About February

... the very three a.m. of the calendar. ~Joseph Wood Krutch

I have always said, although no one ever asked me, that if God made mistakes, February was right at the top of the list. Surely it wasn't intended to be the way it is, was it? Twenty-eight (or sometimes 29) days last at least as long as January and March combined, and we all know how long those go on, don't we?

However ...

On February 1st, Hattie Caraway, the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate, was born. She gained the office when her husband died, but was re-elected and served 14 years in all.

On the 3rd day of the month, the 15th Constitutional Amendment was ratified, guaranteeing the right of citizens to vote, regardless of race. (Not women, however--they came later.)

Also on the 3rd, Norman Rockwell was born.

On the 6th, Babe Ruth and Ronald Reagan were born.

On the 10th, the 25th Constitutional Amendment was ratified, clarifying the procedures for presidential succession in the event of the disability of a sitting president.

The 14th is Valentine's Day. I won't go into the history of St. Valentine here, but you might want to look it up.

It was the 19th when internment of Japanese Americans began after Franklin Roosevelt issued an Executive Order requiring those living on the Pacific coast to relocate. Over 110,000 persons therefore shut down their businesses, sold off their property, quit school and moved inland to the relocation centers. (I include this because we need to remember that we have much in our history to be ashamed of, and we must not try to erase it.)

On the 27th, the 22nd Constitutional Amendment was ratified, limiting the president to two terms or a maximum of ten years in office.

Abraham Lincoln was born on the 12th, Susan B. Anthony on the 15th, and George Washington on the 22nd. It is hard to imagine how different things would have been for all of us if they hadn't been.

Far more regrettable things than only the relocation of Japanese Americans happened in February, but a lot of good things did, too. Like everyone else, we have family--including our third-born--and friends who were born in this month. Like everyone else, we've had losses. It is like every other month of the year, except shorter.

And last. Yes, it was added to the calendar last. I'm sure it was because they couldn't find anything else to do with it. (No, I don't know who "they" were.)

Have a good week and a joyful February. Be nice to somebody.

P.S.

Keep an eye out for Valentine's Day. Eight of us are having a 99-cent sale on "first in series" books. Mine will be A Year of Firsts.