It's Near Miss Day

I have a fascination with weird holidays. Christmas and New Year's, Valentine's and St. Patrick's Day - those are great holidays. Mainstream holidays. But, did you know that if you look around enough there are days that celebrate, for example, the chocolate chip, or the pecan, the chicken and even the invention of Coca-Cola...the best drink ever.

Let's reflect on Coca-Cola for a moment....

Oh, you're back already. Okay, let's carry on. Traditional holidays are great, but it's those non-traditional celebrations that are really, really interesting.

For example, did you know today is National Chip and Dip Day? It's also Melba Toast Day. Get thee forth to the grocery and pick up your favorite chips-and-dips or Melba toast for snack times!

March 23 is also Near Miss Day. On this day in 1989 an asteroid bigger than an aircraft carrier came within 500,000 miles of the Earth...scientists didn't notice the asteroid until about a week later. 500,000 miles might sound like a lot of space but in, ah, space terms, it's close. And because it was so close and no one knew about it, it was a wake-up call to astronomers, scientists and space agencies to pay more attention to the skies around us. After all, scientists are certain it was a large asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs...and we're a lot smaller than dinosaurs.

One of my favorite movies is Armageddon - I love the relationship between AJ and Harry, Harry and Grace and (of course) Grace and AJ. I'm not sure if that movie was inspired by the actual Near Miss Day, but I couldn't leave it out of a post about near misses and asteroids, could I? My favorite part of the movie isn't when Harry tells Grace goodbye, and it isn't when AJ sings Leaving on a Jet Plane to Grace. It's that moment in the meeting room when they're deciding who to bring on the mission. Harry brings up AJ, and Grace says, "I thought you said you couldn't trust him." Harry replies, "I thought you said I could?"

For me, that is a big moment between father and daughter - he's still uncertain, but he is willing to take a chance. Because of her. I love that moment. And now that I know there is such a thing as a Near Miss Day, I'd like to think it inspired the movie and even that moment.

What about you? Do you like weird holidays?

Kristina Knight's latest release, What the Bachelor Gets, is the first in her brand new

 
Billionaire Cowboys trilogy:

All Gage Reeves wants is to make a success of his new luxury shopping development on the Vegas Strip. Callie Holliday dreams of having the hottest day spa in Vegas. For these childhood friends, business is becoming decidedly personal...and it's risky business gambling on love.

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