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Here are the holidays...

June 13
Shavuot

June 14
Flag Day
2nd day of Shavuot
United States Army founded, 1775
Sand Paper invented by I. Fischer Jr. in 1834

June 15
Smile Power Day
A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed Day
Sneak A Kiss Day
Electricity Day (in observation of Benjamin Franklin discovering electricity while flying a kite on June 15, 1752)
Fly A Kite Day (Celebrating the anniversary of Ben Franklin's kite experiment in 1752)
Justice for Janitors Day
Violin Day

June 16
Morticians Day

Happy Shavu'ot!

"Shavu'ot, the Festival of Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, and is known as Hag ha-Bikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits). Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag Matan Torateinu (the Festival of the Giving of Our Torah)."

More on Shavuot, a Jewish holiday, found here.

Celebrating Flag Day

Barbara Frietchie

Up from the meadows rich with corn,
Clear in the cool September morn,

The clustered spires of Frederick stand
Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.

Round about them orchards sweep,
Apple and peach tree fruited deep,

Fair as the garden of the Lord
To the eyes of the famished rebel horde,

On that pleasant morn of early fall
When Lee marched over the mountain wall;

Over the mountains winding down,
Horse and foot, into Frederick town.

Forty flags with their silver stars
Forty flag with their crimson bars,

Flapped in the morning wind; the sun
Of noon looked down, and saw not one.

Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then,
Bowed with her fourscore years and ten;

Bravest of all in Frederick town,
She took up the flag the men hauled down;

In her attic window the staff she set,
To show that one heart was loyal yet.

Up the street came the rebel tread,
Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

Under his slouched hat left and right
He glanced; the old flag met his sight.

"Halt!" - the dust-brown ranks stood fast.
"Fire!" - out blazed the rifle-blast.

It shivered the window, pane and sash;
It rent the banner with seam and gash.

Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff
Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf.

She leaned far out on the window-sill,
And shook it forth with a royal will.

"Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,
But spare your country's flag," she said.

A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,
Over the face of the leader came;

The nobler nature within him stirred
To life at that woman's deed and word;

"Who touches a hair of yon gray head
Dies like a dog! March on!" he said.

All day long through Frederick street
Sounded the tread of marching feet;

All day long that free flag tost
Over the heads of the rebel host.

Ever its torn folds rose and fell
On the loyal winds that loved it well;

And through the hill-gaps sunset light
Shone over it with a warm good-night.

Barbara Frietchie's work is o'er,
And the Rebel rides on his raids no more.

Honor to her! and let a tear
Fall, for her sake, on Stonewall's bier.

Over Barbara Frietchie's grave,
Flag of Freedom and Union, wave!

Peace and order and beauty draw
Round thy symbol of light and law;

And ever the stars above look down
On thy stars below in Frederick town!

-- John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92)

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT ON VIOLIN DAY

What's the difference between a violin and a viola?

There is no difference. The violin just looks smaller because the

violinist's head is so much bigger.

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Q: How do you keep your violin from being stolen?

A: Put it in a viola case.

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Q: What do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?

A: Everyone is relieved when the case is closed.

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What's the difference between a violin and a fiddle?

A fiddle is fun to listen to.

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Why are viola jokes so short?

So violinists can understand them.

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How do you tell the difference between a violinist and a dog?

The dog knows when to stop scratching.

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How many second violinists does it take to change a light bulb?

None. They can't get up that high!

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String players' motto: "It's better to be sharp than out of tune."

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Why is a violinist like a SCUD missile?

Both are offensive and inaccurate.

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What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin?

No-one minds if you spill beer on a fiddle.

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Why do violinists put a cloth between their chin and their instrument?

Violins don't have spit valves.

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Why should you never try to drive a roof nail with a violin?

You might bend the nail.

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Jacques Thibault, the violinist, was once handed an autograph book by a fan

while in the greenroom after a concert. "There's not much room on this

page," he said. "What shall I write?"

Another violinist, standing by, offered the following helpful hint: "Write

your repertoire."

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"Haven't I seen your face before?" a judge demanded, looking down at the

defendant.

"You have, Your Honor," the man answered hopefully. "I gave your son violin

lessons last winter."

"Ah, yes," recalled the judge. "Twenty years!"

The widow takes a look at her dear departed one right before the funeral and,
to her horror, finds that he's in his brown suit. She'd specifically said to
the undertaker that she wanted him buried in his blue suit; she'd brought it
especially for that occasion, and she was distressed that the mortician had left
him in the same brown suit he'd been wearing when the lightning bolt hit him.
She demanded that the corpse be changed into the blue suit she'd brought
especially for that purpose.
The undertaker said, "But madam! It's only a minute or two until the funeral
is scheduled to begin! We can't possibly take him out and get him changed in
that amount of time."
The lady said, "Who's paying for this?"
Seeing the logic to this argument, a very reluctant mortician wheeled the
coffin out, but then wheeled it right back in a moment later. Miraculously, the
corpse was in a blue suit.
After the ceremony, a well-satisfied widow complimented the undertaker on the
smooth and speedy service. She especially wanted to know how he'd been able to
get her husband into a blue suit so fast.
The funeral director said, "Oh, it was easy. It happens that there was
another body in the back room and he was already dressed in a blue suit. All we
had to do was switch heads."