CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
JULY CELEBRATIONS: PART 1
Ah, July is National Anti-Boredom Month. But what, I would like to inquire, is boredom? It sounds like something I would like to experience occasionally! To read about dealing with office boredom, click on WORKPLACE STRESS REDUCTION ACTIVITIES: MORTIFYING AND FUN
Boredom can be reduced by celebrating National Blueberry Month. A side-member of my ancestral family, Gladys, told me she was going to kick up blueberries rather than roses. It is an apt choice, for when she died she was buried in East Lamoine Cemetery in East Lamoine, Maine. There, all our mutual ancestors, going back into the 1700s, are kicking up blueberries. When Monte and I took my niece Erin and her two young girls to the cemetery in 2003, we all delighted in a veritable feast of delectable wild blueberries—compliments of our ancestors!
One shouldn’t celebrate marital unions in July, Unlucky Month for Weddings. My daughter Sandra will celebrate her first wedding anniversary with Michael on July 12. My sister Sally will celebrate July 9 and my friend from Kensington High School in Buffalo, New York, will celebrate her anniversary on July 7. I would hope all these unions were not unlucky!
National Hot Dog Month and National Ice Cream Month, however, are worthy of celebration, especially at picnics. (Click on THE ICE CREAM MAN to read an ice cream poem.) July is perfect for outdoor activities. Since the month starts off with Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day, perhaps a novel activity would be making ice cream in new flavors. At an anniversary dinner on the coast of Maine in 2003, I the joke was on me when I discovered I preferred ginger flavored ice cream to coconut ice cream. It was appropriate, since July 1 is also International Joke Day.
Finally, we should all learn proper cell phone behavior during July, National Cell Phone Courtesy Month. Leave those phones off while driving, during meetings, at the theater…
Oops…I just forgot what I was going to write…oh, well, it’s appropriate since July 2 is I Forgot Day. Perhaps we should all forget the small hurts and grudges we are holding onto on this day. If you forget what happens this day, perhaps it’s because aliens celebrate World UFO Day on July 2, and they kidnapped you, did experiments, treated you with a You-Forgot Serum, and then sent you back to earth to wonder what happened to the day that disappeared on you. On July 2, 1947, Mac Brazel, a Roswell discovered the wreckage of an object made of a strange metal on his Roswell, New Mexico, ranch. Military authorities investigated, and removed this object. The later rescinded their report that referenced a mysterious Unidentified Flying Object. This became known as the “Roswell Incident.”
Rambunctious children and obnoxious adults will enjoy July 3, Disobedience Day. However, this day was probably set aside for civil or social disobedience as an act of protest. But protest in the shade, since it is Stay Out of the Sun Day.
On July 4, Independence Day, celebrate by listening to country music and eating fried eggs, since it is National Country Music Day and Sidewalk Egg Frying Day. In addition, enjoy your family and community celebrations of the nations Independence Day. And I congratulate my sister Sally on her 50th birthday today.
To relax from all the festivities of July 4, do not celebrate this Work-a-holics Day on July 5—and avoid working all the time by building some relaxing time into your schedule. Instead, celebrate Build A Scarecrow Day (first Sunday of the month) by using your creativity to build the scariest creature you can to dispel the crows from your garden.
After relaxing on July 5, take time on July 6 to participate in National Fried Chicken Day. You won’t have to figure what to serve this day, as it’s few Americans who dislike fried chicken— unless, like my husband, they are vegetarians. Furthermore, fried foods are not heart healthy or diet supportive (unless olive or soy or some other vegetable oil is used). But dessert will have to wait, because Chocolate Day doesn’t come until July 7. Think of all the ways you can use chocolate for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Be creative with this substance, particularly dark chocolate, that is supposed to have healthy effects. And, since chocolate is a vegetable from the Cacao tree found in rainforests, it is perfect for vegetarians.
