"My wife couldn't know -- what was the rationale behind that?"
The Djinn's look became very serious as he answered, "Your Grandmother was afraid if your wife ever found out that I had even the smallest hand in you two getting together, she would second guess herself, wonder if she had married you of her own volition -- your Grandmother was afraid her knowing would ruin everything, and she was right.
"When people find out a Djinn has been involved in any transaction in life, they wonder how much was their own idea, and how much they were forced into. You, of course, were not forced, you really wanted to ask her out, all I had to do was get you to open your mouth, and she wasn't forced, she had secretly admired how gentlemanly you were, how studious, and how kindly you dealt with your grandparents, but if she finds out about me, she might begin to wonder and second guess."
He heard the back screen door bang open and his children burst into the back yard with shouts, accompanied by the dog they had recently adopted who was barking and jumping around them with abject delight.
"I'll have to get downstairs now or she will start to suspect some thing is up, but I'll come back as soon as the coast is clear," he told the Djinn, which nodded and went silently back into the bottle.
Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is bark.
Today is:
Anne Bradstreet Day -- Massachusetts, US (by Proclamation of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to honor Anne Bradstreet, America’s first poet, who is also recognized as the first published woman poet in the English language)
Applejack Festival -- Nebraska City, NE, US (parade, food, fun, and a celebration of the orchards; through Sunday)
Chästeilet im Justistal -- Merlingen, Switzerland (dividing of the summer's cheese between the dairy farmers of the area, a weekend celebration that must be tasted to be believed!)
Cherokee Strip Day -- Oklahoma, US (anniversary of the last land run, in 1893, which opened Native American land to white settlers)
Cherokee Strip Days -- Enid, Oklahoma (parade that includes Longhorn steers, arts and crafts, food, and gunfight reenactments; through Sunday)
Clean Up the World Weekend -- it's a big challenge, but we can try
Collect Rocks Day -- i guess it means besides all the ones in my head
Creston/Southwest Iowa Hot Air Balloon Days -- Creston, IA, US (hare and hound races, parade, marching band contest, balloons and more; through Sunday)
Danger Run/Ghost Run -- Louisville, KY, US ("The Most Fun You've Ever Had in Your Car," a haunted Halloween scavenger hunt style game in which you and your friends will work together to solve clues to find your way on dark, spooky roads to haunted houses, and compete for prizes; every Friday and Saturday evening through October)
Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 6, Children & Youth (sponsored by We, the World)
Festival for Ra, Osiris, and Horus -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)
Full Harvest Moon a/k/a Full Corn Moon/Indigo Moon/Wise-Crone Moon (with so much food ripe for gathering, harvesting can go on well into the night by the light of the hugely full Harvest Moon)
Binara Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka (began yesterday evening)
Chusok -- South Korea (Harvest Moon Festival; began yesterday, through the 20th; a harvest festival and day to give homage to the ancestors and celebrate family)
Han'gawi -- North Korea (Harvest Moon Festival; through the 21st; a harvest festival and day to give homage to the ancestors and celebrate family)
Navajo Sing Festival -- Navajo Native Americans festival in thanksgiving for the harvest, begins at the full moon and goes on for one week
Taw Thalin Full Moon -- Myanmar
Zhongqiu Jie / Chong Chao -- China; Macau; Taiwan (Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival, the birthday of the earth god T'u-ti Kung, celebrating the harvests, family, and eating moon cakes, matchmaking, sky lanterns, Fire Dragon Dances, and more)
Goroka Show -- Goroka, Papua New Guinea (a cultural festival and showcase of over 100 clans and tribes and their customs; through Sunday)
Great British Beach Clean -- UK (the Marine Conservation Society knows the coast needs this extra special focus; through Monday)
Harrogate Autumn Flower Show -- Harrogate, England (Britains finest blooms show off; through Sunday)
Independence Day -- Malaysia(1963); Mexico(1910); Nicaragua; Papua New Guinea(1975)
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer -- UN (commemorates the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer)
King Turkey Day -- Worthington, MN, US (includes a turkey race; through tomorrow)
Martyrs' Day -- Libya
Mayflower Day -- the ship left England on this day in 1620
Monkey King Festival -- China (a celebration of this popular character in East Asian stories, with the best place to see the rituals being the Monkey God Temple at Po Tat Estate in Sau Mau Ping, Kowloon)
Monterrey Jazz Festival -- Monterrey, CA, US (59th Annual, featuring some of the world's finest jazz musicians; through Sunday)
National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day
