In February
it will be 
my snowman’s
anniversary
with cake for him
and soup for me!
Happy once
happy twice
happy chicken soup
with rice.
               from Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months
                         written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak
                                                  Harper & Row, 1962

    My Februarys include four birthdays, and a wedding anniversary. Celebrations continue from March till the end of April when three more birthdays fall in line. The rest of the family are outliers, but no less important.
    February kicks off celebration season, but I wondered about the month itself. Peculiarities abound, especially in our era of Climate Change. But where did the name come from? Why is it only 28 days long, usually? How did such a short month get three historical birthdays, three holidays, almost a whole week of birdwatching, and a month-long recognition of Black History?
    Groundhog Day, President’s Day, and Valentine’s Day are ripe for celebration. You can spend four days counting birds during the Great Backyard Bird Count and learn Black history for four full weeks. Four historical birthdays, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony all line up in February. Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish Festival of Trees, and Lent sometimes fall in February. They follow the lunar calendar not the common solar one on which the US calendar is based. 
    According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the world’s earliest calendars were made by noting the movement of stars, the moon, and Venus. Most used ten to twelve months divided into around thirty days each. It seems that every ancient culture from Australia to the Middle East to the Mayans and Celts kept track of time in various ways and by various means. 
    In the time of Rome’s dominance in the Hellenistic period (323 BCE-31 CE)
the calendar was named for the reigning ruler. Even as its influence was beginning to wane, the Julian Calendar was named for Julius Caesar who ruled from 46-44 BCE. Originally comprised of 304 days, the calendar was divided into 10 months starting with March. January and February were added later to help synchronize the days with the seasons. More adjustments were made by Augustus Caesar and the Julian Calendar stayed in use until 1582, when it was finally replaced by the Gregorian calendar devised by Pope Gregory XIII. It is still the most commonly used calendar in the world today.  
    In languages and countries all over the world February’s name can be translated into English as mud-month (Solmonath from Old English) and ice-pearl month (Helmikuu from Finnish).
    The Latin word februa means “to cleanse.” February is named for Februalia, a month-long Roman purification celebration when community and personal atonement were practiced. Offers and sacrifices were made to the god of the dead. Since even numbers were seen as unlucky, the shortest month was designated the month of the dead, and given the least number of days. 
    Since February has 28 days, in non-leap years, it is possible that the whole month can pass without a full moon. The last time that happened was 2018, and it won’t happen again until 2037. For the same reason, February can miss its new moon, that tiny sliver that first appears at the beginning of the waxing cycle. February 2014, missed its new moon. That won’t occur again until 2033.
    February was chosen as Black History Month in 1976, to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. 
    Since 1998 when it was started as a citizen-science project, The Great Backyard Bird Count has grown into a world-wide activity.
    February’s full moon is called the Snow Moon.
    Its birth flowers are the violet, the primrose, and the iris.
    Amethyst is February’s birthstone. It symbolizes piety, humility, spiritual wisdom, and sincerity.
    But how do you *say* it?
    It’s a little tricky, but the standard pronunciation is Fe BRU ary. Lots of people skip the first R because of a process called dissimilation. Sometimes people drop the first of two similar sounds in a word to avoid repeating that sound. Some people say LI Berry (library) for the same reason.
    And, while I can’t verify where I saw the notice, (about 10 minutes ago) Feb U ary has gained traction and is now an accepted pronunciation. 
    Even as February 2023 is coming to a close, I still have lots of celebrations to celebrate, lots of birds to count, lots of history to learn, and sunny spring weather to look forward to.

                                        -—be curious! (and celebrate)

While it has nothing to do with February, I’m listening to David Sedaris reading his book I Talk Pretty One Day (Hachette Audio, 2000). He’s one of the funniest people alive. While the book will make you laugh out loud (really, all of them will) hearing him read his own words is a treat!

 If all of you want to be good leaders or honest [leaders], treat each other with equal respect, and just tell the truth.
    
                                    from Ellie May on Presidents’ Day
                                               written by Hillary Homzie
                                          illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbler
                                                      Charlesbridge, 2018

