Time, Time, Time, See What’s Become Of Me

This post originally appeared March 2, 2018, on the Chile Today Hot Tamale! website. (www.chiletodayhottamale.net)

The seasons continue to turn. I, for one, am glad to see the end of winter. Winter has never been my favorite season (that would be summer), and it wouldn’t really hurt my feelings if I lived someplace with only three seasons (spring, summer, fall). The older I get, the less enamored I am of cold.

Of the four season markers, my favorite is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. It wins out over the summer solstice for two reasons: the equinox marks the end of winter (good); and the summer solstice marks the beginning of shorter days (bad). We are still several days away from the equinox, but I am feeling spring in the air, even though today is a blustery, moderately cold day.

My friends in Australia are already into fall. For some reason, they do not wait for the equinox proper, but simply call the first day of the month the first day of the season. So fall begins March 1, winter June 1, etc. I suppose we could do the same, but it just wouldn’t seem right.

I suffer from the “why is that so – but I forgot” syndrome. I constantly run across things that bother me, that make me ask “why is this so,” only to forget to look them up later. Our naming of the months was one such problem. Take, for example, the month of September. “Sept” is a prefix denoting seven. Why is the ninth month named the seventh month? The same holds true for the 10th month (oct is the prefix for eight) and the 12th month (dec is the prefix for ten). That bothered me for a few years. It didn’t bother me enough to look it up, though, until I read a biography of Edmund Halley, the comet guy. There was a very curious timeline in that biography that forced me to dig a little deeper. Guess what? It just so happens that once upon a time, New Year’s Day was March 1. Why that was ever changed, I have no idea. Curious, isn’t it?

As the seasons progress, I become happier with life. I know folks who wish to be able to revisit their youth, to do it all over again. I am not in that camp. I have enjoyed every phase of my life – childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, somewhat advanced middle age – and have no desire to revisit any of those phases.

It seems that March 1 is an important date. It was once New Year’s Day, it is the first day of fall in the antipodes, and several outstanding folks were born that day. Yesterday, I celebrated the birth of one such person.

My wife Kathy, head honcho of Chile Today-Hot Tamale, and number one Red Hot Mama, celebrated her birthday yesterday. Prudence dictates that I not reveal which anniversary of her 39th birthday just passed, so we will leave that be. If I can figure out how to post a picture of her celebrating at Town 220 in Madison, GA, I will. (I am technologically challenged that way.)

Either way, please join me in wishing her a hot birthday and even hotter year to come. Happy Birthday, Love!