It is already the Ides of July and though it is the Ides of March that is more famous, today we celebrate Saint Swithin.
Who is Saint Swithin?
He was the Bishop of Winchester in the mid eight hundreds. He wasn’t known for many miracles, but he loved the common man. He was eventually buried in a cemetery surrounded by his people.
One hundred years after his death the King of England removed him from his grave. The King didn’t think it was proper that a Saint was buried in a regular cemetery.
Saint Swithin was removed from his grave during a torrential storm and for the next forty days England was engulfed in thunderstorms.
So on this fifteenth day of July we celebrate Saint Swithin. The story goes that whatever the weather is when you wake up on July 15th, you can expect that same type of weather for forty days.
I woke up this morning to gray skies and light rain.
I could look at this and feel depressed that it will be stormy until the end of August, but I won’t be.
I will expect the storm and be delighted when the day is bright and clear. I think it was Burt Bacharach that once said that you can’t stop the rain by complaining.
Today’s Chalkboard quote comes from a poem by Dylan Thomas. I was introduced to it by my father when I was a teenager. It has grown and changed as I’ve gotten older. That is the beauty of literature and music as well. As we age we look and hear things differently and that keeps things from getting old.
From Shakespeare, Fitzgerald and Vonnegut to Pete Townsend, Miles Davis and Gershwin. Their biggest gift to us is being able to grow older and enjoy their craft with different perspectives.
If it rains for the next forty days at least you’ll have Macbeth, Gatsby and Eliot Rosewater by your side. Nothing beats listening to “Tommy” or “Freddie Freeloader” or “Porgy” during a rainstorm.
The Summer is only halfway finished…. Let the actors strike! Pick up a book and put an album on the turntable. Enjoy your Cubbies and Pale Hose. Have a pint of beer and a cold cut sandwich. Maybe even turn on a radio and listen to the old radio shows on WDCB today.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
