DayStrider: Tales from a Time Traveler

Jun 25th: Wanna Noodle on Catfish Day?

• Truman Pastworthy • Episode 14

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June 25th is a Bucket List Triple Threat because of the fun things and interesting places that originated on this day in history! Today’s stories include: 

  • A celebration of Catfish Day - do you know what “Catfish Noodling” is?
  • How the diary ponderings of a newly minted teenager became an international symbol, inspiring millions of readers
  • Celebrating the birth of a world famous architect and his iconic masterpiece   

If it's a special day for you or for someone you care about, why not learn a little more about today by listening to some fun, engaging stories.  You’ll find yourself a little smarter and have some great stories you can re-tell - AND - have three things you can add to your bucket list!  If you need some great gift ideas, we have those too (along with links to where you can find them on Amazon).

Today’s show mentions three bucket list items, some official links are provided here for you. (this link worked in mid 2024 - not sure how long the links will be available):

  • Link to one of Hannah’s videos
  • Link to the Anne Frank House museum
  • Link to La Sagrada Familia basilica


Gift ideas for folks who celebrate June 25th:

Full disclosure:  If you use these gift ide

Text me your favorite time travel movie!!!


~~~ DayStrider Fun ~~~


Do you want to be mentioned here in the podcast? Or do you want me to do a shout-out for a loved one? All you need to do is send me an e-mail: daystriderstories@gmail.com


Better yet, you can record your own shout-out by leaving me a voice message using this SpeakPipe link


Do you have a story that you wish to share? Join me as a guest and let’s tell the world together! Once again, just send me an e-mail or find me here on Facebook: Truman Pastworthy


If you had as much fun listening as I did creating this episode, please click "follow" in your favorite podcast platform . . . oh . . . and even better - why not share it with a friend (or three)! I’m betting you know just the perfect person who would enjoy today’s stories!


If you feel adventurous, how 'bout writing a great review? :-)



Truman:

Welcome Seeker! Your portal is all warmed up and ready to stride through history with me. Together, we'll discover why June 25th is filled with some fun and inspiring experiences that may need to get added to your personal bucket list. Our journey will first take us to the muddy creeks of Mississippi, where you'll get in some laughs as you learn how some folks there get fishy. And then, we'll travel way back to the World War II days and learn about a teenage girl who who confided in her diary to maintain her sanity, and how her writings became an international symbol. Before we return you back to your normal self, we'll celebrate the birth of a famous architect and check out some of his amazing buildings. This trip will definitely inspire you to add Barcelona to the cities you need to visit. After striding through June 25th, you'll definitely have an appreciation for life, including Opportunities for fun, the chance to learn from the struggles of others, and an appreciation of the beauty around you. Time's a-tickin', so let's get to

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Truman:

Welcome, seekers, to the enchanting world of Daystrider, the podcast where we embark on a daily journey through history. I'm your travel guide, Truman Pastworthy, and together we'll explore some fascinating stories that happened on this exact day, but from some time in the past. From groundbreaking inventions to remarkable birthdays and extraordinary events to quirky national holidays, we've got it all. So kick back, relax, and open your mind for some lighthearted stories that'll leave you saying, huh, I never knew that happened on this day. Alrighty then, let's get to it. Today is catfish day. So here's a question. When I say the word catfish, what pops into your mind first? Probably, for many of you, identity theft would be that first thought. Sadly, not enough of you will have thought about the scavenging fish with the long feelers that look like whiskers and that swims along the bottom of creek beds seeking food. Well, I'm willing to bet that only a teeny tiny minority of you thought of the word noodling when I said catfish. But after today, all of you will first think of the pair of words catfish and noodling together. Are you ready? Now first, let me catch you up on this identity theft thing. So MTV first aired a documentary in 2012 called Catfish and has since aired over 200 episodes in this series. And pretty much the goal of the series is trying to out people who are doing what they called catfishing. which is basically making a fake identity online to deceive someone into a false relationship. So you're either doing it to mess with them and get them upset or frustrated, or you're doing it because you want to then defraud them and steal money from them, you know, by becoming their friend and saying, hey, I need money for whatever. And folks do this in many kinds of ways. I have a Facebook account to support this podcast, and surprisingly, I get a lot of catfishers. People who send me friend requests and then they send me messages to talk about, you know, things to become my friend. And then they explained why they need money for some reason or other. Or they sent me this link on how I can get money, which can't be good. So my public service