KNIGHT MOVES | April, may it be a delightful month
April 20, 2024 by agutting@reviewjournal.com
Filed under Extra
BY CRAIG KNIGHT
What a hectic month April is already turning out to be! It brings springtime, tax season, the start of the second quarter, April showers (though we’ve got more than our fair share), allergy season (ah-choo! God bless you), even the culmination of March Madness. Thrilling!
We also celebrate a few awareness months in April: Autism Acceptance Month, Stress Awareness Month, Earth Month, Alcohol Awareness Month, and Arab American Heritage Month are the five that typically garner the greatest media coverage.
April Fools’ Day is a popular day. Regretfully, we also honor soul legend Marvin Gaye, who was tragically shot and killed by his own father 40 years ago on April 1, 1984 — one day short of his 45th birthday. I remember it was some time before people believed he had died, because it happened on April Fools’ Day.
We commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 assassination on April 4. Traditionally, many in the Black community observe the moment by driving with headlights on during the day.
We honor the 50th anniversary of a very significant event in American sports history on April 8: the day in 1974 that Major League Baseball legend Henry “Hank” Aaron smashed Babe Ruth’s previous record of 714 home runs! We were living in Manhattan at the time; I was nine years old and was lying on the floor with my hands supporting my head while watching television. I vividly remember being present for this momentous occasion! And why did I find this so fascinating? There was news that Mr. Aaron was getting death threats while he was getting close to breaking Ruth’s record; racism was still a problem during that era. Even as young kids, we were made aware of what was going on, and wondered if Mr. Aaron would give up and not jeopardize his life by stopping at 713 home runs. Many of us were inspired to be great at all costs by his daring in tying the record at 714 and then smashing it with his 715th home run! Still, it’s no surprise to me that bigotry, stupidity, and tomfoolery can still be found in 2024, 50 years later.
(In other April news, how fascinating it is that we will see a solar eclipse on that same day, April 8.)
Lastly, April 12 will be mom’s 82nd trip around the sun! Happy Born Day Queen Mary of NY!
Until next time: educate yourself and share the knowledge with others! God bless you!
