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A recommended book and a Happy Birthday remembrance of President George Washington



Recommended reading - anyone who has ever cared for an aging pet or parent (or who believes he or she will one day grow old) might wonder about the few farm animals who are not killed young, well, here's an answer: Allowed To Grow Old: Portraits of Elderly Animals from Farm Sanctuaries. And yes, it might encourage you to be a (better) vegetarian or even a vegan! [Thanks to Rikki's Refuge for sharing information about this book.]

Happy Birthday, George Washington!  And copying from The Writer's Almanac: 
"It's the birthday of George Washington, born in Westmoreland County, Virginia (1732), whose favorite foods were mashed sweet potatoes with coconut, string beans with mushrooms, cream of peanut soup, salt cod, and pineapples. He lost all of his teeth except for one by cracking Brazilian nuts between his jaws. He got dentures made out of a hippopotamus tusk, which caused him great pain, which he tried to alleviate with opium.
He was not good at spelling and he had a speech impediment. His inaugural address was the shortest in history: 133 words long, and it took him just 90 seconds to deliver.
After two terms, he retired to Mt. Vernon in 1797. He died two years later after inspecting his plantation on horseback in snow and freezing rain."

My favorite Georges? George Washington Newmark of New Jersey and George of Sanctuary House!

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