“Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping” by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication “To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead” (Source: Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all”.
“Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until 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). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee” read more…
Play this video as you browse the story, would be my suggestion…
Annular Solar Eclipse of May 20
The first solar eclipse of 2012 occurs at the Moon’s descending node in central Taurus. An annular eclipse will be visible from a 240 to 300 kilometre-wide track that traverses eastern Asia, the northern Pacific Ocean and the western United States. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon’s penumbral shadow, that includes much of Asia, the Pacific and the western 2/3 of North America.
The annular path begins in southern China at 22:06 UT. Because the Moon passed through apogee one day earlier (May 19 at 16:14 UT), its large distance from Earth produces a wide path of annularity. Traveling eastward, the shadow quickly sweeps along the southern coast of Japan as the central line duration of annularity grows from 4.4 to 5.0 minutes.
Tokyo lies 10 kilometres north of the central line. For the over 10 million residents within the metropolitan area, the annular phase will last 5 minutes beginning at 22:32 UT (on May 21 local time). The annular ring is quite thick because the Moon’s apparent diameter is only 94% that of the Sun. Traveling with a velocity of 1.1 kilometres/second, the antumbral shadow leaves Japan and heads northeast across the Northern Pacific. The instant of greatest eclipse  occurs at 23:52:47 UT when the eclipse magnitude  reaches 0.9439. At that instant, the duration of annularity is 5 minutes 46 seconds, the path width is 237 kilometres and the Sun is 61° above the flat horizon formed by the open ocean read more…
This story is from The Cloud Foundation:
Dear Friends of Cloud, his family, and the Pryor herd;
Every trip to the spectacular Pryor Mountains is full of wonder, but no season holds the promise of discovery more than spring. A handful of new foals have been born and our friend and Pryor wild horse adopter (Cloud’s granddaughter Summer), Patty Hooker, sent us a picture of the latest foal to be born on the mountain, and it is an exciting one to be sure. Feldspar, who Cloud stole from Flint in December of 2010, gave birth to a colt this week, just in time for Mother’s Day! When we last saw Cloud’s family in April, Feldspar looked very pregnant.
This is just the fourth colt Cloud has sired. Of those, only Bolder survives, but he was raised by Shaman. I hope Cloud will be able to raise this little one, and that he will live his life in precious freedom. I can’t wait to see if he roans out. My bet is that he will. What do you think?
This weekend, we honor not only the Pryor mustang mothers, but moms everywhere–four-leggeds as well as two!
Below are a few Pryor photos to get you in the Mother’s Day spirit.
“Cinco de Mayo—or the fifth of May—commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the United States.”
Cinco de Mayo in Las Vegas
“Don’t forget your sombreros this weekend as Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday, which means an entire weekend of partying. Two new Mexican venues- Carlos ‘n Charlies and Senor Frogs- celebrate their grand openings with festive parties. Read on to find the perfect place to grab some tacos and margaritas this weekend” read more from LasVegasSun.Com
Cinco de Mayo in Denver – from CincodeMayoDenver.Com
“Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of a heroic people and their struggle for freedom. On May 5, 1862, in the town
of Puebla, the outnumbered Mexican army defeated French forces providing the momentum to drive foreign power from
their country. Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of freedom and culture and acknowledges the beauty of Latino culture. The
Denver Cinco de Mayo event is produced by nonprofit organization NEWSED Community Development Corporation
and Santa Fe Drive Redevelopment Corporation. Our mission is, “To promote and develop economic, arts and cultural,
and community programs that increase income and education levels, and political engagement of Denver area residents”.
This year we celebrate our 39th year as an organization and 25th Anniversary of the largest Cinco de Mayo Festival in the
United States read more from CincodeMayoDenver.Com/Event Guide…
Full Flower Moon Video from The Old Farmer’s Almanac, featuring Amy Nieskens:
The Moon will be 100% full May 5, 8:36 P.M. Las Vegas time.
Story from NASA
Perigee “Super Moon” On May 5-6 “May 2, 2012: The full Moon has a reputation for trouble. It raises high tides, it makes dogs howl, it wakes you up in the middle of the night with beams of moonlight stealing through drapes. If a moonbeam wakes you up on the night of May 5th, 2012, you might want to get out of bed and take a look. This May’s full Moon is a “super Moon,” as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons of 2012” read more from science.nasa.gov…
From the editor & janitor: When the honorable mayor of Las Vegas, Jan Jones was in office, I heard her say (on a KDWN radio broadcast) that “the most favorable time to hit a jackpot was when there was a Full Moon;” I’m paraphrasing – it’s been a while. This is something I’ve heard a lot over the years.