announcement here, if you have an online friend or even an in-person friend that you just met and they ask you for money, just delete them or block them right away. Don't feel bad because you've lost a friend. You didn't. They're not your friend. They're sharks. All right. Well, I haven't used noodling yet. What's that all about? Well, first, let me tell you why we even have Catfish Day. Because, you know, there are many crazy holidays out there, and we've celebrated some here on the show. We've celebrated Tater Tot Day, Llama Day, and some others. Well, many of those days are made up by retailers or made up as a weird tradition. They aren't official. Catfish Day became a true legal holiday on this day in 1987 when President Reagan signed it into being. Yes, that's crazy. And there's a story behind it. And it starts in Yazoo City, Mississippi, which is in Yazoo County. And I'm not catfishing you. No, I'm not making this up. Mike Espy is real and he's really from Yazoo. And Mike is the first African-American elected as a congressman in Mississippi since the Reconstruction. And he knew that catfish farming was a big deal in his state, especially in his jurisdiction in Yazoo. So he went on a personal mission to ensure the well-being of the folks in that industry. And one of the first things he did in 1987 when he got into office was to propose a commemorative bill to create Catfish Day. And from what I read, it didn't go well. Not only because some thought it was silly, but also might have been that he was an African-American and they were pushing back on that. But it did stall until he persevered through and eventually, with his connections, got the bill placed on Ronald Reagan's desk and got it signed on June 25th, 1987. And so that's one way to get a holiday, right? Well, truth be told, he did improve the situation for his constituents back in Yazoo because he then got the military to add catfish to their commissary menu. How'd he do that? Well, he flew in the best catfish chefs from all over the South and had them share their creations with the procurement directors of all the military branches, and bam, they were sold. Catfish made the menu. Okay, awesome. Well, wait a second. What about catfish noodling? How come you haven't talked about that? All right. So we're finally here. So I've said the word several times. Can you guess what I'm talking about? Maybe it's a cooking technique, perhaps a way to prepare catfish for pasta, or maybe even prepare a pasta dish that is perfect for catfish. Or maybe you guessed that it's something like training a catfish to swim through obstacle courses in water by using pool noodles to guide them. Or maybe stay with the pool noodle theme. Maybe it's some kind of redneck fishing pole that makes catching catfish easier than using a regular fishing rod. Yeah, you're getting closer with these guesses, but try this one. Walking through muddy creeks in southern states and rummaging your bare hands into submerged hollow logs or around and under submerged rocks Waiting and hoping for a catfish that you can't even see is just resting there on the bottom of the creek bed and then trying to bite you. Bam. That's it. Catfish noodling. Yes. Yes. This is a thing. You can look it up and watch videos on YouTube. Just type catfish noodling. And there are plenty to watch. You'll find some very interesting people whose right arms all the way up to the elbow are scarred up and down all around from catfish bites. And they actually do this sport for a living. Hannah Barron is one of them. You can check her out. She's cute and funny and fun. I tried to reach her to be a guest on the show, but she's busy teaching others how to noodle for catfish. And that's okay. But I watched enough of her shows... to learn the tricks that she shares. For example, when you're feeling around, you want to have your four fingers on top and your thumb facing downward, so basically palm down, so when the catfish bites you, it's smashing on four finger bones instead of just one thumb bone, so it's less likely to break. Yeah, I'm serious. That's how they explain it. And that's not all. Your right hand isn't just doing the feeling and trying to get bitten. Your left hand is also ready for action. Once the catfish bites down on your right hand or arm, you shoot your left hand along its body and use your fingers to catch inside of its gill and shove your hand in there to trap it. And then you've got your right hand in its mouth and your left hand in its gill. You pull the catfish out of the hole that it's hiding in and get it up out of the water. Yeah. I know. Yeah, some of you probably still don't believe this is a thing, and I'm doing an April Fool's joke here, but I am not. Catfish noodling is actually legal in 16 states. And there are actually rules and regulations around noodling. There are prohibitions on using special devices, on luring catfish into hiding spots, on prohibiting special tools. It's crazy. Yeah, if you're going to go catch a fish by hand, there are rules on how you have to do it. Oh, and speaking of the many states, not all of them call it noodling. There's also terms like grappling, graveling, hogging, stumping, snatching, and then hand grabbing and plain old hand fishing. And there are contests in this sport with record catches. So the weights here I'm going to share are going to surprise you, I think. Average size catfish caught by hand generally come in at 30 to 40 pounds. Now that's a huge fish. I guess they need to be big enough so that you can get bitten