Have you noticed this month how every date in March falls on the same day of the week as in February? Feb. 1? A Friday. March 1? A Friday. It will go on like this until March 29 to 31, of course, seeing as how February only had 28 days. Except for Leap Year, February is a sensible month that can be divided into four seven-day weeks. If all months had 28 days, and Jan. 1 started on a Sunday, every date would fall on the same day of the week. Cool.
OK, there would be a few problems. Every month would have a Friday the 13th. Oh, and to divide 28-day months into the 365-day year, we’d have 13 months, which is really pushing bad luck. Plus, there would be that extra day of the year, so there would be a 9-day month, which means the calendar would change anyway. Dang. Back to the drawing board.
Well, here at Latitude 59 degrees and a few minutes, you don’t need a calendar to know which way the season is changing. Signs of imminent spring keep popping up, like amorous eagles, which the Betster saw on the Spit recently. Ahem. That can only mean that real soon now the post office eagles will be rebuilding their nest — if they decide to return. You know eagles, always trading up to a spot with a better view and good access to the beach.
The biggest sign of all, of course, is that each week we keep having more and more things to do, like these Best Bets:
BEST MAKING SAUSAGE BET: Want to learn how bills work their way through the Alaska Legislature? Former legislator Ralph Samuels explains it all with his talk, “Through the Sausage Grinder,” at noon Tuesday at Land’s End Resort for the Homer Chamber of Commerce luncheon. A state representative from 2002-2008 for District 29 and a former majority leader, Samuels now is the vice-president of corporate communications for Holland America. Lunch is $14 for members, $16 for nonmembers.
BEST BALD MOUNTAINS BET: Kurt Vonnegut Jr. said to be anti-war was like being anti-glacier, but he might not have thought of climate change. See how the world’s glaciers have declined in “Chasing Ice,” a Sundance Film Festival winner by photographer James Balog. Cosponsored by the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve and the Homer Theatre, it shows at 6 p.m. today at the theater. Admission is $8 general and $6 for students, children and seniors.
BEST GET PSYCHED BET: Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis — now there’s a conversation worth listening in on. You can, theater style, in “Freud’s Last Session,” at 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at the Homer Council on the Arts. Written by Mark St. Germain, the Cyrano’s Off-Center Playhouse, Anchorage, production focuses on Freud and the young author and scholar Lewis and their conversations about God, love and the meaning of life. Admission is $15 general, $10 for HCOA and Pier One Theatre members and $5 for students. Reserve tickets at 235-7333 or purchase at the Homer Bookstore and at the door.
BEST BIG GRIND BET: Up, down, up, down, that’s the story of the grueling Kachemak Nordic Ski Club Marathon. Tour or race Homer’s biggest ski event on Saturday. The 25 km tour starts at 9:30 a.m. and the 25 and 42 km races start at 10:30 a.m., all at Lookout Mountain. The race ends at the Baycrest Sterling Highway trailhead. Pick up bibs at 9 a.m. To sign up and for more details, visit kachemaknordicskiclub.org.
