50+ Lifestyles

Publisher’s Corner

By Eloise Graham

April – The Diamond Month

Diamonds are a girls’ best friend…or so the saying goes.

Diamond is the birthstone of April. It is nothing more than a big chunk of coal that is really old and has been under a lot of pressure. All joking aside, the diamond is carbon whose atoms are arranged in a crystal structure called a diamond lattice. The diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material. Natural diamonds have a clear, colorless appearance. Impurities in the lattice structure will give it a hint of color. The blue diamond is “contaminated“ with boron; the yellow diamond, nitrogen; and the brown, green, purple, pink, orange or red diamonds, various flaws in the lattice configuration. The diamond has the ability to diffuse and reflect light in different colors, which results in its characteristic luster. This is often called the fire of the gem. No wonder it is called “a girls best friend.” The diamond can really be flashy on the hand!

Baseball diamonds are a guys’ best friend…take me out to the ballgame!
April heralds the start of America’s favorite pastime. For the most part, spring training is over, and now the teams get to PLAY BALL. Opening day is in early April. Baseball differs from other team sports in that there is no clock. The time of the game depends solely on the runs and outs in each inning, not the number of minutes. There are also many different forms of “baseball” to choose to watch – or play. Of course, there are the major and minor leagues which are for most of us, just for watching. However, there is also softball and slo-pitch that many “weekend athletes” can participate in.

April is an important month for me. Last year my husband wrote about our family birthdays in April. He missed a couple of important dates, though. April starts off with a wedding anniversary. My daughter and her husband, Jane and Chris, were married on April 1st fifteen years ago. Jane celebrates a birthday on April 9th. She was Jim’s birthday present on his 25th birthday. I celebrate my birthday on April 28th. And we end out the month with son James’ birthday April 30th. Jennifer didn’t quite make it in April. She waited until May 6th. However, she presented us with a grandson born April 2, 2007. So I pretty well have April as a full month of celebrations! From beginning to end!

Some April Fool Day Phobias:

Aphrilophobia- The fear of April fool’s day.

Katagelophobia- Fear of Ridicule or Embarrassment

Neophobia- Fear of something new

Scopophobia- Fear of being stared at

Ereuthophobia- Fear of blushing

Mythophobia- Fear of making a false statement

Traumatophobia- Fear of being emotionally wounded or injured.