I remember many years ago my daughter asking me why it was that so many bad things happened every year right around her birthday, and though I felt really bad for her, I think I probably told her I thought she was just being pessimistic.
Because April has always been my very favorite month! Growing up, it always represented Spring Break and my first opportunity to start going to the beach to get an edge on that glorious summer tan! And those first Aprils in New York were some of the most beautiful times ever, those glorious days after all the snow had melted and before it got so ghastly hot and humid. For me April had always been tantamount to sunshine, new birth, cherry blossoms and tulips (depending on my location). And so when I learned that my first child would be born in April!... well, I just couldn't have been happier. What a perfect time to be born!
So now, years later, how do I explain all this to her in any way that makes sense?
* Start of the Civil War - 4/1/1861
* Lincoln's Assassination - 4/14/1865
* Hitler Born - 4/20/1889
* San Francisco Earthquake - 4/18/1906
* Titanic Sinks - 4/15/1912
* Failed Bay of Pigs Invasion - 4/20/1961
* Martin Luther King's Assassination - 4/4/1968
* Chernobyl - 4/26/1986
* Start of Bosnian War - 4/4/1992
* Waco - 4/19/1993
* Oklahoma City - 4/19/1995
* Columbine - 4/20/1999
* Virginia Tech - 4/16/2007
* BP Oil Spill - 4/20/2010
* Boston Marathon Bombing - 4/16/2013
* Texas Plant Explosion - 4/17/2013
Not to mention that 4/20 has long been declared the national underground celebratory day for weed smokers...
Ok, so maybe it's just me now who's being pessimistic. Because I'm pretty sure that plenty of horrific things have happened during every other month of history as well.
But seriously, what is it with April? Is it due to all those endless months of cabin fever when all of the crazies finally decide to come out of hiding? Or that one can't very effectively blow up a building or annialate a town during all those winter months when the roads are closed and most people are probably at home due to snowdays?
At any rate, for me, I still love and will ALWAYS love April. It was in April that my mother was born and without her there never would have been a me. And of course there's my Whitney, who's day of birth will always remain one of the most joyous of my life.
And let's not forget that April was also the month that Jesus died... and then arose from the grave once and forever to save us all, (even the very scummiest of us.) And so when I think of that I just can't help being completely overwhelmed and AMAZED.
Meanwhile, back to the present... here's a picture of my little town of Ada, Michigan on this fine April day...
The ballpark near the covered bridge
Ada Covered Bridge... The river usually runs about 20 feet under the walkway.
Updated: And it looks even worse today. There's virtually no pavement or roadway at all to be seen on the curve around the dam and the bridge. River should crest at it's maximum tonight 4/21 and after that should hopefully retreat.
So far I'm safe. High and dry as it were... I've never been more thankful that I live in this little less affulent but much higher grounded section of town...
