Tag: blog writer

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Coffee and Contemplation: Father’s Day and National Arizona Day

I’m a cat dad. I’ve been taking care of my cat Callie for over two years. I rescued her from the shelter, and we had an immediate bond. She yells at me if I’ve been away from home too long. And she yells if she feels there isn’t enough food in her dish or if her water dish looks contaminated. I have to refill it three times a day or she won’t drink it. She likes to rest her front paws on my shoulder as I hold her rear paws in my arms. She purrs and rubs her face on mine.

I’ve never observed Father’s Day on the receiving end. I don’t expect to get any cards or gifts. I’m sure some would say it doesn’t count unless you have a human child. Humans are overrated. Regardless, I’m proud to call myself a cat dad. I love my little fur baby. Sometimes I feel she’s my only friend. Lockdown and quarantine would have been lonely without her. I find myself gravitating towards this as I don’t have a good relationship with my own father. Many people have lost their father and this day is difficult for them.

She’s not angry. That’s just her face.

With the world diving headfirst into chaos, the issues I have with my father seem trivial. I feel ready to let go of the past and move on. But I’m not ready to discuss this with my father. Maybe I will one day. It doesn’t feel necessary. For now, I’ll enjoy being a cat dad. And anyone who has a strained relationship with their father, or if you’ve lost your father, I hope this day isn’t too difficult for you. To all the cat dads, people dads, dog dads, lizard dads, dads of any creatures, and moms who are both the mom and dad, Happy Father’s Day.

Today is also National Arizona Day. I live in Tucson, AZ that’s why I’m mentioning it. In 2017, National Day Calendar began celebrating each state in the order they entered the Union starting the week of Independence Day and ending with Hawaii. Arizona became a state on Valentine’s Day in 1912. With the addition of Arizona, the 48 states in the continental US were officially joined together. We’ve got wildfires, a pandemic, and riots/protests. Also, it’s over one hundred degrees and it’ll only get hotter through August. And I don’t plan on moving.

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Summer Solstice: Blessed Litha

Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. While some consider this the official beginning of Summer, others call it Midsummer because it’s when the Sun reaches its peak. Celebrations during the solstice are found in every country and believed to have been around since the Stone Age. Stonehenge in the UK aligns with the sunrise on the Summer Solstice and aligns with the sunset during the Winter Solstice. The Summer Solstice sunset falls between two of the pyramids of Giza near Cairo, Egypt. Christians celebrate the Feast of St. John the Baptist around the Summer Solstice.

The Pyramids of Giza near Cairo, Egypt.

Pagans, Druids, and Wiccans call the Summer Solstice Litha. And like many of the Midsummer celebrations, there are bonfires, feasts, and offerings. There is a great deal of mythology around Litha. I encourage everyone to read up on it if interested. Some of you may recall I spent last Summer in Fairbanks, AK. Being near the Arctic Circle, they have a celebration called the Midnight Sun Festival. The festival takes place at midnight and the sun is still shining. There is also a baseball game, the Midnight Sun Game. It starts at 10:30 pm and continues through midnight with no artificial lighting.

If you’ve never visited Alaska in the Summer, I recommend it. Until then, stoke up a fire, have a feast with friends, and I hope your Midsummer Night Dreams are pleasant ones. They may or may not involve fairies. If you’ve never seen Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I also recommend this. Have a blessed Litha.

The Wheel of the Year, the annual cycle of seasonal festivals observed by modern Pagans.
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Wacky Wednesday: June 17

Continuing our fun adventure into strange vocabulary and days for celebrating food, we have another Wacky Wednesday. I hope you’ll all share with me any other strange words or strange holidays you find out in the world. And they can be from any country. Our first word today is Colporteur. This is a noun which means a peddler of books, newspapers, and similar literature. This can also be someone employed by a religious society to distribute bibles and other religious literature. The next word is Eucatastrophe. A noun which is the opposite of Catastrophe. In other words, it means a happy ending.

For our weird holidays, we’ll start with Global Garbage Man Day. We should always be grateful to the men and women who dispose of our trash for us. It’s a smelly job and you should always thank them. The remainder of our holidays center around food (like always). Today is National Eat Your Vegetables Day, National Stewart’s Root Beer Day, National Apple Strudel Day, and National Cherry Tart Day. That’s a lot of sweets. Good thing they tell you to eat vegetables too. I wouldn’t recommend eating all of that during one meal. Try to spread it out throughout the day.