by them by a whole hand and get them up out of the water. Little catfish like 10 pounders, it's not going to be as easy to catch them this way. So the record in Oklahoma was 88 pounds. That catfish was 53 inches long. That's the average height of a 10 year old catfish. That's crazy. Somebody was able to pull that catfish out of the water. All righty then, you got to learn something new today. So the next time you're driving around in the south and you peer out the window and you see a muddy, murky creek out there as you're driving along, maybe you want to stop because you can bet there's a catfish hiding down in that water. Maybe you'll want to get out and go waiting a little bit and feel around for that catfish to bite you, right? No way, man. And if you do, watch out for snakes and snapping turtles. Oh, and depending on how far south you are, alligators. Yeah, yeah. Good luck with your catfish noodling, people. Roses are red and catfish are gray. A review from you would brighten our day. Can't think of the words to help you begin? Type, this pod is great and I'll tune in again. With the exception of my little buddy Nico, who's the only day strider I know of who's not yet been a teenager, I'm going to ask you to reflect back on your life when you were 13, 14, and 15. What were you doing at that time? If you can, try to think of what your worldview was like at that age. How much time did you spend thinking about what's right versus what's wrong? Or did you spend time thinking about justice or equality? How about the future? Did you think about the future of the world, your future, any future? Maybe some of you had a diary from that time of your life. If you did, and if you still have it, take a moment to go back and check out what you were writing about when you were a newly minted teenager. Do you have any quotes in your diary from when you were 15 that are as deep as this one? It's difficult in times like these. Ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals. They seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them, because I still believe, in spite of everything, Wow. Yeah, well, that quote was from Anne Frank's diary, and she was 15 when she wrote that quote, which happened to be just a few weeks before she and her family were captured by the Nazis and sent off to concentration camps. Prior to writing that quote, she had spent the last two years hiding in a small four-room annex, above a spice and herbs factory along with seven other family members and friends. Yep, that sounds crazy, right? Well, Anne Frank's diary was actually published on this day in 1947, and I want to share with you the incredible story. So Anne and her family were Jewish, and they lived in Germany. Now, in the late 1930s and early 40s, being Jewish in Germany was a very bad thing because the Nazis were promoting anti-Semitism, which is hostile prejudice against Jewish people. And this hostility reached its peak in the 1940s as Nazis captured, relocated, and then systematically exterminated Jewish people. And yes, I'm using that word, exterminated them. And the Frank family, like I said, was from Germany, but they moved to Amsterdam in the 1930s to get away from this growing prejudice. But Germany captured the Netherlands, where Amsterdam is, in 1940. And then in 1941, they began deporting Jewish people back to Germany to camps where the genocide took place. So in 1942, not long after Anne's 13th birthday, the Frank family had to go into hiding. and Anne took with her the diary she received as a birthday present. Now, when I say went into hiding, what comes to your mind? I'm sure that what I'm about to describe is not something you'd ever want to live through for over two years of your life, especially when you were a teenager. Okay, so Otto Frank, he was running a spice and herb business out of a building that had two stories with an annex in the attic. So the first floor was where all the workers did their thing, prepping and packing and preparing the spices to be distributed and shipped out, while the second floor was where the admin folks handled the payroll and did the bookkeeping and kept all the records. And then, of course, as I mentioned, the attic had these four rooms that were not used for the business, but instead were converted into the living space for the four Franks, so Ann and her family, three Van Pels, and another person, eight in all. And then there were six people who knew about this annex, all employees or friends of Ann's father, to help make sure that they could be fed and stay alive. So Ann and her family spent 761 days in this annex, or I'm going to say in captivity. So pretty much on every day of the week except Sundays, they had to be in quiet mode. because the building was used as a business, and any unusual noises or other things that could alert the workers on the first or second floor that something was amiss, they could report those to the Nazis, and then, of course, bad things would happen. So Anne and our other captives woke up at 6.45 every day and used the time prior to 8.30 to use the bathroom, which means flushing the toilet and doing other things before 8.30 when the workers showed up. And then from 8.30 to 9, they had to maintain absolute silence because the workers on the first floor were there, but the second floor workers hadn't come in yet to start their day job. And so any noise at all upstairs would be bad. And then when the administrative staff got there at 9 o'clock, so now the folks in the annex had to try to keep