By Alex Berger
April – A Mix of Love, Inspiration and Mirth
Oh, hush my heart, and take thine ease, For here is April weather!
The daffodils beneath the trees, Are all a-row together.
The Lilac bush is sweet again; Down every wind that passes,
Fly flakes from hedgerow and from lane; The bees are in the grasses.
And Grief goes out, and Joy comes in, And Care is but a feather;
And every lad his love can win, For here is April weather.
–Lizette Woodworth Reese.
April is the month of romantic songs like “April Love” and inspirational ones like “April Showers.” It celebrates diverse themes such as Keep America Beautiful, Math Education and National Humor Month. And, of course, its showers bring May flowers. So let’s welcome the disparate month of April, and while we are doing just that, allow me to list, by date, other highlights which occur during the month.
April 1 – April Fool’s Day: My friend Seymour once played an April Fool’s joke on an airline. He purchased a round trip ticket to London last year and promptly April fooled them by returning home by boat. This year he pulled another prank. At a classy restaurant, he ordered an expensive dinner, paid the bill, hollered, “April Fool’s” and promptly walked out without eating it.
2 – International Children’s Book Day: Storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, born this day;
3 – Shirker’s Day: Do you get the blahs at times when reporting to work? Help yourself by calling in sick and turning Shirkers Day into Phone In Sick Day. Playing hooky for one day does work wonders.
5 – Booker T. Washington born in 1856: This scientist, educator, founder of Tuskegee Institute, and former slave, believed that a good education was the route to equality. He was the first African American depicted on a U.S. postage stamp;
7 – Daylight Savings Time begins. Remember to turn your clocks ahead or forever be late for school or work; 8 – Teacher Appreciation Day . Kids, do something nice for your teacher this day. Do your homework! 8 – Buddha’s birthday in Japan; 9 – American Civil War ended in 1865.
9 – Holocaust Memorial Day (Never forget and Never again). Jews mourn the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II; 10 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was first charted in 1866. 11 – Gertrudis Bocanegra, Mexican revolutionary known as the Joan of Arc of Mexico, born in 1765.
12 – Our 32nd president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, died in office in 1945 before World War II ended. 13 – Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, born in 1743; 14 – Our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth in 1865; 14 -Noah Webster finished his dictionary in 1828. Thanks, Noah. I literally owe my writing career to you; 14 – Pan American Day. A day to promote goodwill between the Americas. “Buenos dias, amigos!”
15 – Tax Day. Time for sound tax advice from Gerard the Accountant: Simply run to your nearest religious institution and pray. 15 – On this day, in 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play major league baseball: 15 — Leonardo Da Vinci, painter, sculptor, and scientist, born in 1452. 16 – Silent film star Charlie Chaplin born in 1889. 16 – Racial segregation declared unconstitutional in 1954; 16 – Israel Independence Day. This besieged country turns 54; 16 – Paul Revere began his famous two-day ride in 1775 by warning: “The British are coming!”
18 – National Columnist Day. Yes, Virginia, there is such a day for columnists. I received a recent fan letter which said, “You are my No. 1, positively favorite, columnist. Nobody comes close to you as a personality. Please send me an autographed column so I can worship it.” Hmm! I really don’t think she was very sincere, however. The letter was Xeroxed. 19 – In 1965, a Susan Williams blew the largest bubble-gum bubble ever. It was 22 inches long. If I practice, do you think I could beat her record?
20-Mohammed, the founder of the Muslim religion, born in 570 AD. 2l – German educator Freidrich Froebel born in 1837. He founded the first kindergarten or “children’s garden” in 1837; Earth Day – Celebrate by conserving water, energy and recycling bottles and cans. Help our Earth stay alive. 23 – Poet and playwright William Shakespeare born in 1564. 24 – Secretary Day. I once asked my secretary whether she could take dictation. “No,” She answered, “I only believe in democracy.” But she is a very honest person. Last week she called in “lazy.” And that’s not all. She once told me that I wasn’t myself and she noticed the improvement.
25- The first newspaper published in the New World, The Boston Newsletter, in 1704. 25 – Guglielmo Marconi, who sent the first wireless message across the Atlantic, born in 1874, 25 – My brother Milt’s birthday. He is an extra: actor in Hollywood and the nose, elbow, or heel, you see walking by on television or the movies is my talented brother. 26 – National Arbor Day – “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.” – Joyce Kilmer. 27 – Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, born in 1791. 28 – Comedian Jay Leno born on this day in 1950. 30 – National Honesty Day: Be sure to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! 30 -Hamburgers first introduced at St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.
There you have it. So, if rain should fall all around you, don’t frown. Just remember these lyrics from the song, “April Showers:”
Though April showers, May come your way; They bring the flowers, That bloom in May
If it’s raining, Have no regrets, It isn’t raining rain you know, It’s raining violets.
So, if you see clouds, Upon the hills, They soon will bring crowds of daffodils.
Just keep on looking for a bluebird, And listening for his song
Whenever April showers come along.
