Ping Pong is April
39ers’ Extreme Sport!
Spirited
Aries is leaping up and down in Springtime
jubilance, while Earth-bound Taurus
yells, “Quit jumping all over my petunias!” Welcome to April! Happy UN-birthday
39ers. Do you recall …
39 Years Ago
this Month ~ APRIL 1979
April 1: If you claim to be a
toddler 39 years ago … who are we to question it? Surely you recall this day
when our favorite long-running TV station, Nickelodeon, hit the airwaves? Well, to be
fair, it had been broadcasting for a couple of years as the Pinwheel Network. The name was easier to spell, but not as charming. Rebranding
to Nickelodeon paid tribute to the first five-cent movie theaters of
the early 1900s. Wow. Even I wasn’t around back then.
Apr 13: Remember ping-pong? Yes, it’s
still around, and is even an Olympic sport, but game snobs call it table tennis. Back in the day, though, it was
the family game for spring and
summer. No self-respecting game room or garage was without a big ol’ green
table. Speaking of family, the Guinness Book of Records (as it was known until 2000)
says an April 1979 ping-pong match still holds the longest doubles record. Sacramento, California brothers Phil, Lance, and Mark
Warren with friend, Bill Weir, spent 101
hours knocking that little white ball around! Now that makes it an extreme sport for me.
April 24: A treat for 39ers who long
for “real” Rock ‘n’ Roll. Pioneering punk rock band, The Ramones, formed in
1974, threw their fame into high gear in the limelight of 1979’s musical film, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School.
Centered around a fanatic fan, the band was the subject of her ultimate
desires. Already gaining creds in the industry, The Ramones boosted their
status as retro innovators, taking Rock back to its roots. Let’s sing along! ♪♪"We need change, and we need it fast / Before
rock's just part of the past / 'Cause lately it all sounds the same to me"
♪♪
(“Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?” recorded 1979, released May 1980.)
For 39ers who Follow the
Stars
…
Aries (March 21st – April 19th) turns its spirited,
energetic attention elsewhere mid-month, as we welcome reality-based Taurus (April 20th – May 20th)
to help us celebrate Earth Day
(22nd). The down-to-Earth sign guides us firmly into the rites of
spring.
Have you ever
noticed that both Sun Signs feature horns? Hmmmm … says a lot about
free-thinking Aries the Ram, and
stubborn … I mean, practical and steadfast … Taurus the Bull.
Shopping for birthday gifts? Red flows dominantly through the
Aries psyche, whether they know it or not; and of course, Earth green with
tinges of golden brown falls into Taurus’s healthy spectrum. But it’s the
clarity of the lustrous diamond that
will capture the attention of both, as April’s glittering gemstone.
Aging with ATT-i-tude Platitude
Laugh, love and live voraciously,
because you’re the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you’ll ever be
again.
~ Unknown (but oh, so wise) 
(This
one’s for you, kids – 39AHC UN-Birthday
39ers: Varoujan (John), Uncle E!-a venerable 96 years young!)
LinDee
Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock &
Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series, available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming
soon, … The Psychedelic Seventies!
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