Today is Memorial Day. Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. On the 5th of May in 1868, General John Logan officially proclaimed the 30th of May, 1868 be designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. Because the day wasn't the anniversary of any particular battle, the General called it Decoration Day. On the first Decoration Day, 5,000 participants decorated the graves of 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried at Arlington Cemetery. After World War I when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war. The “National Moment of Remembrance”, passed in Dec 2000, asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps. I hope everyone found a moment in their day to honor those who gave all in service to our Country. Tonight, we had 20 players venture out to spend a few hours together in comradery. The results are still being sorted out (that is, not posted on the website yet), but I did grab the team winners: 1st team: Larry (11) and Russ (10) 2nd team: Joe (13) and Jennifer (8) 3rd team: Kristy (10) and Ernie (9) Eventually, you will be able to see the week's full results on the website, and I will come back and update with the Top 10 when it's available. Have a great week, everyone! ~ Jennifer
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Lots of cool things happened on this day in history: In 1883, in a brilliant feat of 19th-century engineering, the Brooklyn Bridge—spanning the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan Island in New York City—opened. The bridge was designed by civil engineer John Augustus Roebling. The bridge’s construction took 14 years and cost $15 million (more than $320 million in today’s dollars). At least two dozen people died in the process, including its original designer. Now more than 125 years old, this iconic feature of the New York City skyline still carries roughly 150,000 vehicles and pedestrians every day. In sports, on this day in 1935, the first night game in major league baseball history was played at Cincinnati's Crosley Field, where the home team defeated the Phillies, 2-1. At 8:30 p.m., President Franklin D. Roosevelt threw a ceremonial switch at the White House in Washington, and the lights went on in Cincinnati. And in 1844, Samuel F. B. Morse dispatched the first telegraphic message over an experimental line from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. The message, taken from the Bible, Numbers 23:23 and recorded on a paper tape, had been suggested to Morse by Annie Ellsworth, the young daughter of a friend. .-- .... .- - / .... .- - .... / --. --- -.. / .-- .-. --- ..- --. .... Today, in 2021, God hath wrought rain. Lots of rain. The heavens opened for a short time, and dropped buckets of water on our cribbage friends. That didn't keep our persistent peggers away, however, and 24 braved the deluge to play. With 24 players, there were six place winners, and three teams. 1st: Jennifer Johnson (yours truly) took top honors this week, 14/6 +95 2nd: Andy Wagner, 13/6 +94 3rd: Jeff Raynes, 13/6 +77 4th: Jerry Gooden, 12/6 +75 5th: Allan Simpson, 13/6 +50 6th: Kristy Haught, 13/6, +48 Last week, there were so many 14 cards, that not all of them placed. This week, there was just the one. It's been ages since a 12-card came into place money, this week, there were four (and one 13) that didn't finish in top-6. Funny game, that Cribbage... Partnerships this week: 1st team: Glenn (13) and Mike G (7) 2nd team: Joe (12) and Pete (6) 3rd team: Russ (12) and Larry (5) All in all, not a bad Rainy Day Monday. Full tournament results are available on the Grass Roots website, but the current top-10 standings can be found below. Have a great week, everyone! See you next week! ~ Jennifer I hope everyone has a good week -- see ya Monday! ~ Jennifer I hope that all the moms out there had a lovely weekend! On May 10th, 1869, the Golden Spike was driven, completing the 1st US Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah and connecting the Central Pacific Railroad with the Union Pacific Railroad. The driving of the golden spike realized the achievement of a decades held dream for most Americans, the completion of a transcontinental railroad. The railroad tied the United States together east and west. The last spike really was golden, as it was made out of 17.6-karat copper-alloyed gold and weighed 14.03 troy ounces (436 g). It was a gift of San Francisco financier David Hewes and can still be viewed at the Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University. The ceremony marked the end of the incredible government sanctioned race between the CPRR and the UP. The CPRR starting from Sacramento and working east through the Sierra Nevada mountain range and Utah. Conversely, the UP started from Omaha and laid its track east across the Nebraska plains and Wyoming. Both companies laid track at a furious pace and as quickly as possible, in order to access government loans and land grants. The wooden and acrylic "spikes" in our boards were moving fast and furious tonight; perhaps a nod to the work done by Messrs. Montague and Dodge more than 150 years ago. This week, our Fearless Leader was feeling a bit under the weather, so Cathy's trusty filler-inner, Jeff Raynes, took control of the 28 players who ventured out on the tornado-est Monday we've had in a while. Never fear, there was no touchdown of swirling wind in our area, but the weather reports sure were interesting! Al Robinson got to count his 28-hand against Brian Wilson. Al was dealt four 5's and the magic cut set him up for a win. I can tell you that there were four teams who joined scores to get at least their entry fee back -- and the 12s and at least one 13 had to be joined in partnership rather than take one of the 6 places that paid out. First team: Mike & Ernie Second team: Frank & Jerry Third team: Jennifer & Al Fourth team: Tom and Megan Luther Lanier took home top honors this week. Go, Luther! To wrap up this Monday, Monday, here's The Mamas & The Papas singing their number 1 hit from this day back in 1966: I hope everyone has a great week, and feel better soon, Cathy!
~ Jennifer As I have just recently watched Rocketman, cue the Elton John song of your choice (but I know which one is running through my head as I type this title...) So, May 3rd was Club 58's Week 5, while the season is officially somewhere in the 30's. The season has been extended until August 15th, so there are plenty of weeks left to play. May 3rd was also my parents' wedding anniversary; they were married in 1969. Speaking of anniversaries :) May 3rd is also the anniversary of the very first SPAM email. In 1978, a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative sent a so-called "SPAM" message to every ARPANET address on the US west coast. The use of the term to mean unwanted mass e-mail derives from a famous Monty Python sketch, first broadcast in 1970, where a couple ordering breakfast is confronted with a menu that is heavy on one specific ingredient... Cribbage returned to Club 58 in April, but your faithful blogger waited until 2 weeks after her second vaccination shot (no side effects, thank goodness) until venturing out to Club play. Others were able to start right away in April, and BOY did they take off like gangbusters! Here are the standings as of the end of April. Tight race for top-spot!! The results for last night's game aren't up on the website yet, as Cathy has to cross-check the cards, and 25 cards is quite a bunch to have to do. However, Larry Phifer took top honors with a lovely 19/8 card and Russ Perkins was one game behind him in second place -- way to go, Russ! NONE of the 12-cards made it into the top-6 for the evening, but GRPs were still earned :) and that's the important thing. Here are the full results from Monday night, and the top-10 for the season so far: |
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