Your chocolate fest can slip into July 7, when National Strawberry Sundae Day encourages chocolate syrup to be poured on this dessert creation. Not only on this day, but all other June and July days, take the opportunity to enjoy strawberry festivals. My husband and I did. We attended one at Lebanon United Methodist Church at the end of June.
The treats continue into July 9, which is National Sugar Cookie Day. And all the treats—fried chicken, chocolate, and strawberry sundaes—can be combined on Teddy Bear Picnic Day, July 10, when you can also celebrate President Theodore Roosevelt. While he was president of the United States in 1902, he was hunting in Mississippi. After he refused to shoot a small bear, the Washington Post made a cartoon of the event and Morris and Rose Michtom requested permission of the president to name their stuffed animals Teddy Bears. So have a fun day with your favorite Teddy bear and the treats prepared for a picnic.
There are a lot of lonely people in the world. Set July 11 aside for Cheer up the Lonely Day. Post a note in the comment box below to share with others how you cheered up a lonely person on this day. If you are among the lonely, try reaching out to someone else, offering yourself as a gift, or try experiencing a new activity.
However, be aware that July 11 is also World Population Day, which focuses on people under the age of twenty-five, reproductive issues, and health. Realize that producing a child to reduce your loneliness is not a good idea. This day is sponsored by the United Nations World Population Fund.
The soul can be envisioned through our eyes. And July 12 is Different Colored Eyes Day. As I recreate a character in my book, I wanted to give her violet eyes. This is a rare color not generally listed with eye colors, which include brown, green, blue, black, gray and hazel. However, the BBC site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A734933) states that “the mixing of red and blue reflections can” give rise to “violet eyes.” In today’s world, violet eyes can result from the use of color-changing contact lenses. Another reason to celebrate is Heterochromia, a condition in which a person’s two eyes each have their own color, as does Jane Seymour. I took a picture of a white cat with one blue and one green eye. It is impressive. Another situation is persons who have eyes that change colors, eg. from green to gray. I wonder what color they put on their license plates!
While discussing eye colors with friends, enjoy a special dessert. July 12 is also Pecan Pie Day.
Summer is a great time to enjoy concerts. On July 13, celebrate Barbershop Music Appreciation with someone you might not usually hang with—a geek. Are you brainy and technically oriented like geeks are? If not, it might be difficult to celebrate Embrace Your Geekness Day. However, you might celebrate by learning just one new computer skill, along with its jargon. If this is too challenging, put on your clown costume, because July 13 is also Fool’s Paradise Day. The question is raised: How can a place be Paradise if fools inhabit it? Perhaps you should click on the following two sites for some good reading this day click on DARE TO BE A CLOWN: Clown History
July 14. Bastille Day. A French holiday. Fete de la Federation, commemorating the fall of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, which was the change from a constitutional monarchy to a democratic republic. Its first celebration occurred in 1790. To read a post on the Bastille, click on FROM THE BASTILLE TO CINDERELLA. Vive la France!
It is appropriate that Pandemonium Day is also July 14: wild, disorganized, having unexpected things occur, fast-paced, multiple activities. Can you imagine the pandemonium when the Bastille fell? On a different note, and since Europe is noted for nude beaches, this day is also National Nude Day, appropriate to celebrate in the heat of the summer. No pictures will be posted for this day!
Come July 15, take a drive in the country. Notice all the cows in the field. Appreciate them Perhaps you could stop, and watch the more brave and curious cows meander tentatively towards the fence. If they come close enough, would you dare kiss a cow? After all, it is Cow Appreciation Day. Today is a day to eat chicken, not beef. I find it interesting that there is a movement “out there” to tax farmers for the methane gas (which seriously adds to air pollution) produced by cows. Perhaps we need to fund research on how to reduce cow flatulence. How soon before we humans are taxed for the same reason?
Celebrate this day with one of my favorite desserts, made with milk. It is Tapioca Pudding Day.
