Goodbye February

Dear Henry Albert,

More February stuff. On February 15th, 1941, Duke Ellington (He wasn’t a real Duke.) and his orchestra recorded “Take the A Train”.

The last week in February is Eating Disorders Awareness Week (http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/) and Pancake Week.

National Pancake Day is Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent.
Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving, when the faithful confessed their sins to the local priest and received forgiveness before the Lenten season began. Most shrivers prefer Aunt Jemima’s Pancakes.

As far back as 1000 AD, "to shrive" meant something about confessions. (Trivia note: the term survives today in the expression "short shrift" or giving little attention to anyone's explanations or excuses).
To shrive is different from to shrivel. Shriveling and shriving are important.
February may be Black History (or African American or Americans of African Descent) Month. Actually, Negro History Week was founded by Carter Woodson in 1926.

February is also Pet Oral Care Month, Potato Lovers Month, Sweet Potato Month, Cat Health Month, Wild Bird Feeding Month, and Grapefruit Month.

The average price of a dozen large eggs in supermarkets in Manhattan was over $2.40. That is double the price of 2006. Chickens are probably getting rich. It is probably a good way to make money. Maybe when you go to school you can study to be a chicken.

That’s silly! You can’t become a chicken. (Unless you believe in Reincarnation.)

A lot of people believe in Reincarnation. They believe that when you go kaput, you can come back as another person of animal or thing.

According to Hinduism, the soul (atman) is immortal, while the body is subject to birth and death. The idea that the soul (of any living being - including animals, humans and plants) reincarnates is intricately linked to karma.

Belief in reincarnation is an ancient phenomenon. This doctrine is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religious traditions, such as Hinduism (including Yoga, Vaishnavism, and Shaivism), Jainism, and Sikhism.

When I was a little kid in Pelham Parkway, most of the kids were Jewish but some of the kids believed in reincarnation. “Vulch”, whose real name was Walter Farkas, believed he was a bear in a former life. Jay Boral (who was real weird) believed he was a doorknob.

February is also the birthdays of Bess Truman, Jimmy Hoffa, Jules Verne, William Tecumseh Sherman, Ida Lupino and Adlai E. Stevenson.

Adlai E. Stevenson was a candidate for President in the old days when it was shameful to be a lying sleazebag and he had a hole in his shoe.