Today is Sunday, April 30 and there are only 239 days until Christmas.  I have already started slipping in occasional Christmas music on my Ipad.  You also might want to start planning your baking schedule.  It’s never too early to start planning.  Today we remember the birthdays of William Lilly, Cyriel Verschaeve and Richard Farina.  On this day in 1006 the brightest supernova in recorded history was observed, in 1789 George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the US and in 1988 the largest banana split ever, at 4.55 miles long, was made in Selinsgrove, PA.  In the Netherlands it is Queen Juliana’s Birthday, in Switzerland it is Maitag Vorabend, in Louisiana it is Admission Day and in the US it is National Oatmeal Cookie Day and National Honesty Day.

This week, I thought I would start out with a few interesting bits about the month we are just wrapping up.  I know your trivia files for months are almost empty, so here you go.  April was оrіgіnаllу the ѕесоnd month of the year in the Roman саlеndаr and соnѕіѕtеd of 30 dауѕ.  It became the fourth month соnѕіѕtіng of only 29 dауѕ when January wаѕ dеѕіgnаtеd the first month of the уеаr around 450 BCE. April became 30 dауѕ long again when Julius Cаеѕаr rеfоrmеd the calendar.  April also has been dеѕіgnаtеd Nаtіоnаl Pоеtrу Mоnth, Jazz Appreciation Mоnth, and Be Vіgіlаnt Against Child Abuѕе Mоnth.  April ѕtаrtѕ on the ѕаmе dау of the week as July and ends on thе ѕаmе dау of the week аѕ Dесеmbеr in соmmоn уеаrѕ.  People who are born in the month of April have the birthstone of Dіаmоnd. Thе month’s birth flower is the Dаіѕу or the Sweat Pea.  Had enough?  Great, let’s put the file away and move on.

I have had the opportunity to make several different observations this week and thought I would share them with you.  One thing I noticed is the way people walk.  I saw a young lady the other day who had a rather strange walk.  First, when she walked, her arms moved in concert with her legs.  Let me explain.  When you walk, as your left leg goes forward, your left arm goes backward.  The same for your right leg and arm, of course.  This person moved her left arm forward when her left leg went forward.  Try it sometime.  It is not easy.  What made her walk even stranger was that she walked with her legs separated as if she was afraid the friction of them rubbing would set her pants on fire.

I also saw a woman walking with her knees close together, but her feet were duck-footed.  As a result she appeared as if she was always getting ready to sit on a stool.  I have noticed a number of women who walk that way, you know, with their toes pointed out.  It gives them a strange gait.  Try watching sometime.  When I was a child, they made metal brackets that attached to children’s shoes to correct walking pigeon-toed or duck-footed.  I wonder if they make those brackets for adults.  I also wonder why that type of problem is named after birds … but I digress

Of course, men are not immune to this problem.  Men walk duck-footed, too, but they then drag their feet, making it even more attractive.  In addition, they tend to slump back a little which makes it look like the top of their body was poorly photo shopped onto the bottom of their body because it doesn’t quite line up.  And then there is me.  As I was observing other people walking, I happened to look into a store window and saw how I walked.  OMG!  I realized that when I am standing or walking straight, I seem to think that I am hunched over (I am not, but think I am).  Because of this I put myself in a position that I think makes me straight.  It does not.  As a result, I look like a five-months pregnant person, with a beard (yes I am trying to reduce the belly).  Do yourself a favor and try and watch yourself walk sometime.

Another thing I saw recently took place in a fast food restaurant.  I was watching an employee come out to clean the tables.  He took a spray bottle and sprayed something on the table.  I hope it was a cleaning solution, but I am not confident.  Then he gave the table a cursory swipe with a towel he was carrying.  He went to the next table and repeated the process, using the same towel.  Assuming the towel was clean, initially, that would mean that only the first table actually had a chance of being clean.  The rest of the tables simply got wiped with a cloth that had remnants of dirt from the table before.  This is why I never take my food off the tray when I eat in those places.

I may have talked about this before, but I saw the commercial again the other night and it made me wonder all over again.  I honestly do not know for sure what was being sold.  All I remember is toward the end, this couple, appearing to want to do something reckless and frivolous, decide they are going to jump in a lake.  Before doing so, they took off their shoes and socks and then jumped in – fully clothed.  I can see removing your shoes, but if you are going to be completely dressed, why would you bother taking off your socks?  I would love to talk to the people who create these commercials and have them explain things like that.

This week our fact tells us that according to one US study, about 25% of all adolescent and adult males never use deodorant.  Unfortunately, they are easy to identify.

I honestly think you should go have an oatmeal cookie and enjoy the day.