quiet, but they didn't need absolute silence. And then around 1245 every day, which was the lunch hour, the first floor workers left, went home for lunch. So some of the second floor workers could bring food up to the Franks and the other captives. And then at 530, the warehouse workers went home for the night. And by 545, Anne and her family could move freely about the entire building. That sounds great, right? That's all they had was this one building every day. Week in and week out, every month of the year, summer, fall, winter, spring. Imagine that. Think about it. Two whole years in the same room all day, every day. Now on Sundays, things were different. They used that day to do their cleaning and chores and keep their annex tidy because they could make more noise because no workers were using the building and therefore they didn't have to keep quiet or do the silent treatment. And they were free to roam about the building. So what did Anne write about Sundays? Here's another great quote. I wander from one room to the next, down the stairs and back up again, and feel like a songbird that has had its wings torn off and flies against the bars of its cage in total darkness. Outside, fresh air and laughter, a void inside me screams. I don't even try to answer anymore. I lay down and sleep in order to shorten the time, the silence, the terrible fear, too, because there is no question of killing them. Wow. That's crazy, right? So probably in your day-to-day life, you're like me. You have a routine, and you follow that, and it's pretty similar, right? You probably talk to maybe 10 or 15 different people each day, and they're all the same people, but you also get to have variety anytime you want. You can make it a point to talk to others as you wish. You can call them on the phone. You can walk down the hall and check out their office. You can go to a different store or restaurant and just talk to different people. Not in the Annex, where if you did anything outside of that building, you risked your own lives as well as the lives of the seven other folks living with you. So how do we know all this? Well, Anne wrote it all down in her diary for us. The amazing quotes I've read, but she also had lots of things. Some were maybe a little more boring or less interesting than others. But young Anne, she had a way with words, didn't she? I'm sure you could tell that from the quotes I read. So what happened to Anne and her family? Well, eventually, someone betrayed them. And it is now believed that another Jewish person was trying to save his own family by betraying the Franks. Either way, the Nazis showed up and raided the place and sent all eight souls off to various prison camps in Germany and two of the folks that were helping them hide. And sadly, everyone in the family died except Otto, Anne's father. So Anne, who was 15 when the annex was raided, died with her sister of typhus in one of the German concentration camps when she was 16. Typhus is basically a bacterial disease that often killed prisoners or people in overcrowded and poor hygiene places. That was back in the days before penicillin. So eventually, the war ended and the concentration camps were closed, thank goodness, allowing the several hundred thousand Jewish survivors to try to pick up the scraps of their lives. Well, Anne's father returned to Amsterdam and the annex. Of course, everything was confiscated and the place was empty. But a woman named Miep Gies, one of the helpers who worked on the second floor of the building, she found the diary before the Nazis could destroy it. And she gave it to Anne's father, who, upon reading through it, was so impressed with his daughter's work that he went out and found a publisher and had the book published. And today, her diary is world famous. It's been translated into nearly 70 languages and over 30 million copies have been sold. Pretty amazing. There have also been plays and movies about the diary and Anne's story. It's been an inspiration to so many people and become an international symbol of the victims of the Holocaust. Great job, Anne. A time traveler's delight, we embark on a quest, discovering wonders from the East to the West. If these tales have brought you a moment of cheer, please share with your friends so they too can hear. In many cases, when we see images of iconic structures, we link those images to the city they were in. And this is the case all around the world. Probably the strongest connection you might think of is the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. But there's also Big Ben in London, England. the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, and the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. And then here in America, there's the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, and the Statue of Liberty in New York City. Well, today we're celebrating the birth of the architect who created one such of these structures. Now, if you were to Google the top architects in history... He's always on that list, and often he's near or at the top of that list. And in preparation for this segment, I decided to take a poll of a dozen random adults of various ages, just to see what they'd say when I asked, who's the most famous architect that you've heard of? Two of them said, Antony Gaudi. Well, today, we're striding to Barcelona, Spain, home of the Sagrada Familia, which is definitely the masterpiece of the one and only Antony Gaudi, born on this day in 1852. Now, before we go any further, let's be clear. Most