Today is Sunday, February 3 and there are only 82 days until Arbor Day, so get ready to, in the words of Lady Bird Johnson, “Beautify America. Plant a tree, a shrub or a bush.” Today we remember the birthdays of Horace Greeley, Gertrude Stein and Nathan Lane. On this day in 1547 Russian czar Ivan IV married Anastasia Romanova, in 1815 the world’s first commercial cheese factory was established, in Switzerland, and in 1913 the 16^th Amendment, federal income tax, was ratified. In Japan it is the Bean Throwing Festival, in Paraguay it is Patron’s Day and in the US it is National Day the Music Died Day and National Carrot Cake Day.

First, some information about the month of February. It is the second and shortest month of the year. It is the first of five months to have a length of less than 31 days (the other four months that fall under this category are: April, June, September, and November), and the only month to have a length of less than 30 days, with the other seven months having 31 days. Historical names for February include the Old English terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage). In Finnish, the month is called helmikuu, meaning "month of the pearl"; when snow melts on tree branches, it forms droplets, and as these freeze again, they are like pearls of ice.

The birth flowers for February are the violet, the common primrose and the Iris. The birthstone is the Amethyst. February is American Heart Month, Black History Month and National Bird-Feeding Month. That should give you something to talk about during the Super Bowl halftime today.

Recently, I heard someone use the phrase “to die for.”  I have to say that I am tired of that phrase.  Everything has become so good that it is to die for – dinners, desserts, drinks, clothing and so on.  What is it about us that we hear a phrase and then use it to death.  Another phrase that has become tiresome is when we describe something as being “spot on.”  What does that really mean?  “His use of garlic in that savory ice cream was spot on.”  “That editorial about the governor and his tactics was spot on.”  “I think the use of ruffles on that camo bikini was spot on.”  “Oh look,” said Jane, “I see Spot on the couch.”  If you think someone did something that was really good, why not just say so?  “I think the use of fresh tomato on that pizza was a great choice.”  Same number of syllables, just as easy to say and it actually means something.

Some time ago I took a job managing three inbound sales teams in a large call center.  One of the first things I did when I took over was to bring together my three team leaders to give them an idea of my managing style.  The one thing I stressed more than anything was that I did not want to hear the phrase “on the same page” used.  If we agreed on something then say so.  If we disagreed, we did not say we were on different pages, so let’s drop that phrase from our lexicology. It was just another over-used phrase that we could do without.

A phrase I hear used often is “that is in my wheelhouse.”  When I first heard it I assumed it had something to do with a person’s area of expertise or a particular skill.  I wondered where it came from and looked it up.  It apparently originated in the 1950’s in baseball.  Wheelhouse described a pitch that came across the plate in a spot where a batter could make solid contact.  The interesting part of this is that no one really seems to know why it was called a wheelhouse.  Nowadays it has left the baseball field and become the term for everything.  It is generally used by people who try to build themselves up.  What sounds more impressive – yes I can do that or yes that is in my wheelhouse?  For sure “in my wheelhouse” sounds more pompous.

I think the time has come for us to get back to basics.  Call things what they are.  If the chocolate mousse was delicious and you want to rub it on your body, say so.  Saying it is to die for makes me think you are allergic to chocolate.  If you think that the use of coffee in brownies really enhances the flavor, say so.  Spot on makes me think I splattered the batter on my shirt.  If you know how to do something, say so.  Saying it is in your wheelhouse makes me think you are a tugboat captain.  I hope we are all on the same page with this.

This week’s fact tells us that 1,525,000,000 miles of telephone wire are strung across the US.  Just think, all of that wire for about 150 senior citizens who refuse to get cell phones.