Category: Nonfiction

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Wacky Wednesday: December 2

The first Wednesday of December is a bit wackier than others. Continuing our list of old English insult words, we have one that was coined by William Shakespeare. Fustilarian could have been a variation of Fustylugs but was likely intended to mean someone who stubbornly wastes time on worthless things. It can be found in “Henry IV, Part 2.” Falstaff exclaims, “Away, you scullion! You rampallion! You fustilarian! I’ll tickle your catastrophe.” Our next word is an old Scottish word. Gillie-Wet-Foot refers to a swindling businessman, or someone who gets into debt and then flees. I think we all know someone like that.

We start our holidays with our token food holiday. Today is National Fritters Day and if you’re not familiar with the term, it’s just about anything deep fried. It could be fruit or cheese and this delicacy is found in almost every part of the world. Today is also National Mutt Day which encourages people to celebrate mixed breed dogs. Mutts get two days of the year, not only December 2, but also July 31 is National Mutt Day. National Special Education Day celebrates the anniversary of the nation’s first federal special education law. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was signed into law on December 2, 1972.

They Wednesday following Thanksgiving every year is National Package Protection Day. The Wednesday after Thanksgiving reminds everyone to watch out for package theft, which becomes more and more prevalent during the holidays. Everyone has heard about people stealing Amazon packages, and it’s certain to pick up as people have gifts delivered. If you can’t always be home to watch out for packages, try asking a neighbor to hold onto it for you.

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Coffee and Contemplation: Family Stories Month

Oral tradition has been part of society since humans could utter a string of sounds with different meanings. Family Stories Month is a continuation of that but focused on one’s family. I don’t have many fun stories of my family, but I did recently have my DNA tested by Ancestry.com. It started a little weird because it first said there was a lot of Spanish ancestry. There were many people like me who had Spanish or Portuguese ancestry who later did not. Some of those people like me then had Irish and Scottish ancestry. To sum it up, I think lots of people in Europe were having lots of sex in other countries.

The DNA results on Ancestry keep changing, not because of mistakes, but because their science keeps getting better. It’s possible the numbers I’m about to share will change in the future, but for now this is what it says. 41% English and Northwestern Europe. Most of that coming from North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire according to Ancestry. 27% Scottish. 13% European Jewish. 10% Irish. 8% Norwegian. 1% Swedish. Many of my ancestors settled in the Missouri Ozarks and East Tennessee. I knew I had family in East Tennessee, so this was no surprise. I still claim some Hispanic ancestry but it’s more likely I’d be called Black Irish.

It was fun getting my DNA tested and seeing what components make up who I am. I’ll call myself a Jewish Viking from Scotland. That’s got a nice ring to it. There are other websites that took the information from my Ancestry DNA and took it a step further and listed the ancestors from the time of the Dark Ages and before. That was a fun history lesson I don’t want to get into at the moment. Anyway, that’s some fun family history of mine. Tell me about yours if you know it.

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Remember Movember

What is Movember? You’ve heard of No Shave November. Well, Movember is about growing a mustache for charity. Movember takes on the three serious issues facing men’s health: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health. All forms of cancer are bad and that’s why it’s important to get checked out on the regular. Mental health is something that people need checked out often as well. Many men don’t discuss the things that bother them because they may feel embarrassed or emasculated. Check on your friends and see how they’re doing. Always remind them they can talk to or confide in you whenever they need.

There are a few ways to participate in Movember. You can grow a mustache for charity or donate to charity. You can walk or run a distance of 60 miles for each of the 60 men lost to suicide every hour. Or you can host an event to raise money for charity. The month-long observance started in 2003 and was founded by the Movember Foundation. It’s time for men to start building each other up and to stop putting each other down. It’s a bit late to do much this month but bringing awareness to men’s health should be a year-round endeavor. Stay safe and check out the Movember Foundation. They do cool things.