Good Morning Brooklyn: April 13

April 13, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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GOOD MORNING, Readers. Tuesday, April 13. Today is the 103d day of 2021. So, what’s so memorable about April 13.

Noted playwright SAMUEL BECKETT was born this day in 1906. Remember him because if you survived the pandemic, even if you did not get sick or lose a loved one, you must have felt like one of the characters in his pensive, oft-performed play WAITING FOR GODOT…

Also born on this day in 1743 was THOMAS JEFFERSON, both famous and infamous as a man of his time and credited with writing the American Declaration of Independence. Every generation of Americans since that time has struggled to live up to those words.

RAMADAN, the Islamic month of fasting, begins today… and non-Muslims, who may not be fasting should note this date. April 13 is also the anniversary of the publication of SILENT SPRING, in 1962. It was a portentous book by environmentalist RACHEL CARSON, who warned that man-made chemicals are pervasive in our food supply and would get worse.

MOVIE FANS and those who remember real-life outlaws should know this is the birthday of BUTCH CASSIDY, born 1866 as (real name) Robert Leroy Parker in Utah. As portrayed in the movie played by PAUL NEWMAN, he really did rob banks and trains with the ‘Wild Bunch” gang, which included a guy named Harry Longabaugh (“ Sundance Kid”). Pursued by Pinkerton detectives, as in the movie, the infamous pair fled to Bolivia in 1908, where they died as free men. Were they as handsome as actors Paul Newman and Robert Redford? Of course, they were!

WHEN COURTS FULLY REOPEN following a year of pandemic, we can find some lawyers and hug them…just say “Remember April 13.” No kidding, today is International Be Kind To Lawyers Day. As far back as Shakespeare, lawyers have been reviled in literature, anecdotes, and stand-up comedy. But we flock to them In desperation when we need help and they become our most trusted ally. The origin of this very unofficial holiday, cited in Chase’s Calendar of Annual Events, is another story, for another day.