of the folks on lists of top architects from history are characterized as eccentric. Yep, and to prove this point, when Gaudi finished his studies at the Barcelona School of Architecture in 1878, the director of the school declared, I do not know if we have awarded this degree to a madman or a genius. Only time will tell. Yeah, a madman or a genius. Perhaps you'd agree that it was the latter, the genius. But maybe not, because for sure, some of Gaudi's works are peculiar. And some of his other works may make you think that the illustrators for Dr. Seuss's books must have been to Barcelona, Spain, and visited some of the buildings Gaudi created. He's actually quoted as saying, There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature. The straight line belongs to men. So that quote definitely aligns with his works from what I could tell when I visited Barcelona. Now, I didn't make time to visit Parc Gell, which is a 17-acre park in the city that features no straight lines or sharp corners. And if you check out the pictures, you'll see all you need to know. But I was able to visit Casa Mila in Barcelona, and it was a very interesting building. He made it as a residence and a hotel for a wealthy real estate tycoon, and it essentially has no corners. And believe me, I looked for them when I went on the tour. The rooms were all odd-shaped, and when I say odd-shaped, I mean the rooms were square-ish or rectangular-ish, but had no right-angle corners. And by ish, I mean... Let's say in your regular house you have a room that's 12 by 15. Well, here, the one 12-foot wall might be 12 feet, but the other one might be 11 or 10. And then the two 15-foot walls, one of them might be 15 and the other one's 17. So it's not an exact rectangle. But the building was striking, and it did flow. It used arches, some of which were exposed, to support the building weight instead of posts and beams like traditional buildings. And if you're ever in Barcelona, it's definitely worth visiting. It's totally worth the ticket price. Casa Mila is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Gaudi has seven of his 17 works honored this way, so that's pretty cool. But definitely, the building you gotta see is Gaudi's masterpiece. It's one that over 3 million people visit every year, and it's the most visited monument in all of Spain, La Sagrada Familia. a holy cathedral and Roman Catholic church. When finished, it will be the tallest church in the world. Wait a second, what? You said, when finished? Yes, this church is still under construction today. It was started way back in 1882, and the first mass occurred there in 1885, so three years later. But Gaudi worked on this project for the remainder of his life. Unfortunately, he died from complications of a car accident in 1926. So his apprentice took over and continued the work until 1936, when the Spanish Civil War took place and that caused it to pause. And then, after then, construction has continued on and off, led by different architects, all based on the original plans that Gaudi left behind. Actually, in the basement of the building, there's a museum where you can take a tour and see the plaster models that Gaudi made, to show everyone what the final project is going to look like. So the plan for many years was to have the building completed in 2026, which would mark the 100 years after Gaudi's death. But today, projections now have the building to be completed in 2032. My goodness. But either way, the place is amazing. The thought that went into the support structures and the facades and the stained glass windows and everything. It's remarkable. Truly is remarkable. Quick rundown. The support structures from the inside look like trees with branches arching out in all directions to hold up the roof. It's amazing when you stand there and just look up at the ceiling. Amazing. And then there are three main external facades of the building, each depicting a phase of Jesus's life. The nativity facade depicting his birth, the passion facade depicting his death and resurrection, and the glory facade depicting his afterlife. All amazing, all unique, different from each other, all actually architected by different people. So you can see their different impressions. Definitely worth checking out. And then the stained glass windows. Oh, They were intended to make the interior glorious, and they did it with warm colors in the morning. So as the sun rose on one side of the church, the red and yellow and orange stained glass, the lighting comes through and just gives it this vibrance. And then as the sun moves into the latter part of the day and starts to set, the cooler colors of the blue, purples, and greens make it just an amazing, calming feeling as the sun is traversing across those windows. And my words here, they don't give this building justice. They really don't. I think you should give this place a visit. And when you do, I'd encourage you to take the tour and take your time. Just listen and look. It's amazing. Yes, and if you're into engineering in any kind of way, you like to understand how things are built or you just want to understand how it all works together, you got to make extra time for the basement museum. Send the rest of your group, those people who aren't interested, off to some other activity and just walk through and check it out. Like the hanging chains. Gaudi had these chains that he hung to make arches, like really tall arches. And then he inverted what he saw to make the actual supporting arches in the building. It