26 July - Aunt and Uncle's Day

Aunt and Uncles Day honors a very special pair of relatives. They are your mom and dad''s brothers and sisters. We hope you have a lot of Aunts and Uncles. The more, the merrier. They have the inside scoop on your parents. They grew up as the siblings who witnessed all the bad behavior and missed curfews, not to mention they are the perfect source for embarrassing stories. And on another note, they can be like extra parents, ready to give you advice, cheer you up, and look out for you.

So give your favorite aunt or uncle a call, pay them a visit, or send them a little present to thank them for all they do. Our Aunts and Uncles mean a lot to us. Among other things, they are most likely:

The backup caretaker when mom and dad go out, or are at work.
Real characters at family get-togethers and events.
Someone we can talk to and related to..... some things we just can talk about with "parental units".

Sound counsel and advice.
Someone who takes you to fun places and events.
Someone whose house is a great place to sleepover, especially if you have cousins.

The ones who give you great presents for birthdays, Christmas and special events.

And, the benefits of Aunts and Uncles goes on, and on, and on, and.........
Celebrate Aunt and Uncles Day by spending time with your Aunts and Uncles. If you can't visit, make a phone call. And, send them an Ecard.

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25 July 1834 - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet, literary critic and philosopher, died

Coleridge was born on 21 October 1772 in Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire. His father, who was the vicar of Ottery and the headmaster of its grammar school, died when he was yet a boy, in 1781. Thereafter, to continue his education, Coleridge was enrolled at Christ's Hospital in London (an institution famously described in an essay by Charles Lamb). After ten years there he matriculated in Jesus College, Cambridge, where he was known for his wide reading and impressive eloquence. Financial problems, however, drove him from Cambridge, and in his third year he interrupted his education and traveled to London to enlist in the 15th Dragoons, using the pseudonym Silas Tomkyn Comberbache. His friends, recognizing how ill-suited he was for military life, were able to buy him out of this improbable misconception of his destiny and persuaded him to return to Cambridge.

24 July 969 - Saint Olga, "Olga of Kiev", wise Olga, died

Princess Olga’s life was full of great deeds described in numerous historical records, as well as legendary facts that are still disputed by historians today.

According to the most traditional theory, recorded in the Primary Chronicle, Olga was born in Pskov (currently a city in the northwest of Russia) into a family of Varyag origin. Varyags were also known as Vikings or Norsemen, who came to the territory of current Russia, Ukraine and Belarus during the 8th and 9th centuries. This theory about Olga’s birth also explains the origin of her name, which is derived from the Scandinavian “Helga.” Other historical versions state that Olga was either a daughter of Oleg Veshchy, the founder of the state of Kievan Rus, or had Bulgarian roots.

23 July - National Hot Dog Day in the USA

This photo of The Wiener's Circle is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Hot dogs are one of the most iconic American foods. No cookout or baseball game would be complete without a delicious hot dog served on a bun and covered in ketchup, mustard, onions, relish, or chili.

Hot dogs (which are also known as frankfurters, franks, wieners, dogs, and red hots) have been around since the late 1800s. Today, the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council estimates that Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs a year!

To celebrate National Hot Dog Day, cook up some hot dogs for dinner tonight. Invite some friends over for an impromptu cookout and celebrate this yummy all-American favorite.

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A Parable about faith

"Do you believe in magic?"  Life asked. 

"No, I don't, - the man who was selling sweets, asked,  "just children believe in magic, they are dreamers."
"Do you believe in the Eternal Love?" Life asked.
"No, I don't" a man asked, "Love doesn't exist, just chemistry connects us with another man, and its action ends in three years, then it's just an attachment."
"Do you believe in the Dream?" Life asked. 
"No, I don't" a man asked, "Just  fools dream."
"Do you believe in the Kindness?"
"No, I don't. The people are wicked, they are just afraid to demonstrate it. Kindness  is a lie."
"But what do you believe in?"

"I beleive in unwillingness of parents to give their children money for sweets. Due to this I can't earn enough money to live as I want."
"Do you believe in wishes?"
"Yes, I do, but my wishes are never realized."
"Poor thing," Life asked. "Magic will never be with you, you will never meet the Eternal Love, your dreams will never be fulfilled, you won't make out the Kindness and your wishes will never be realized..."
"But why?!" the seller cried.
"Because you should beleive in everything, even if just a little. Faith gives opportunities. Opportunities show directions. Directions discover ways. And ways...leads to fulfilment of your wishes."

22 July 1878 - Janusz Korczak, a Polish-Jewish educator, children's author, was born

Life is the most precious gift, and the Hero is the one who gives it for the others. Yanush Korchak, Polish kid's writer, is the right person to prove that. And now, when the Second World War is so far away, we should remember those who showed the complete courage and heroism having just one goal - to make somebody feel less bitter.

Yanush Korchak was a principle of a school for Jewish kids who lost their parents. Every day he had to think what food he would give them, living in the occupied Warsaw. But also the other aim of an old doctor was to make his kids happy with only the help of his love and understanding. Korchak opened the door to childhood - and left it wide open for us in his books.

So, as we've already told, in those times there was the Second World War. The Nazis decided to send poor Jewish children to Treblinka death camp - maybe, the worst place you can imagine. That was the place where grownups, and - lots of children - were to be killed as those who were of no use for their new world. And the principle followed his students in their last journey...

21 July 1796- Robert Burns, a Scottish poet and lyricist, died

Early life

Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759 in the village of Alloway, two miles south of Ayr. His parents, Willian Burnes[s] and Agnes Broun, were tenant farmers but they ensured their son received a relatively good education and he began to read avidly. The works of Alexander Pope, Henry Mackenzie and Laurence Sterne fired Burns's poetic impulse and relationships with the opposite sex provided his inspiration. Handsome Nell, for Nellie Kilpatrick, was his first song.

Hard physical labour on the family farm took its toll on the young Burns, who increasingly turned his attentions towards the passions of poetry, nature, drink and women which would characterise the rest of his life. He fathered twins with eventual wife Jean Armour, but a rift in their relationship nearly led to Burns emigrating to the West Indies with lover Mary Campbell (his Highland Mary). Mary's sudden death and the sensational success of his first published collection of verse kept him in Scotland. At just 27, Burns had already become famous across the country with poems such as To a Louse, To a Mouse and The Cotter's Saturday Night.