By Dr. Patt Schwab with Dorothy Wilhelm.
From Dorothy: As always, there’s a lot going on in Pierce County. I’m charmed by the Montana Fishing Film Festival going on at The Blue Mouse Theater on April 6. It’s perfeectly true that I haven’t gone fishing in 73 years, but that last time was on Cripple Creek in Warland, MT. https://www.mtfishingfilmfest.com/
You can’t miss the Fife Easter Festival; on April 14 and in fact, why not just check out the coming events website: https://www.traveltacoma.com/things-to-do/events/
So I’ll be seeing you – and now, here’s Dr. Patt:
The Month of APRIL
From Dr. Patt: Here we are in a new month with reasons to do interesting things with and for ourselves and others. The list below is a sampling of what April has to offer, along with an occasional story or example.
FIRST of All: Researchers tell us that those born in April have the Birth Benefits of being more creative and versatile at finding success in many different career fields than those born in other months.
April 1 April Fowl’s Day – Be nice to your local birds
Sorry Charlie Day —for those who lived through rejection
Laugh at Work Week — begins
NOTE: Laughter in the workplace is like a canary in a mine. When it dies, it’s indicative of a serious problem.
Today provides s a great incentive to having a little fun at work. Once a staff member of mine brought a hand puppet she called Mr. Doggie to our staff meeting. She announced that whenever a staff member had a problem, they should put Mr. Doggie on and let him complain to the staff about his problems with the topic under discussion.
It was great fun watching Mr. Doggie move from staff member to staff member throughout meetings. Two staff members brought the rest of the group to gales of laughter when they growled to resolution a problem they had been complaining about for months.
April 2— Medication Safety Week begins
International Pooper Scooper Week begins
April 3—Virgil Gus Grissom Day, the second American in space (1926-1967). Celebrate “Gus” on behalf of all those who do great things but miss out on the fame.
This is a good time to show a little appreciation to the folks who do great things in your family, your church, your workplace, your neighborhood, but never get the acknowledgement they deserve.
April 4 — National Find a Rainbow Day
Or, as my wonderful friend Ray Miller used to say:
“Try to be the rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”
April 4—18 / Tell a Lie Day —You can choose any day in this
2 week spread. Since it’s just after April Fool’s Day, and in the middle of Laugh at Work Week
and right before
Families Laughing Through Stories Week begins
Apparently, the idea is to make the lie you tell an obvious, silly, outlandish one.
April 6 —Post-it BirthdayThe Post-it was brought to life on April 6, 1980, by two 3M scientists: Art Fry, who was sick and tired of marking his church hymnal with paper strips, and Spencer Silver, who’d invented a new adhesive and needed something to do with it.
As they complained to each other over lunch, almost like a miracle, the Post-it was born. Along with its birth came fame and fortune to both men and 3M, as it produced, and continues to produce, millions of Post-its.
April 7 — (RFC1) The publication of the first “Request For Comments,” known as the Internet’s symbolic birthday (1969).
April 8 — International Feng Shui Awareness Day
Feng Shui is known as an important study of the movement of energy and peace through one’s body or home. Location of doors, windows, beds, North, South, etc, are important parts of what Feng Shui has to tell the resident.
Patt Says: I read the book. To my embarrassment, I quickly discovered that my Utility Room was literally the Love and Marriage corner of my home. AND, then, that in the Love and Marriage corner of that Love and Marriage part of my home, was where I had located my Kitty Litter Box!
That explained a lot about my life!
April 9 —Families Laughing Through Stories Week begins
National Chicken Little Awareness Day — The story of Chicken Little is an example of families laughing together. It dates back around 2,500 years and has played out in various versions in almost all European countries as well as Canada and the U.S.
The main character’s gender occasionally changes, but s/he is always a baby chicken. Whether it was an acorn or something else that hit him/her on the head changes as to what is grown in that particular corner of the world.
The book,The Remarkable Story of Chicken Little, published in 1865, and Walt Disney’s 1943 movie, “Chicken Little” have insured that the story and it’s moral will remain.
The moral lesson is: Be strong and think things through, even when you’re afraid that “The sky is falling!”
Chickens do well even today. I met a man who travels from Seattle to Olympia for work every day. He told me that he was frequently cut off by some “Jerk” and would spend the rest of the drive cussing. “No More!” he told me. “I travel with a Rubber Chicken in the front seat with me.”
Confused, I questioned, “For the Express Lanes?”
“No” he answered. “That jerk cuts me off, I roll down my window and wave my chicken at him! Now he’s the one cussing and confused, and I have my revenge! I can actually flip him the bird with the kids in the car!”
April 16 — National Eggs Benedict Day — Named after Pope Benedict XII, not the Benedict whose last name was Arnold.
April 19 — Mae West Day —The actress and sex idol was arrested for “obscenity and corrupting the morals of youth “ in 1926, after writing and performing in a New York stage play entitled “Sex” and marketed as “Don’t Miss Sex with Mae West!”
It turned out that the 10 days she spent in prison and the $500 fine resulted in publicity that launched her Hollywood career. In three years it made her the second highest paid person in the U.S.A. (after William Randolph Hearst)
Talk about Arrested Development!
April 21 — Big Word Day – Use them, write them, pronounce them correctly, whatever works for you. Here’s a sample for you. This is the big word that’s the name of a disease you get from inhaling quartz dust:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
April 24 — National Day of Puppetry –Become a puppeteer, or hire one to perform at your next event. Both can be a lot of fun!
April 25 — National Telephone Day— FYI: There are 9.82 billion mobile phones in the world. Yet, while predictions were the landline would be obsolete by 2020, there are still about 931 million of them ringing on the planet.
Bedbug Awareness Weekbegins
Hairball Awareness Day— If one has a choice, clearly this is not the day or week to ask to be born.
April 26 — Remember Your First Kiss Day—
And who it was with?
National Pretzel Day
April 27— Babe Ruth Day— Celebrate the candy bar or the baseball player — you chose.
Morse Code Day National Tell a Story Day —
Not a lie, just a fun story
April 28 First Tourist in Space Day
Engineer/tycoon Dennis Tito paid the Russian
Space Program a reported $20 million for the trip.
Leaving on April 28, 2001,
He returned seven days later.
April 29
Save the Frogs Day — Be a Prince and Save a Frog!
April 30
National Mr. Potato Head Day — the first toy ever advertised on TV (1952)
Closing Note:
For a more comprehensive look at the 360+Obscure Holidays of
April, check out Patt Schwab’s Obscure Holiday eBooks on Amazon. There’s an eBook for every month. You will find lots of famous
people, dates, foods, and action items. Since each date has at least 6 items for every birthday, they make great, inexpensive party gifts at Birthday Parties – and not just for the kids!
St. Expeditus Day —
The Patron Saint of all things procrastination related, and, incidentally, also of the Stressed-out Blogger. If you relate to this, it’s time to stand up, shake your whole body and get to work.