was ingenious. So yes, if you couldn't tell, I love the Sagrada Familia and it's truly amazing and in some cases breathtaking, at least in my opinion. So I suggest if you have a bucket list of places to visit in the world, add this one to it for sure. And there you have it. Some great stories to share with your someone special to celebrate June 25th. Once again, those are... We learned a new phrase, catfish noodling, and how to catch catfish with our bare hands. We got to meet an amazing young lady who inspired millions with her personal reflections. And we celebrated the birth of an architect whose work has captivated millions, including me. So if you like learning about unusual holidays like Catfish Day, we have a number of others you should check out, including Llama Day on December 9th, Tater Tot Day on February 2nd, and Egg Day on June 3rd. If Anne Frank's journey inspired you, we also have a growing collection of similar stories, including Ella Grasso on January 8th, Queen Elizabeth on April 21st, and Clara Barton on May 21st. All amazing ladies. If hearing about the works of Antoni Gaudi inspired you, well, coming soon to a podcast near you, we'll be featuring Madison Square Garden and the Eiffel Tower. Yep, so many stories and so much fun. We got something for everyone. All right. For my reflection moment of the day, we only have a limited amount of time here on Earth. And how we choose to use that time is obviously up to each one of us individually. Sometimes getting out and away from your daily routine and checking out other things and other places is good to give you perspective. And in some cases, might even inspire you to do that something yourself. that you've been thinking about for years, but never actually took action on. I personally haven't visited the Anne Frank House, but they have over a million visitors come through every year. I'd like to get there and try to imagine how challenging it would be to spend all of my time essentially trapped in those few tiny rooms. As I mentioned, I have visited La Sagrada Familia, and I was blown away. We happened to tour in the late afternoon and the sun that was shining through the west side of that building was stunning. My jaw dropped and I was entranced into stillness. I actually had to be physically jostled along to catch up with the tour group that I was on. My point here is that people have done some amazing things and you too can accomplish something amazing. You may need a little inspiration, though, to get started. And perhaps visiting one of these places where others have done inspiring things might be all you need. So get out there. Go see them. Get inspired. All right. So after you share these special stories, you can also mention the following famous folks who celebrate their birthday today. Comedian Ricky Gervais celebrates his birthday today. He's mostly known as a stand-up comedian, but he also has his own shows and has been in a number of TV shows like the British version of The Office, as well as Life's Too Short and Afterlife on Netflix. Linda Cardellini adds a candle to her cake today. She is an actress who played Sam on ER for six years, and she earned an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Judy Hale on Netflix's Dead to Me series. which I've seen only the first season, and she's really good in that one. A pair of famous Georges also were born on this day. George Orwell, the famous author who wrote Animal Farm in 1984, and George Michael, the famous singer who has dozens of popular songs, the most popular of which is Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. Now, I could sing that song for you, but instead I'm going to share a fun fact. George Orwell actually declared the Sagrada Familia one of the most hideous buildings in the world. All right, whatever. To each their own, right? And then the last one from the American version of The Office is Angela Kinsey. She was born on this day in 1971, which is a great year. And she played Angela Martin, the obsessive-compulsive, condescending party planner on The Office. So as you've come to learn, I like to feature the 50th most famous person showing up on FamousBirthdays.com. Today, that is Screwface Gene. Now I've been given grief for not saying names correctly. And so I watch videos of people reacting to Screwface's reaction videos. So I know I'm saying his name right. Anyway, he's famous for doing reaction videos and he's got over a million subscribers on YouTube. And he puts out a video almost every day. It's pretty crazy. He has over 4,000 videos out there. Man. And when I looked at Wikipedia's centenarians list, there is no one that they know of who is over 100 years old and was born on this day in history. Maybe next year someone will turn 100 on this day, and hopefully they tell Wikipedia. All right. So we've already learned that today is Catfish Day. It's also Goat's Cheese Day. Who likes goat cheese? I think folks put crumbled goat cheese on salads and such. Eh, not me. But apparently, goat's cheese is lower in fat and calories compared to cow milk cheese. And it also has less lactose, so people with lactose issues probably do favor goat cheese. Apparently, outside of the U.S., goat cheese is the most popular dairy product. How about that? Today is also Strawberry Parfait Day. Now we're talking. This is a delicious layer dessert that has no goat cheese in it. But the ingredients can include creams, fruits, nuts, liquor, and even gelatin or granola.

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Mmm.

