humor

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April Fool’s Day

“Work? Why, cert’nly it would work, like rats a-fighting. But it’s too blame’ simple; there ain’t nothing to it. What’s the good of a plan that ain’t no more trouble than that? It’s as mild as goose-milk. Why, Huck, it wouldn’t make no more talk than breaking into a soap factory.” Huck Finn’s friend, Tom, trying to convince him to work for him by painting a fence on April Fool’s Day.

No one seems to know the origin of April Fool’s Day. Some believe it started in ancient Rome, where people celebrated the festival of Hilaria on March 25th, a day of merrymaking and pranks. Other sources suggest it may have originated from the spring equinox, a time of rebirth and renewal, when people would play pranks to celebrate the changing season.

The most popular theory, however, is that April Fool’s Day originated in France in the 16th century. In 1582, King Charles IX of France adopted the Gregorian calendar, which shifted the start of the new year from April 1st to January 1st. Some people resisted this change and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1st. These people were mocked and tricked by others, and the tradition of playing pranks on April 1st became widespread.

As in Huck Finn’s day, modern April Fool’s Day is celebrated around the world, with people playing practical jokes on each other and the media often publishing fake news stories for the occasion.

Here are three popular novels that mention the April Fool’s Day celebration in case you’d like to check them out:

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, a classic novel.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee: In one scene of this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the Finch children play an April Fools’ Day prank on their reclusive neighbor, Boo Radley.

“The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown: This bestselling thriller features an April Fools’ Day prank played by the antagonist, who uses a fake phone call to lure the protagonist, Robert Langdon, into a trap.

 

 

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Welcome March!

Licensed under Creative Commons

March is a month of transition, a time when winter starts to give way to spring in the Northern Hemisphere. March is typically drier than February where I live, which is good news for anyone who may have grown tired of winter’s rain and cold. It isn’t all clear sailing, however; March isn’t without its share of stormy weather. Not even close. Blustery winds can whip through the state, sometimes bringing thunder and lightning and the ever-present danger of destructive tornadoes along with them. And while the daffodil may mark the impending arrival of spring, the early blooming flowers can fall victim to late season wintry weather. In fact, in my 76 years, Mother Nature has never failed to drop either frost, hail, ice, or snow (and sometimes all four) on those early blooming beauties.

 

Despite that, or perhaps because of that, the daffodil remains a symbol of hope and renewal in March. The bright yellow flowers’ emergence from the ground is a welcome sight and a sure sign warmer weather is on the way, fingers crossed.

 

In the Northern Hemisphere where I live, March marks the return of the spring equinox. The month derives its name from the ancient Roman calendar and is named after the Roman god of war and Martius, the first month of the original Roman calendar. Then, it was a month of celebration and new beginnings. Today, March is still a time of new beginnings, as clocks are turned forward for daylight saving time. Many enjoy longer days and more time outdoors, although personally I’d prefer it if the practice of daylight savings time was cast aside.

 

Just as the arrival of the daffodils and the start of spring bring hope and renewal, March reminds us that change is inevitable and there’s always something to look forward to, no matter what the weather.

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Elmore Had It Right.

Slogging along on a manuscript or other piece of writing? Taking longer to finish than you expected? Exhausted trying to complete that description, paragraph, sentence, scene, dialogue, or other story element? Mr. Leonard just might have been on to something when it comes to writing.

Elmore And Writing

Elmore Leonard (October 11th, 1925 – August 20th, 2013)  was a novelist, short-story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels were westerns but he didn’t limit his work to that genre. Among his best-known works are “Get Shorty,” “Out of Sight,” “Hombre,” “Mr. Majestyk,” “Rum Punch” (adapted as the film “Jackie Brown”), and short stories that became the films “3:10 to Yuma” and “The Tall T,” as well as the FX television series, “Justified.” 

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I’m Not Sleeping, Just Thinking With My Eyes Closed

Haven’t posted lately but that doesn’t mean I’ve been idle. As John Lennon and others have said, “Life is something that happens to us while we’re busy making other plans.” Beyond time-consuming personal and medical issues, I’ve continued work on the second book in my Runevision Murder Mystery series as well as writing more short-stories for my second book in that genre. I also have three books in queue to finish reading, at least one of which, I plan to review here.

Lolly gagging vs dilly dallying

 

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Ah, Those Lazy, Hazy Days Of Summer

It has been an unusually mild, wet summer around my neck of the woods (as they say here in Arkansas). Few 90 degree + days and (thankfully) no 100 degree + days. In other words, when it wasn’t raining, we’ve had beautiful days to enjoy. No wonder I’m doing more bicycle riding than writing. But I do remember those blistering summer days when it was so hot all I could do is kick back and enjoy lounging in the pool.

Lawdy its hot chicken in pool.pg

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Too Funny

How big of a water leak is it when the plumbing and repair people show up with two canoes? Must be a whopper!

Saw this vehicle and trailer on my way home today. It’s a plumbing and repair van pulling a trailer carrying two canoes. I hope this guy is just heading to the lake to enjoy a beautiful spring day rather than responding to a water leak. Either way, it just struck me as humorous.

Davis Plumbing and Repairs with canoes

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Seventy Isn’t Old…If You’re A Tree

Today marks my seventieth birthday. It’s been an interesting run through life at this point and I am hopeful there are more wonderful times yet to come. I think having a good sense of humor helps us get through the ups and downs of whatever the years throw at us thus the title I selected for this blog post.

I’m tempted to expound upon the humor of being seventy as the blog title illustrates. For instance, “I’m now eighteen with fifty-two years of experience”. Or, “I’m too young to be seventy.” And how about, “I’m 70 in years but 20 in spirit!”

Humor aside, I think author Victoria Erickson has a good take on aging for all of us, especially writers:

victoriaericksonquote