28 September 25

The annual celebration of "Read a Child a Book You Like Day" occurs on 28 September. I chose to wear my chameleons tie and read "A Color of His Own" (by Leo Lionni) to my grandchildren!

14 September 22

I'm wearing bright chameleons to celebrate National Coloring Day! And so I'm joined by our house chameleon, featured in Leo Lionni's picture book "A Color of His Own." My tie is also appropriate for tomorrow's anniversary of Charles Darwin's arrival in the Galapagos Islands (1835), where he studied all sorts of wildlife, but especially fish, birds, insects and reptiles.

21 October 20

 For Reptile Awareness Day I'm wearing my chameleons tie and showing our house reptiles -- a chameleon who has "A Color of His Own," a dragon named "Cornelius" and a soft fluffy turtle (associated with the book "There is a Tribe of Kids").

21 October 19

Reptile Awareness Day has slithered its way onto your calendar again! Chameleons "change their color" not by choosing how to look but by having photoreceptor cells that detect their surroundings and automatically adjust skin pigmentation to blend into the background. The process was first documented in 1934 with studies on blind and sighted chameleons.

21 October 18

For Reptile Awareness Day, I'm wearing my chameleons tie! And our house chameleon, from the story "A Color of His Own" by Leo Lionni, wants to join the fun.

12 February 18

Today is Darwin Day, honoring the birthday in 1809 of Charles Darwin. I'm wearing my bright chameleons tie to recall some of the lizards that helped Darwin establish the laws of natural selection. Abraham Lincoln was also born on the same date -- an ocean apart.

15-16 January 17

Happy Birthday, Ben Kleppinger! Ben was born on 16 January 1986, at 12:27 a.m., successfully getting his own special day following Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 15th. He chose this tie for me to wear today because he likes the chameleons, which he refers to as "neon lizards."

And 15 January is celebrated as National Hat Day. I'm wearing a hat that Ben and Amanda brought to me from Cape Cod last year.

4-5 June 16

My niece Kirsten Rae (Huizenga) Caminiti selected my "chameleons" tie for me to wear to honor her birthday on June 5. We were with Kirsten in Nashville the previous day, to help celebrate her brother Nolan's marriage to Aimee Moiso. For that wonderful event I wore my "elegant vine" tie. I'm including a photo from the evening party where Kirsten played several violin solos, accompanied by her mother (my sister Gloria)!

21 October 15

We've reached Reptile Awareness Day! You can find some "Fun Facts about Reptiles and Amphibians" from the Smithsonian National Zoo.

4 September 14

Happy National Wildlife Day! "National Wildlife Day is about two important things: raising awareness for endangered animals, and appreciating U.S. zoos, sanctuaries, farms, etc. for helping to preserve our wildlife." (from "Calendar at a Glance.") The wildlife around our house comes in both natural and manmade-for-fun species.

22 May 13

Happy International Day for Biological Diversity! This annual event, sponsored by UNESCO and many other international organizations, recognizes the necessity of fresh water to sustain life in all its varied forms. The chameleons on my tie are very diverse, and my Norfolk Island pine tree keeps "nature" alive in my office every day.

15 September 11

Today's chameleon tie celebrates Charles Darwin's arrival in the Galapagos Islands 176 years ago (1835). Darwin was astounded by the variety of lizards, birds and other animals, whose populations and distribution made sense only by a theory of natural selection.

06 August 09

A day for wearing bright colors.

27 July 08

Today is my wife's half-birthday and she chose this "chameleons" tie because it coordinates well with the shiny purple blouse she wore.
Also see 22 May 08.

22 May 08

Today is World Biodiversity Day, celebrating the rich variety of life on earth. So here are some chameleons to help us party.