A whole lot of people wished me Happy Cinco de Mayo Day today.  And I say to you, “Happy Cinco de Mayo Day” right back at ya’!”  I always forget what it really means.  I’m not Mexican.  But I looked it up and here’s the deal.  It isn’t Mexican Independence Day.  No. (That is September 16.)  CDM, as cool people call it…. celebrates the day that troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico.  Ignacio said “We shall call them Freedom Fries from this day forward.”  So have a taco, or a burrito, or a quesadilla, and enjoy the day.

Now WHAT I celebrate on this Fifth of May, every year….. are two separate events.  Of course I am gonna’ HAVE to tell you what they are.  I want you to have good reason to eat that chocolate cake tonight…..  Uno:  the first train robbery in the United States took place on this date in 1865…. and it happened right outside of Cincinnati, in North Bend, Ohio.   Big day for the Buckeye State, I’ll tell ya’!  AND THEN, Dos: In 1904, Cy Young, who played for the Boston Americans, threw the first perfect game in modern day baseball.  They were playing the Philadelphia Athletics, in Philly.  Cy said “We shall call it Boston Cheese Steak from here on out.”

Of course, it wasn’t long until they were plain ol’ Philly Cheese Steaks again, and French Fries went back to being French Fries for most of the 20th century.

So as you can see, today is really all about food.  The 5th of May.  “Happy All About Food Day.” From me to you.  Let them eat cake.

(You are probably reading this on the 6th… so here are……

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…… few other snappy-do events of yesterday):

1809 – Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.

1877 – Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.

1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.