Birthday List and Birthday Meme

Today's my birthday. Here's my list, in case you haven't finished your shopping yet:

1. Diet Coke
2. World peace
3. An asparagus serving platter*
4. Framed movie poster (Cool Hand Luke, Princess Bride, Memento) for The Green Room
5. A great book
6. Dinner with friends

That's it. It's not asking for much, is it?

And here for your blog-reading pleasure is a little birthday meme in honor of the Day I like to call My Favorite Holiday, June 2. The meme calls for a list of four events, three births, two deaths, and one holiday.

Four events that happened on June 2:

1. 1774--England enacts the Quartering Act in direct response to the Boston Tea Party of December, 1773. It was one of four laws known as the Intolerable Acts, giving Colonial governors the right to house soldiers in local buildings--though not in private homes, as I learned in elementary school.
   
2. 1835--P.T. Barnum and his circus started their first tour of the U.S.--and you know what I think of circuses.
3. 1897--Mark Twain was quoted by the New York Journal, in response to reports of his death, "The report of my death was an exaggeration."
   
4. 1925--Lou Gehrig took first base for the NY Yankees, starting his record streak of 2,130 consecutive games played. Sixteen years later to the day, Gehrig succumbed to ALS, which became his eponymous legacy.

Three births on June 2:

1. 1731--Martha Washington
2. 1840--Thomas Hardy
3. 1954--Dennis Haysbert

Two deaths on June 2:

1. 1987--Andres Segovia, the father of the 20th century classical guitar movement
   
2. 1990--Rex Harrison

One holiday on June 2: My birthday. Isn't that enough of a festive occasion?

Now I'm going to go and be a princess. After I put in three loads of laundry and mop the bathroom floor, that is.

*I'm just kidding about the antique asparagus platter. I really just want a simple, rectangular serving plate like this.