July 8

July seems to be a month just chock full of holidays. For instance, the 4th is celebrated in the United States as Independence Day. On the 8th, Skagway, Alaska celebrates Soapy Smith’s wake. Soapy Smith was a well liked (He would have to be, wouldn’t he?) con man who was shot to death in 1898. His last words were “My God, don’t shoot!” Ireland celebrates the Battle of the Boyne on the 12th and, of course, the 14th is France’s Bastille Day, which George Plimpton for some reason used to celebrate with a lavish fireworks display in East Hampton, New York.