National Cheesecake Day

National Cheesecake Day on July 30th offers a slice of one of America’s favorite desserts. Order up a cheesecake with your favorite topping. Get it delivered or make it at home.

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International Friendship Day

International Friendship Day is a worldwide celebration of friendship promoted by the United Nations, commemorated on July 30. It is a day to promote friendship and community, and how each is appreciated and observed in different cultures.

This day is not to be confused with National Friendship Day, which is celebrated in the United States on February 15.

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National Get Gnarly Day (Last Friday in July)

The last Friday in July provides an opportunity to embrace new ideas and toss out old ways on National Get Gnarly Day.

The word “Gnarly” gets a bad rap.  It can mean “bad” or “dangerous” but can also be exciting.  Surfers often use the term to describe the waves they tackle.  Much like surfers challenging the waves, Get Gnarly Day challenges us to put some gnarliness into everything we do.

1. Find a gnarly hobby. Hulda Crooks, born in 1896, didn’t start hiking and climbing until she was 54 years old after her husband’s death. While she was an active jogger and walker prior to his death, she was by no means a qualified mountain climber.  Crooks first scaled Mount Whitney in California, the highest summit in the contiguous United States, at the age of 66.  She completed a total of 23 ascents of Mount Whitney and at the age of 91 climbed Mount Fuji in Japan.  Mountain climbing added gnarliness to her life.
2. Meet gnarly people. Take a cooking class, volunteer for a local charity, accept those invites you’ve previously declined. Stepping out of your comfort zone from time to time will introduce you to different experiences and as a result new people.  It will make for a gnarly social circle.
3. Get a gnarly passport. A first-time passport costs $135 including fees and can take up to 6 weeks to process.  If gnarliness is truly your new way of life, you’ll want to have a passport.
4. Find a gnarly new style.  Redecorate a room in the house or find a fresh new hairstyle.  Both can revitalize an attitude and an outlook on life.  Gather a group of friends and take turns helping paint a room in each other’s home a gnarly color.  The gnarly part?  The homeowner doesn’t get to pick the color.  Be kind, though.  Turn around is fair play.  Apply the same idea to hairstyles or makeovers.
5. Throw a gnarly party.   Celebrate all this gnarliness! It’s something to share, so be sure to let the enthusiasm show.  Invite those new friends to fully incorporate them into your gnarly social circle.  Show off the stamps in your gnarly passport and take lots of pictures to document for National Get Gnarly Day!

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COVID vaccine has its benefits

Gary Smith of Arlington, TX got an unexpected bonus when he got himself vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC]. Not only did he get increased immunity to the disease, he also got a free lottery ticket as part of an incentive to convince more people to get their shots. Perhaps the fact that his scratch-off ticket made him an instant millionaire will further incentivize people to get “vaxxed,” as they say. In any event his million dollar payoff will come in handy; he’s getting married and he says it will go a long way toward having “the wedding and honeymoon of my dreams with my future wife.”