101!

It's our birthday today.

Arizona is 101 years old today.

February 14, 1912 the Arizona Territory became the state of Arizona.  It was the 48th state admitted to the union and the last of the contiguous states.

It's a pretty good state to be in.  A lot of beauty lives here.

Not the least of that beauty is in our official state flag.

The top half of the flag has thirteen rays of alternating red and yellow, representing the original 13 states.  The copper star in the center represents the copper mining industry of Arizona.  The bottom half of the flag is the same blue as in the United States flag and represents liberty.  The actual design of the flag wasn't adopted until February 17th, 1917 by the third state legislature.  And that's your history lesson for today.

Oh and by the way, Happy Valentines Day!

A VALENTINE AND A BIRTHDAY

Guess you all know what today is.

Yes, folks, once again it's Valentines Day.

Here's my Valentine from long ago.  Her name is Judy though she's referred to on this blog as SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed).

I've been obeying her now for many years.

From back when I used to tote around a 35 mm SLR camera.  And from when I might have said something like this to her.



Time marched on, as it does and 42 years later most of our hair has changed color.

You're still my Valentine, Judy.  I love you.

But wait!  There's more!

Today is also a rather momentous birthday.  The state of Arizona is 100 years old today.  The story goes that the paperwork was ready by February 12th but it was decided not to sign it because it might detract from Lincoln's Birthday celebrations.  So two days later, on February 14th, 1912, Arizona became the 48th state in the Union.

Happy birthday, Arizona.