Hello April

 About the Month of April

Did you know?

 

April was the second month in an early Roman calendar, but became the fourth when the ancient Romans

• started using January as the first month.
• April is named for the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.
• The name for the month of April originally came for Aprilis which means to open.
• Small animals that hibernate are usually coming out of their burrows in April. The birds fly back northward and settle down to have their families. The bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar from the first flowers of the season.
• In some parts of the world, it is planting time, while in other parts, it is the harvest season.
• April is Humor Month, so laugh it up!
• The birthstone for April is the diamond.
• The zodiac signs are Aries (March 21 – April 19) and Taurus (April 20-May 20).
• The birth flowers for the month of April are the sweet pea and the daisy.

Historical moments in the month of April

• America’s first astronauts were announced by NASA on April 9, 1959.
• The first Webster Dictionary was copyrighted by Noah Webster on April 14, 1828.
• The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912.
• The Revolutionary War in America began on April 19, 1775.
• The United States Library of Congress was established April 24, 1800.
• Our first President George Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789.
• The Civil War started April 12^th, 1861and ended April 6^th, 1865.

Special Days in the month of April

• The first day of April is April Fools Day, when children and grown-ups play jokes on one another.
• April 22 is Earth Day.
• April 2 is Light It Up Blue for Autism Day and the whole month is Autism Awareness Month.
• Arbor Day is a day for planting trees, and it is observed on various April days.
• The Jewish festival of Pescah, or Passover, is celebrated early in April.
• Easter is almost always in April, and, with it comes other Christian celebrations such as Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.
• April is also the month of the Thai New Year in Thailand and the Khmer New Year in Cambodia.

April is also host to some famous birthdays

• Marvin Gaye, April 2, 1939
• Jane Goodall, April 3, 1934
• Jackie Chan, April 7, 1954
• Dolores Huerta, April 10, 1930
• Emma Watson, April 15, 1990
• Leonardo da Vinci, April 15, 1452
• Charlie Chaplin, April 16, 1889
• Jack Nicholson, April 22, 1937
• William Shakespeare, April 23, 1564

 

A Brief History; Volume Two

Volume Two of A Brief History is now finished.  Here is the epilogue.  If you would like to read Volume Two-or Volume One for that matter-contact me and we'll work something out.  My email is george.stockwell@gmail.com or if you have my phone number, give me a call. 

 

Epilogue

Well, here we are.  Volume II, Chapter 50 and one year later.  This adventure called Storyworth has been quite an experience. It started with a gift subscription from my son and daughter-in-law over two years ago.  Every week for a year I received a prompt that became the basis for a story.  Fifty two stories later I received a hard covered book. That was Volume I.  I then picked it up from there by signing up for another year. Thus we have Volume II. This epilogue forms the last chapter.

 

Actually there really isn’t all that much to say at this point.  I’ve written a total of 100 stories about various aspects of my life.  I’ve covered just about everything ranging from my childhood to the present-just a couple of weeks past my 81^st birthday.    Many of the stories were from prompts that Storyworth sent each week but there were other times when I rejected their prompt and made up one of my own. 

 

All in all I covered things like my early life, my kids and grandkids, my teaching career, my political and religious views, my days in the army, my family growing up and the one my wife and I created and  a variety of odds and ends that I’ll not list here since you may have already read them if not in Volume One then in this book. 

 

I was offered an opportunity to subscribe for yet another year’s worth of stories but I honestly don’t think I can come up with anything fresh.  After a while things would get repetitive so I will end it here.  On the other hand if you wanted to keep current on what’s going on in my head just check in on my blog spot from time to time.  It can be found at http://gstockwell.blogspot.com.

 

This whole adventure served two purposes.  My first objective was to entertain those of my family and friends who wanted to read it and my second objective was strictly personal in the sense that this was a journey I wanted to take for myself.  I found myself being forced to reflect on things I hadn’t really thought about before or at least for a long time ago.  

 

Thanks to my wife who read all these pieces and offered suggestions and corrections where my memory failed me.  Thanks, too, to my children and grandchildren who offered suggestions for stories and who told me what they would like to read.  Now it’s time to find another activity.  

 

 

 

 

  

A Night At the Hospital

 In the slightly over 81 years that I've been around I've been hospitalized overnight just three times.  The first time was when I was 13 and it was to get my tonsils out.  The second time was in 2008.  I was in the hospital 4 days following kidney surgery.  The third time was this past Thursday-1 day ago.  

I had gone to my kidney doctor Thursday afternoon to discuss lab work.  In the course of his exam he noted a swelling of my right leg.  He was very concerned that I may have a blood clot so he sent me to the hospital right from his office.  I got to the emergency room at about 4:30.  By the time I actually got in to see someone and get examined and various tests evaluated it was 10 P.M. at which time it was determined that I had cellulitis.  Cellulitis is a bacterial skin infection that if caught early enough can be treated by oral antibiotics.   In my case my entire right leg was infected so they decided to admit me and give me a strong dose of antibiotics.  

I was not thrilled at the idea of being hospitalized to say the least.  My last experience in the hospital was not a happy one.  The nurses were nice enough but I found a lot to be lacking.  For example there were many times when I laid there in need of getting my dressings changed because the old ones were sopping wet and getting all over the sheets.  Also, when I did ask the nurses for medications I should have gotten they would tell me they'd check on it and that would be the last I'd hear of it.  There were other things too but you get the idea.

I am happy to report that this time around most things went much more smoothly.  I had a great nurse and assistant nurse  who checked on me frequently and generally followed up on things.  The only issue I had was confusion over what medications I was taking.  I gave my list of daily medications to practically every person who examined me and yet when it came time for me to take them they couldn't quite get it straight.  I never got my daily meds on Thursday.  I did however get most of them Friday morning.  I say most of them because there was one in particular I didn't get at all. No one could explain why.  So that's an area they need to work on.  But all in all this time around went much better than my last experience.  

Nevertheless, with any luck at all, that will be the last time I need to spend the night or nights in a hospital.

Hello March

About the Month of March

March is the 3rd month of the year and has 31 days.
Full Moon-March 25th
Season (Northern Hemisphere): Spring

Holidays

Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss Birthday)
Saint Patrick's Day
Pi Day
Daylight Saving Day
Women's History Month
National Nutrition Month
American Red Cross Month
Fire Prevention Month

Symbols of March

• Birthstone: aquamarine and bloodstone
• Flower: daffodil
• Zodiac signs: Pisces and Aries

History:

The name March comes from the Roman god of war, Mars. For many years, March, being the start of spring, was also the start of the New Year. Much of Europe used March as the start of the year. Britain used March 25th as the beginning of the New Year until 1752.

Interesting Facts about March

• It is the first month of Spring which begins between March 19-21.
• In the Southern Hemisphere, March is the same as September in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Each year March and June end on the same day of the week.
• It is the time of year when animals start to wake up from hibernation.
• March Madness is a basketball tournament played by the NCAA.
• Easter is sometimes celebrated in March.
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