National Guacamole Day
National Heroes' Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis
National Play-Doh Day -- unofficial; get some anyway and be a kid again for a little while
National POW/MIA Recognition Day -- US
National Stepfamily Day -- US (Founded in 1977 by Christy Borgeld)
National Teaching Assistants' Day -- UK
National Tradesmen Day -- US
New Hampshire Highland Games -- Loon Mountain, Lincoln, NH, US (everything highlands you can think of, and those of Scottish descent can even look up their clan connections; through Sunday)
Owain Glyndwr Day -- Wales
Riverfest -- Eden, NC, US (a celebration of art, history, and river heritage; through tomorrow)
St. Cornelius' Day (Patron of cattle, domestic animals, earache sufferers, epileptics; Kornelimunster, Germany;against earache, epilepsy, fever, twitching )
St. Cyprian of Carthage's Day (Patron of Algeria, North Africa)
St. Euphemia's Day (Patron of Rovinj, Croatia)
St. Ludmilla's Day (Grandmother of St. "Good King" Winceslaus; Patron of converts, duchesses, widows; Bohemia; Czech Republic; against in-law problems)
Stay Away From Seattle Day -- yes, really
Summerset Festival -- Clement Park, Littleton, CO, US (a big, fun good-bye to summer; through Sunday)
Telluride Blues and Brews Festival -- Telluride, CO, US (nationally touring bands and microbreweries make for a fun weekend; through Sunday)
The Big E -- West Springfield, MA, US (one of New England's largest fairs; through Oct. 2)
Working Parents Day -- internet generated, enjoy if you are a working parent or have a working parent you want to thank
Wo-Zha-Wa Days Fall Festival -- Wisconsin Dells, WI (fall festival; through Sunday)
Birthdays Today:
Nick Jonas, 1992
Sabrina Bryan, 1984
Alexis Bledel, 1982
Amy Poehler, 1971
Marc Anthony, 1968
Molly Shannon, 1964
Richard Marx, 1963
Jennifer Tilly, 1961
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV, 1958
David Copperfield, 1956
Mickey Rourke, 1956
Robin Yount, 1955
Mark McEwen, 1954
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 1950
Susan Ruttan, 1950
Ed Begley, Jr., 1949
Elgin Gay Baylor, 1934
Anne Francis, 1932
Peter Falk, 1927
B.B. King, 1925
Lauren Bacall, 1924
Janice Page, 1923
Allen Funt, 1914
James Cash Penney, 1875
Francis Parkman, 1823
Anthony Panizzi, 1797
Hildegard of Bingen, 1098
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Frasier"(TV), 1993
"Miami Vice"(TV), 1984
"Logan's Run"(TV), 1977
"Bridget Loves Bernie"(TV), 1972 (first mixed marriage portrayed on television)
"Mannix"(TV), 1967
"Shindig"(TV), 1964
"The Outer Limits"(TV), 1963
"Broadway"(Play), 1926
Today in History:
The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changes its name to Boston, 1630
Handel's "The Messiah" premiers in Dublin, 1741
The Great Seal of the United States is used for the first time, 1782
Russians set fire to Moscow shortly after midnight – the city burns down completely days later, 1812
Slavery is abolished in all French Territories, 1848
The Cherokee Strip, in Oklahoma, is opened, making land available to white settlers, 1893
Roald Amundsen discovers the magnetic south pole, 1906
William Durant, carriage-maker, founds General Motors Corp., 1908
Juan Perón is deposed in Argentina, 1955
Malaysia is formed, 1963
Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe join the United Nations, 1975
Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from the trolleybus that had fallen into Erevan reservoir, 1976
An earthquake measuring 7.5-7.9 on the Richter scale hits the city of Tabas, Iran killing about 25,000 people, 1978
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the United Nations, 1980
The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion, 1987
The Pound Sterling is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and is forced to devalue against the German mark, 1992
Mexico celebrates its 200th anniversary of independence, 2010
Denmark elects its first female Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, 2011
NASA scientists announce the discovery of a circumbinary planet - a planet the orbits two stars instead of one, 2011
The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., announces a successful artificial insemination as Mei Xiang gives birth to her second giant panda cub, 2012
The brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is found in tap water near New Orleans, the first time ever detected in the U.S. water supply, 2013
Taw Thalin Full Moon -- Myanmar
Zhongqiu Jie / Chong Chao -- China; Macau; Taiwan (Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival, the birthday of the earth god T'u-ti Kung, celebrating the harvests, family, and eating moon cakes, matchmaking, sky lanterns, Fire Dragon Dances, and more)
Goroka Show -- Goroka, Papua New Guinea (a cultural festival and showcase of over 100 clans and tribes and their customs; through Sunday)
Great British Beach Clean -- UK (the Marine Conservation Society knows the coast needs this extra special focus; through Monday)
Harrogate Autumn Flower Show -- Harrogate, England (Britains finest blooms show off; through Sunday)
Independence Day -- Malaysia(1963); Mexico(1910); Nicaragua; Papua New Guinea(1975)
