Ides of March

 

Everyone knows we’re supposed to beware the Ides of March and may even remember they’re from William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” but what exactly do they mean?

 

The Ides of March marked the day the Julius Caesar was assassinated by members of the Roman Senate in 44 B.C.E.

A soothsayer, or psychic, warned Caesar to beware the day, but Caesar doesn’t heed him.

He was then stabbed 23 times by about 60 conspirators, including his friend Marcus Brutus, as immortalised by Shakespeare’s “Et tu Brute?”

I remember learning all about this in Latin class in High School.

 

 

I remember another movie, probably Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, discussing the Ides of March and someone asked why a month would need an “idea”.

 

 

We found Bill and Ted purely by accident.  We were looking at videos for rent in a grocery store and one of the bag boys (remember them?) recommended this one.

I’ve seen this several times over the years…

 

Happy Pi Day!

pi-day

 

It’s Also International Bagpipe Day!

international-bagpipe

 

 

Happy Mary O’Day!

 

Even though the day is really for Mario, I like to think of it as MaryO day.  Since I’m Scottish, how about MaryO’Day?

 

So, I bring you the new holiday…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found on Facebook

 

From My Heart Will Always be in Scotland

Wha’s like us?

The average Englishman, in the home he calls his castle, slips into his national costume, a shabby raincoat, patented by chemist Charles Macintosh from Glasgow, Scotland.

En route to his office he strides along the English lane, surfaced by John Macadam of Ayr, Scotland.

He drives an English car fitted with tyres invented by John Boyd Dunlop of Dreghorn, Scotland.

At the train station he boards a train, the forerunner of which was a steam engine, invented by James Watt of Greenock, Scotland.

He then pours himself a cup of coffee from a thermos flask, the latter invented by James Dewar, a Scotsman from Kincardine-on-Forth.

At the office he receives the mail bearing adhesive stamps invented by James Chalmers of Dundee, Scotland.

During the day he uses the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

At home in the evening his daughter pedals her bicycle invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, blacksmith of Dumfries, Scotland.

He watches the news on his television, an invention of John Logie Baird of Helensburgh, Scotland,

And an item about the U.S. Navy, founded by John Paul Jones of Kirkbean, Scotland.

He has by now been reminded too much of Scotland and in desperation he picks up the Bible only to find that the first man mentioned in the good book is a Scot, King James VI, who authorised its translation.

Nowhere can an Englishman turn to escape the ingenuity of the Scots.

He could take to drink, but the Scots make the best in the world.

He could take a rifle and end it all but the breech-loading rifle was invented by Captain Patrick Ferguson of Pitfours, Scotland.

If he escapes death, he might then find himself on an operating table injected with penicillin, which was discovered by Alexander Fleming of Darvel, Scotland.

Or under anaesthetic, which was discovered by Sir James Young Simpson of Bathgate, Scotland.

Out of the anaesthetic, he would find no comfort in learning he was as safe as the Bank of England founded by William Paterson of Dumfries, Scotland.

Perhaps his only remaining hope would be to get a transfusion of guid Scottish blood, which would entitle him to ask… “Wha’s Like Us!”

 

 

National Grammar Day!

grammar-day

 

National Grammar Day is observed across the United States each year on March 4th.

According to Global Language Monitor, the estimated number of words in the English language is 1,025,109.  There is some controversy to that number, but it’s safe to say it is over a million.

Language is something to celebrate.  Some people might suggest that grammar is a set of rules for language, but really it is a system for understanding a language; how the words are structured.   Understanding the system and the structure helps us to better understand the language, and can help us to learn new languages.

There are some hard and fast rules in grammar, though.  Even some of those come up for debate from time to time.  Have you ever heard of the Oxford comma?

 

HISTORY

Martha Brockenbrough, founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, designated National Grammar Day in 2008.

As the National Grammar Day website states, “Language is something to be celebrated, and March 4 is the perfect day to do it. It’s not only a date, it’s an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!”

For more information and ideas on ways to celebrate National Grammar Day, visit the website at: http://nationalgrammarday.com/

 

March Forth on Marching Music Day

 

Today would probably have been a better day for the Music Man post since it’s about marching forth on March Fourth.

 

 

In honor of dedicated musicians and performers of many diverse styles and backgrounds, Marching Music Day celebrates all varieties of the art forms bringing us “music on the move.”

For centuries, the beat of a drum has kept military units moving in unison. From the training field to the battlefield, the football stadium to the Broadway stage, small gyms, auditoriums and grand arena spectacles, fifers, pipers, buglers, drum corps, marching bands, parade groups, drill teams and color guards bring music to life to the delight of millions of performers and spectators.

 

The military roots of the drum corps have evolved into an art form which moves us during somber memorials and thrills us with their ability to perform delightful music while executing intricate routines with exact precision. Drill squads, marching bands, drum lines, and drum corps name but a few of the many styles of marching music which have developed over the years, engaging hundreds of thousands of performers of all ages, abilities and experience levels.

 

 

We see marching music in schools, military units, community celebrations and local auxiliaries. The music is as varied as the ensembles themselves. Instruments may be limited to brass in some settings or may include woodwinds and electric guitars in others. Dance teams, baton twirlers and color guards perform to soundtracks ranging from traditional, standard marches to rock and roll, jazz, contemporary and electronic dance music.

 

 

And marching music keeps changing! Spectacular string bands incorporate their own unique sound and elaborate costuming. Technology has brought about the production of lighter, electronic and digital instruments making it possible for musicians to march with violins, cellos, basses and synthesizers to entertain crowds in unique and creative new ways.

 

 

Today, March 4 (“March Forth”) is also National Grammar Day. In past years, the National Grammar Day organization promoted the annual date as follows: “Language is something to be celebrated, and March 4 is the perfect day to do it. It’s not only a date, it’s an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!”

 

 

 

I love this Video from Facebook

 

This is from the Edinburgh Tattoo and I love the closeups!

 

 

 

 

National Chocolate Cake Day

 

Who even thinks up these holidays?

 

 

 

Time to go bake something…

Happy Anniversary!

 

Another anniversary rolls around, the 44th, to be exact.  

I always like to check out this picture of our wedding expenses.  We have it framed and sitting on our mantle.

 

Tom paid $50.26 (blood tests and wedding ring!) and my costs (I made my own dress) were $29.25.

We were lucky.  My dad was the minister at the Barre (MA) Congregational Church so he didn’t charge us to perform the service.  The women of the church provided the reception in the parsonage.  My mom chipped in the flowers.

Well worth the cost!

 

Barre Congregational Church

 

Our honeymoon was in upstate New York so Tom could look for a job.  My only memories of that trip were the snow coming in under the door of our motel and Tom not getting a job.

After that, we drove back to Boston where we rented the bottom floor of my mother-in-law’s house.  In Dorchester, many of the homes were triple deckers and families could have one, two or three floors.

This isn’t where we lived, but a very similar look to her house.

 

We got all moved in and painted everything (we decided to paint my sewing room a cheery yellow.  The walls just sucked in the yellow paint and we had to use many, many coats). So, Tom got a job in Washington, DC.

So, we packed up and found a small apartment in Alexandria, VA.

That apartment was so small…when my parents came to visit, they slept on cots in the living room with their feet under my newly-acquired piano.

Then we moved to Holmes Run Parkway (also in Alexandria), Silver Spring, MD, Wilmington, DE, and finally settled in Fairfax, VA.

Four years ago to celebrate our anniversary, Tom had a heart attack.  I wrote a lot about that here: https://maryomedical.com/2017/01/27/giving-thanks-day-3/

 

I am hoping for a nice, quiet day today!

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