, 1914 - Great Britain and France declare war on Ottoman Empire.

May 7, 1915 - A German U-20 submarine sinks the British passenger ship, the Lusitania; 1,198 are killed, including 128 Americans.

April 22, 1915 - Second Battle of Ypres begins, marking the first use of poison gas by Germany.

June 1915-November 1917 - Battles of the Isonzo, Italy.

1915 - Battle of Krithia, Gallipoli peninsula, Ottoman Empire.

February 21-July 1916 - Battle of Verdun, France, the war's longest battle, with almost a million casualties.

May 31-June 1, 1916 - Battle of Jutland, North Sea near Denmark - a sea battle between British and German navies.

July 1, 1916-November 1916 - First Battle of the Somme River, France. The British introduce the tank.

April 6, 1917 - U.S. declares war against Germany after the interception and publication of the Zimmermann Telegram and the sinking of three U.S. merchant ships by German U-boats.

June 26, 1917 - American troops begin landing in France.

November 20, 1917 - Battle of Cambrai, France.

December 3, 1917 - Russia signs an armistice with Germany.

March 3, 1918 - Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending hostilities with the Central Powers and withdrawing Russia from this war.

March 21-April 5, 1918 - Second Battle of the Somme River.

September 29, 1918 - Bulgaria signs an armistice.

October 30, 1918 - Ottoman Empire (Turkey) signs an armistice.

November 3, 1918 - Austria-Hungary signs an armistice.

November 11, 1918 - Germany accepts the armistice terms demanded by the Allies, ending the war.

June 28, 1919 - The Treaty of Versailles is signed at the Palace of Versailles, France.

To Kill A Mocking Bird

On this day 57 years ago one of the best known American novels of all time was published-To Kill A Mocking Bird.

Later it was turned into an Academy Award winning movie starring Gregory Peck.

The book was written by Harper Lee. Harper Lee died about a year ago and another novel she had been working on was found and published. It did not achieve the same level of fame as To Kill A Mocking Bird. 

Here are  some interesting facts about that famous book.

$3.95  Price of the book upon its release in 1960. Available on Amazon for $5.89 paperback.

40  Number of languages into which “Mockingbird” has been translated

40+ million  Copies of the book that have been sold worldwide

893 weeks  Time “Mockingbird” has spent on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books—a list that has only been around since 1993

1961 Year Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

12 years  Duration of the ban placed on “Mockingbird” by the Plaquemines Parish School District’s in Louisiana—it was lifted in October 2013

“To Kill A Mockingbird,” considered one of the best novels of the 20th century, is also one of the most controversial. According to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, the Harper Lee novel is one of the most challenged and banned classical books. Many of these objections come from parents, school administrators or advocacy groups who contend that its racially and sexually-charged themes are inappropriate for young readers.

$1,688,064.68  Amount Lee earned in royalties from sales of “Mockingbird” in the first six months of December 2009 alone.

103  Age of Lee’s sister and former lawyer, Alice, before her death in November 2014

12/25/62  U.S. release date for the film adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird”

6 Number of Academy and Golden Globes awards the film won (three of each)

2 million Size of the publisher’s first printing of “Go Set a Watchman”

20 years  Amount of time after “Mockingbird” ends that “Watchman” takes place, despite the fact that Lee wrote “Watchman” first

1964  The last time Harper Lee gave an interview

0  Amount of publicity the 89-year-old author is expected to do for the new book

Back to reality

Well, we're home from our trip to Cancun.  Sandi and I got sick but still managed to have a good time.  The kids especially enjoyed themselves which is important to us. 

I will soon be posting pictures of various activities on my web site  so be sure to check it out from time to time. georgeswebpage.com

We have only one more trip planned for the summer and that's to take care of some business at our condo.  Then it's home until Thanksgiving.