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer -- UN (commemorates the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer)
King Turkey Day -- Worthington, MN, US (includes a turkey race; through tomorrow)
Martyrs' Day -- Libya
Mayflower Day -- the ship left England on this day in 1620
Monkey King Festival -- China (a celebration of this popular character in East Asian stories, with the best place to see the rituals being the Monkey God Temple at Po Tat Estate in Sau Mau Ping, Kowloon)
Monterrey Jazz Festival -- Monterrey, CA, US (59th Annual, featuring some of the world's finest jazz musicians; through Sunday)
National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day
National Guacamole Day
National Heroes' Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis
National Play-Doh Day -- unofficial; get some anyway and be a kid again for a little while
National POW/MIA Recognition Day -- US
National Stepfamily Day -- US (Founded in 1977 by Christy Borgeld)
National Teaching Assistants' Day -- UK
National Tradesmen Day -- US
New Hampshire Highland Games -- Loon Mountain, Lincoln, NH, US (everything highlands you can think of, and those of Scottish descent can even look up their clan connections; through Sunday)
Owain Glyndwr Day -- Wales
Riverfest -- Eden, NC, US (a celebration of art, history, and river heritage; through tomorrow)
St. Cornelius' Day (Patron of cattle, domestic animals, earache sufferers, epileptics; Kornelimunster, Germany;against earache, epilepsy, fever, twitching )
St. Cyprian of Carthage's Day (Patron of Algeria, North Africa)
St. Euphemia's Day (Patron of Rovinj, Croatia)
St. Ludmilla's Day (Grandmother of St. "Good King" Winceslaus; Patron of converts, duchesses, widows; Bohemia; Czech Republic; against in-law problems)
Stay Away From Seattle Day -- yes, really
Summerset Festival -- Clement Park, Littleton, CO, US (a big, fun good-bye to summer; through Sunday)
Telluride Blues and Brews Festival -- Telluride, CO, US (nationally touring bands and microbreweries make for a fun weekend; through Sunday)
The Big E -- West Springfield, MA, US (one of New England's largest fairs; through Oct. 2)
Working Parents Day -- internet generated, enjoy if you are a working parent or have a working parent you want to thank
Wo-Zha-Wa Days Fall Festival -- Wisconsin Dells, WI (fall festival; through Sunday)
Birthdays Today:
Nick Jonas, 1992
Sabrina Bryan, 1984
Alexis Bledel, 1982
Amy Poehler, 1971
Marc Anthony, 1968
Molly Shannon, 1964
Richard Marx, 1963
Jennifer Tilly, 1961
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV, 1958
David Copperfield, 1956
Mickey Rourke, 1956
Robin Yount, 1955
Mark McEwen, 1954
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 1950
Susan Ruttan, 1950
Ed Begley, Jr., 1949
Elgin Gay Baylor, 1934
Anne Francis, 1932
Peter Falk, 1927
B.B. King, 1925
Lauren Bacall, 1924
Janice Page, 1923
Allen Funt, 1914
James Cash Penney, 1875
Francis Parkman, 1823
Anthony Panizzi, 1797
Hildegard of Bingen, 1098
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Frasier"(TV), 1993
"Miami Vice"(TV), 1984
"Logan's Run"(TV), 1977
"Bridget Loves Bernie"(TV), 1972 (first mixed marriage portrayed on television)
"Mannix"(TV), 1967
"Shindig"(TV), 1964
"The Outer Limits"(TV), 1963
"Broadway"(Play), 1926
Today in History:
The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changes its name to Boston, 1630
Handel's "The Messiah" premiers in Dublin, 1741
The Great Seal of the United States is used for the first time, 1782
Russians set fire to Moscow shortly after midnight – the city burns down completely days later, 1812
Slavery is abolished in all French Territories, 1848
The Cherokee Strip, in Oklahoma, is opened, making land available to white settlers, 1893
Roald Amundsen discovers the magnetic south pole, 1906
William Durant, carriage-maker, founds General Motors Corp., 1908
Juan Perón is deposed in Argentina, 1955
Malaysia is formed, 1963
Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe join the United Nations, 1975
Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from the trolleybus that had fallen into Erevan reservoir, 1976
An earthquake measuring 7.5-7.9 on the Richter scale hits the city of Tabas, Iran killing about 25,000 people, 1978
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the United Nations, 1980
The Montreal Protocol is signed to protect the ozone layer from depletion, 1987
The Pound Sterling is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and is forced to devalue against the German mark, 1992
Mexico celebrates its 200th anniversary of independence, 2010
Denmark elects its first female Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, 2011
NASA scientists announce the discovery of a circumbinary planet - a planet the orbits two stars instead of one, 2011
The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., announces a successful artificial insemination as Mei Xiang gives birth to her second giant panda cub, 2012
The brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is found in tap water near New Orleans, the first time ever detected in the U.S. water supply, 2013