    Mom always said it’s better to be a leader than a follower. Dad, I think, tended to agree.
    Me, although I always wanted to be famous (and I still do!) I never really wanted to be recognized in a rock-star kind of way. Name recognition was what I have always been after.
    “Oh!” I heard in my mind’s ear. “I’ve her heard of her.”
    Real leaders are influencers, not demand-ers. They care about the people who look to them. They give thoughtful advice. They shoulder responsibility. They tell the truth, even when it’s hard. They stand up to criticism when it’s deserved and rally against it when it’s not. Real leaders know the difference.
    They set priorities that meet the needs of their people. All their people. They give a leg up to those who need it. They are kind. They are courteous. They’re strong. 
    Real leaders understand justice and know it is different from fairness. And real leaders strive to make justice equally accessible to everyone. A real leader makes sure to follow the law, too. And a real leader shows respect for lawmakers. A real leader listens to all sides of an argument and knows how to compromise.
    Yesterday was Presidents’ Day. The day is a tribute to George Washington. His birthday, February 22, has been celebrated as a national holiday since President Chester A. Arthur declared it so in 1885. In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed to provide more three-day weekends. Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is February 12, so some states and private entities have included him in the celebration. Some all-inclusive types have over generalized to include every President, even those history has deemed not quite up to par. But tradition (and United States law) says the day belongs to George, alone.
    He stayed with his men during a treacherously cold winter at Valley Forge and paid them from his own money. The Colonial Army didn’t have enough funds.
    He and his wife, Martha, owned enslaved people since before their marriage. His concern about slavery grew, especially during and after the Revolutionary War. He saw a stark contradiction in the freedom our young soldiers were fighting for and the institution slavery was becoming.    
    He also knew addressing abolition would rip apart the fragile fabric of the new country he fought so hard to weave. So he encouraged the new Congress to use the legal system to work toward freedom for all people. At his death, George Washington freed the people belonging to him. He was the only president to do so.  
    He refused to be king.
    He stepped down after two four-year terms, refusing a third.
    He helped form alliances with former enemies. 
    He told the truth, even when it was hard. (He never said he chopped down that tree, though!)
    George Washington was a real leader for all those reasons and more. In his own lifetime, he was rock-star famous. 
    His people loved him and trusted him. They knew he had their best interests in his choice-providing, decision-making, ultimatum-giving actions.
    He was a good man. And a good leader. Need I say more?

    Last Sunday, I finished reading Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: The Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change by Thor Hanson (Basic Books, 2021). It is an extremely readable and scientific (hard to do, I know) account of how animals and plants are adapting to climate change. Hanson describes changes as they are happening in real time. His research is extensive and the experts he interviewed are well-respected in their fields. Highly recommend!
                                               -—stay curious! (and kind)

“Dr. Long,” Henry said.
“My giggle is gone.
I can’t seem to laugh
and I don’t know what’s wrong.
                          from Henry Hyena, Why Won’t You Laugh?
                                                written by Doug Jantzen
                                               illustrated by Jean Claude
                                        Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, 2015
                                          accessed on YouTube 2/13/23

    Mom would be putting the finishing touches on dinner when Dad got home from work. We kids would be belly-laughing at the Three Stooges on TV in the living room as Dad hung up his hat, loosened his tie, and joined us. Mom muttered about insensitivity, lack of empathy, and how hurting someone isn’t funny as she called us all in to eat dinner. 
    Mom had a great sense of humor. She just didn’t get the stooges, or any other slapstick, either. Some people are like that.
    Usually, if we look for it, we can find the humor in most situations. Time and distance sometimes need to work their magic, but even the blackest cloud can sport a silver lining, if we look hard enough in the right places.
    Humor comes in many guises, not only slapstick. And a side-splitting belly laugh, no matter where it comes from, really is good medicine. 
    The Idioms website attributes the phrase all the way back to Proverbs 17:22 which states “A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (I updated the translation a little.)
    In modern times, Norman Cousins brought the phrase into public awareness and Patch Adams, a real doctor who believed that the core principles of love and laughter should be the basis of a physician’s bedside manner, brought the phrase to life. Robin Williams’s portrayal of the doc in the 1998 film, Patch Adams is worth a look.
    But is it true? Can laughter really heal us? According to lots of research, the short answer is “yes!” Now I will not discount modern medical breakthroughs, including aspirin, plaster casts, and chemotherapy when necessary, but a good dose of laughter, the more raucous the better, helps, too.
    Laughter is an antidote for stress. A hearty laugh increases our intake of oxygen which increases circulation which helps control the amount of cortisol flowing through our bodies. Cortisol is an important hormone that manages blood sugar levels, reduces inflammation, manages metabolism, and triggers the fight or flight response. But too much cortisol and we feel stress. 
    A rollicking laugh increases then decreases our stress response. The wonderful result is that relaxed feeling we all seek.
    True laughter increases our pain tolerance by releasing endorphins, our bodies’ own natural painkillers.
    Long term, laughter can improve our immune system. An article from The Mayo Clinic says negative thoughts cause chemical reactions that bring more stress into our systems. Our immunity decreases. But positive thoughts release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially fight off more-serious illnesses. 
    In our 2023 world full of real suffering, anxiety, and existential threats, (you know what they all are) laughter can help lighten stress, decrease depression, and bring a little more joy into our lives.
    And here’s some more good news. Laughter can be learned. We can all improve (or discover) our own sense of humor. That same Mayo Clinic article tell us how.
    Add more humor to your life. 
    Read funny greeting cards at the corner drug store, grocery store, or look on-line. Hang up funny comics from the newspaper on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator. (I know I’m dating myself here, but I still support our local paper). Watch a funny movie. Young Frankenstein, Meet the Parents, Patch Adams anyone? 
    Find the joke section in the local library’s children’s section (793.7 if your library uses the Dewey Decimal System) and look for the corniest ones there.
    I just found out about laughter yoga. It’s a fake it till you make it situation. At first your laughter is forced. As you continue, it becomes more spontaneous. And it has the added benefit of laughing in a group.
    Humor takes many forms. Look for what tickles your funny bone. Irony, witty puns, self-deprecating humor (try David Sedaris’s “The Christmas Elf”), dark humor (anything Roald Dahl), or a good parody.        
    To me, there’s nothing too much funnier than a gooey, pie-in-the-face slapstick routine. Those three stooges, Larry, Curly, and Moe (and later, Shemp and Joe) were timing masters and guffaw-inducing geniuses. That is, if stapstick is your thing, too.
    
