August is the month for the sun zodiac signs of Leo and Virgo. So happy birthday to all those August babies, including my late mother.
August is also the middle of summer, so we must get busy with our remaining summer plans and enjoy the second half of the season.
This super sunny month is also known for some interesting, fun facts, going as far back as the Roman calendar days, when August was the sixth month of the year rather than the eighth month.
And believe it or not, it originally had 30 days but added an extra day so that it would be equal to the number of days in July, which was named after Julius Caesar. So much for very early history.
Some August 19 Century history includes one of the most famous marches in American history, which was the March on Washington, where the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous I Have a Dream Speech. The exact date was August 28, 1963. I was four months from turning ten years old when that speech was delivered, but I remember all the talk and excitement about it.
Another fun fact about August is a reference to the dog days of summer. But I bet you didn’t know that the phrase, dog days of summer, has nothing to do with a dog. Instead, it has everything to do with the star Sirius, which is known as the dog star.
As children growing up, we were such literal thinkers and thought the dog days of summer actually had to do with the extreme heat that made the neighborhood dogs appear to be lazy. The minds of children!
Well, whether we were correct or not, the dog days of summer are a reference to the hot days of summer, which have been connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, and mad dogs. And this summer, we have had our share of all of the above.
Anyway, minus the humidity in New Jersey, we have had some great weather this summer and I am looking forward to enjoying what remains. Right now, I am in sunny California for a while and although it is hot, there is no humidity.
See you in September, when I will be sharing with you some of the ideas I have in store for my new season and upcoming programming.
Until then, keep flying on your own wings.