Truman:

And there are all kinds of ways to make this treat. But what's most important is the dish that it's served in is clear. So you want clear glass or plastic so you can show off all the layers of the parfait. That's what makes it so special. Today is also known as Color TV Day. but I'm telling you that's false advertising. Pun intended. On this day in history, yes, a show was produced that was in color TV, but it wasn't really watched by anyone, and the technology was deemed useless a short while later. So let's get Screwface Gene in here and have him react to this alleged holiday. Another one of these odd ones? Today is Leon Day. What's that? Well, Leon is Noel spelled backwards. So the folks who celebrate June 25th like to share that Christmas is six months away, and so they borrow from the Carol of the First Noel and turn it into Leon. So it's not really false advertising like the last holiday, but, yeah, it's not perfect either. All right, so do you need a great gift idea for your loved one? Well, after you share these awesome stories, you can have them open up a gift that is customized to their birthday. And I have several great ideas for you. And as always, you can find links to these in the gift ideas section of the show notes. So often I mention that you can get a unique gift for the person who has everything. And once again, today is no exception. I'm pretty confident that your loved one celebrating June 25th doesn't have a catfish noodling shirt or hat in their wardrobe. It's definitely a way to get them something that when they wear it, it'll spark conversation wherever they go. If your loved one is a reader, Anne Frank's Diary is a great gift, as is A Book on the Life of Antony Gowdy. Similarly, if your loved one likes interesting coffee table books, The Frank House and Gowdy's Works would fit the bill for sure. And we mentioned several famous folks born today. There are a number of movies and CD collections among them that would all be great gifts for the person who has everything. And we mentioned also it was Goat Cheese Day and Strawberry Parfait Day, among some others. There are some great gifts related to these two holidays. Although, please don't send me anything related to goat cheese. Okay, so there are actually lots of customized gifts to June 25th available as great options. Some of which are sure to be totally unique. And of course, if those ideas aren't cool enough, you can give them a personalized shout out right here on this podcast. If you want to try the old-fashioned way, you can email me their name and some interesting facts, and I'll mention it for you. Or, if you want to do the shout-out yourself, you can click the link on the SpeakPipe app, and you can leave a shout-out that might sound something like this. Hey Carter, I just want to wish you a happy birthday. This is David. I'm going to tell a story about one of our favorite times. I'm going to tell about a time when we were like 12 years old. We were in Cooperstown, New York, playing a baseball tournament. And you and I and a couple other of our teammates, we were playing shower baseball for maybe three, four hours to the point where they had to come and find us and tell us, hey, it's time to go. That's one of my favorite times of all time. Happy birthday, man. I love you.

Guest:

What up, Carter? It's Bobby here, man. Happy birthday. 21's a big one, dude. I know. So you got to enjoy it. You got to embrace it. He only turned 21 once because after that we turned 22. And then what are we looking forward to? It's not fun after that. So I'm excited you guys are finally up here with me. So this is huge for me too, by the way. Happy birthday, man. Love you. Happy birthday, Carter. I wanted to tell a story about when we were at work at Hill and Dale. And you used to jump on my back and ride my back. And you used to say, ride him, cowboy. And one day after work, I told you to stop doing it. And you did it one last time. And I took a small water bottle and I threw it. I hit you right, right in the forehead. It exploded everywhere. It's probably one of my favorite memories because we were both just cracking up. Happy birthday.

Truman:

You can find the link to do that in the show notes. And as always, if you have a story that just needs to be shared about any day in the past, email me, Facebook me. Let's connect. And while you're thinking about all that, how about clicking the follow button on your podcast app so you get the notification about the next episode when it's released. And if you're still listening at this point, I'm repeating a challenge I issued in the May 21st episode, and it's really easy. I'm asking you to think of your favorite time travel movie and then try out this new Buzzsprout feature of texting me. There's a link in the show notes that says, text me your favorite time travel movie. Just click the link, type your answer, Bam. We have a special shout out today to Daystrider Ben from Minnesota, who actually used the feature and submitted his vote for Bill and Ted. Thanks, Ben. You rock. Dude. Sweet. As I said before, I can't tell the number you're texting from. It's anonymous. But Ben left his name in the text, so that's how I knew. Please try it out. You can do it. If Ben can, you can. I have my own list, of course, of time travel movies, and I'll be featuring that list on December 8, 2024. So you have some time to get me your choice, and we can check out how cool this new feature works. All right, I'll leave you with, I hope you had half as much fun listening as I did creating this episode. Sharing it with a friend or family member would be incredible and sincerely appreciated. Thank you. Thanks so much for listening. Until next time, this is Truman Pastworthy reminding you that every day has a great story. And we'll be striding through them all to find some more goodies for you. Now get out there and make your own great story today.