I finished Black Faces, White Spaces by Carolyn Finney (University of North Carolina Press, 2014). She uses a variety of sources including magazines, film, interviews, and popular culture to examine why Black people are underrepresented in America’s National Parks, local parks, and the outdoors in general. It’s an interesting and important premise, but a little fact-heavy and a little narrative-shy.

                                      -—stay curious! (and seek hilarity)

    If you don’t turn any pages, we will never get to the end of this book. And that is good because there is a Monster at the end of this book. So please don’t turn the page.
    YOU TURNED THE PAGE! Maybe you do not understand. You see, turning pages will bring us to the end of this book, and there is a Monster at the end of this book.
                      from The Monster at the End of This Book
                                                 written by Jon Stone
                                         illustrated by Michael Smollin
                                                     Golden Books, 1971
    We can all identify with Grover. We know what it feels like to be afraid and unable to stop a scary event from happening. As we get closer and closer to the end of his book, Grover pleads with his readers to no avail. The last page is finally turned, and what was so scary turns out to not scary at all. 
    But that’s not always real life. 
    Sometimes things *are* very scary. Sometimes we can’t stop them from happening, and sometimes, the ending is not what we expected, but not in a good way. Other peoples’ stories help us cope with the questions, troubles, and perceived problems in our own lives.
    Stories can be made up or true (or True). They can have drama, mystery, violence, compassion. They can be comfortable or disturbing. Stories can be  universal or particular to a person or group. They can teach, show us different points of view, describe familiar places and places we’ll probably never experience.
    Humans are hard-wired to emotion-based stories. Whether on a screen, in a book, or on air, we respond to a story by identifying with the characters, the story’s people. The closer we are to stepping into their shoes, the more we learn of their motivations. That helps us understand them, and ourselves, too. Because we’re all human, we can learn something from everyone’s story.
    That was one of Dave Isay’s ideas when he built the first StoryCorps booth in Grand Central Terminal in New York City and invited people to come in and talk to each other. And people did.
    He wanted to build an archive of regular people talking about the extraordinariness that makes their lives unique. He believes peoples’ stories are valuable and storytellers need to be honored for the brave act they are doing by sharing their stories.    
    Dave knew early on that it’s not always easy to ask questions of the ones who mean the most to us, so a trained facilitator is present with the people in the booth. The facilitator welcomes the participants, guides them through their conversation process, handles all the technology, and ensures that the experience is positive for everyone. 
    Over 325,000 interviews are housed and searchable on the American Folklife Center’s website and in their reading room in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The collection is continually growing. Here’s a link to get you started listening to heartwarming, sincere, and relatable real people telling their real stories. Each is under 10 minutes long, but longer interviews are also archived.
    StoryCorps has developed an online app that you can use to tell your story, but you can still request an in-person conversation. An enormous amount of information is on their website: StoryCorps.org and under each of the tabs. 
    The mission of StoryCorps is “to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.” They want to remind us of our shared humanity. They want to help strengthen and build the connections between people. Listening is a core (Corps) value. By “weaving our own stories into the fabric of our culture” we’ll come to understand that everyone’s story matters. 
    Lofty goals, yes. But achievable? Listen for yourself! NPR broadcasts one 3-minute interview every Friday morning on my local station. You can listen to past recordings here. 
    If that gets you hooked on listening, try one (or more) of these:
This American Life 
The Moth 
How I Built This 

    I’m reading an historical fiction, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal. (Penguin/Random House, 2022). At only about 100 pages in, I’m already hooked. The mother/daughter relationship, so far at least, feels realistic. The plot is gripping. The main characters become undercover Nazi-hunters living in California in the late 1930s and early 1940s. 
    I’ll soon see how it all shakes out, but I’m optimistic that it’ll be a good one. I’ll let you know next week! 
                             -—be curious! (and listen to each other)