Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Happy UN-Birthday August 39ers



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:

 
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.

Great cheese and wine need aging, but for 39ersAge is a number … LIFE is ATT-i-tude!TM 

Happy UN-Birthday AUGUST 39ers,
(Here’s lookin’ at you, kids – 39AHC UN-Birthday 39ers, Linda, Jim, Stephanie, and Tanya!)

Chat on Twitter: @39HoldingClub

# # #