August 39ers Celebrate Dog Days of
Summer
Argh! How did we get to August
already? Well, as much as we love our summer
splashes and BBQ blasts, let’s hope the Dog Days of Summer go quickly! Not
without a party or two, of course. Happy UN-Birthday, 39ers!
Aligning with the rise of Sirius, the
brightest star in Earth’s night sky and a prominent star in the Canis Major
constellation—get it? “Canis” as in “dog”—August has earned its Dog Days of Summer status.
Even the ancient Greeks recorded its “heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms,
lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck.” Wow. That about sums it up!
Though interesting and great
party-talk info, enough ancient history and astronomy. It’s time to feature the
happenings of that timeless age, only
…
39 Years Ago this Month ~ August
1978
Amongst the spy novels that have always
been popular, August 1978’s bestselling books also included two tomes that
explored the human psyche in very different ways:
The World According to Garp (John Irving), and popular
columnist, Erma Bombeck’s If Life Is A Bowl Of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?
With feminism in full fever, Irving
hit a nerve in his rather dark story of life events, as relevant today as they
were fresh, exploratory, and antagonistic, then. The action in his first
bestseller begins with a feminist nurse who yearns for a child but shuns
marriage, and her extreme lengths to become pregnant. Enter son, T.S. Garp …
Irving is a masterful writer; and as
in many writers, his prose often reveals bouts of inner disturbance, encircled
by genius insight.
On a lighter note, for decades the
illustrious Ms. Bombeck led many a lady to love her witty, astute life-tips.
Beginning as a humor columnist, engaging us with the eccentricities of family
absurdities, complete with dog, Bombeck’s books take life a little further into
our psyches, and strikes a nerve of a different color than Irving …
Trading on the then-trending adage, “Life
is just a bowl of cherries,” Bombeck’s book regales us with life-bombs to which
we can still identify. “I’ve always worried a lot and frankly I’m good at it,”
admits Bombeck. “… I worry about scientists discovering someday that lettuce
has been fattening all along. But mostly, I worry about surviving. Keeping up
with the times in a world that changes daily. Knowing what to keep and what to
discard. What to accept and what to protest. Never, in the history of this
country, have worriers had such a decade as the seventies.”
Ah … well … if only she could see us
now! We still just worry about surviving. But YOU, August 39ers are celebrating
another UN-birthday—proof of survival!
For 39ers who Follow the Stars …
Let’s get on with it and follow
life-of-the-party Leos
(07/23 – 08/22) as they turn impish Virgos
(08/23 – 09/22) on to some cool party tricks during these hot, steamy days.
Wielding boisterous words with a Gladiolus stalk like the “sword
lily” your birth month flower is, Leos command attention, taking your slice of
summer life to the hilt.
Virgos, seeking something a little
more sedate? Try a trip to Arizona
for some Peridot hunting!
As famous for its gem quality as Arizona is for its desert. 
It’s easy to believe stories of the Peridot’s magical powers and healing properties, as the bright green birthstone
mesmerizes with its multi-layered cool, green depths.
Aging with ATT-i-tude Platitude
As a graduate of the Zsa Zsa Gabor School of Creative Mathematics, I honestly do not know how
old I am.
~
Erma Bombeck;
1927 – 1996, humor columnist/author.
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