Beginning in 1790, the United States of America became the first country in the world to call for regularly held censuses. However, the Constitution didn’t treat everyone as equal. “Free persons” excluded American Indians living on treaty land and who were exempt from paying taxes (or voting). However, any male Indian who had joined the voting and taxpaying (read: white) population became considered a “free person” and had the right to vote. “All other persons” meant slaves, who were counted as 3/5 of a person for determining representation in Congress. The 3/5 rule was to compensate for the large slave populations of southern states such as Virginia and South Carolina, where slaves represented 39 and 43 percent of

the populations, respectively. For comparison, Connecticut and New Jersey had slave populations of 1.1 and 6.2 percent, respectively.

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Because birthdays come in too many flavors, candy birthday gifts can result in an original idea for kids, teens and even for grandpas. There are a countless number of birthday gift ideas to choose from, including baskets with chocolate candy and sugar free candy that can be purchased at department stores or traditional markets.

Most children have a natural passion for sweets, so a candy present is almost a must-give when it comes to selecting birthday gifts. There are websites on the Internet enlisting all types of birthday gift ideas, including original hand made crafts, but sometimes it is enough to include some chocolate candy rewards in birthday activities.

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When it comes to having birthdays after the 16th and the 18th birthday, the next big milestone is hitting the big two-one that 21 - Blackjack! Some look at the twenty-first birthday as a key to casinos, legal drinking, and finally being an unrestricted adult. To others, the 21st birthday is just another reason to have friends over and have some fun.

One fun game that works for a 21st Birthday either situation is called The Interrogation. To play it, have players sit in a circle so that everyone can see each other easily. The game starts with one individual turning and looking at the person on his left. Then the first person asks

the person sitting on his left any question (i.e., What color are your socks?). The second person doesn t answer the first question, but instead turns to the person on his left and asks another question, not one that has been asked before. That person turns to the person on his left and continues the process. Each time a question is being asked the two parties should be looking at each other.

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Do you think it is important for your family s hygiene to regularly clean blankets and sheets, towels, bed and couch covers? Of course!

Pillows also need to be cleaned regularly, at least every six months. That s because a pillow that hasn t been cleaned recently contains high amounts of sloughed skin, mold and mildew, fungus, dust mites and dust feces. Nobody wants to sleep on that! Let s see how we can effectively clean our pillows, depending on their material, and what tricks we can use to keep them clean longer.

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The Chattanooga Choo Choo and Three Little Fishes

Back in the good old days, when music had some rhyme or reason to it, you could listen to the best of it on the radio on Your Hit Parade where some great songs jingled forth that were lots of fun to listen to and to sing.

Your Hit Parade was on radio for 15 years before the television version. Read about the show at Your Hit Parade http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/Y/htmlY/yourhitpara/yourhitpara.htm

Actually, some of the songs were downright silly.

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