March.

DIARY

From Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac:

MARCH is American Red Cross Month, Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Ethics Month, Help Someone See Month, Honor Society Month, Humorists are Artists Month, Mirth Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, International Listening Month, Mental Retardation Awareness Month, Music in Our Schools Month, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Month, Collision Awareness Month, Eye Doctor Month, Frozen Food Month, Kidney Month, Prepare Your Home to be Sold Month, Talk with Your Teen About Sex Month, National Umbrella Month, Women's History Month, Optimism Month, Play-the-Recorder Month, Poison Prevention Month, Youth Art Month

The Almanac is an inspiration in many posts here. It gets occasionally silly in a flagrantly New Agey way (it's put out by Utne, so no big surprises). They argue, with some merit, that March is the month of Inner Balance: "The days and nights approach each other in duration, balancing perfectly at the vernal equinox. Anything could happen. Despite the persistent windsand omnipresent mud (if you live in the country), promise is in the air." True enough. "March is the Martian month. We feel braced. Our great warrior's heart opens to the world in love." What?!

This week, however, has been a perfect example of the juxtapositions we expect from this time of year. In Chicago, we're at barely ten degrees with windchill. Yet the sky is clear and open and the sun shot out at me at the bus-stop this morning. 7:10 AM.

One thing many people do not realize about the equinox is that not only do days get longer, but the rate of change is most dramatic day-to-day surrounding the equinox. We're treated to days that seem to grow noticably longer day-by-day. In April, Daylight-Savings-Time will kick in, and our mercurial schedules will follow. This is a gift for those of us living where the seasons change.

There are other things worth celebrating. Yesterday was Dr. Seuss's birthday. Today is the 200 year anniversary of the formation of the Louisiana and Missouri territory, and the 50 year anniversary of Elvis' first television appearance.

And March has also been an important month in my life, even though it's one of my least favorites in terms of where it occupies the year. I began dating my first girlfriend in early March, and I remember driving through the slush in search of empty parking lots. My favorite production, Artaud's Cenci went into performance in March, and I remember carousing, coatless, under the Pepperland or on MLK in Flint. And most importantly, I met Jessica on 10th, and it's a story most of you have heard. What you've missed (most likely) is the hangover the next morning, the disbelief of my friends at the lunch table, the date that followed at the Medici, the party in Amber's room (with Sean crashing about), and the anxiety-ridden midnights in Yerkes Observatory, all alone with a book by Andreas Hussein and peanut-butter sandwiches, wondering how it would all turn out...

It turned out alright.