“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”
-Nora Ephron – You’ve Got Mail
Fall is upon us! And like Nora Ephron writes in You’ve Got Mail, Autumn brings with it the excitement change – lots of beginnings: a new school year, fresh supplies, and the chance to learn something you never knew.
That’s why in this month’s Happy Headlines we’re highlighting a University that’s removing barriers to learning for Indigenous Americans, technology that could teach astronauts how to create supplies and structures on Mars, dogs who go to school and lean to save lives, a program that trains residents of homeless shelters skills that help feed others and balloon artists who created a wonderland to help critically ill children.
So, sit back, watch the leaves turn and read all about a season of exciting new beginnings!
Education
Free Tuition for Arizona’s 22 Tribes
The main campus of University of Arizona in Tucson recently made an exciting announcement: Native American undergraduate students will no longer have to pay tuition. The program is designed to remove entry barriers for members of the state’s 22 Indigenous tribes.
Partnering for Progress
Astronauts Could Learn How to 3D Print on Mars…
Researchers at Washington State University are using simulated Martian soil to test if it will be possible 3D print parts for repair or even supplies on future missions to Mars. In addition to reducing costs, this technology could even lead to eventually 3D printing habitats to live in on the red planet. In fact, in 2018, NASA ran a competition to find designers able to 3D print a livable habitat on Mars.
Man’s Best Friend
The Italian School That Teaches Dogs How To Rescue Drowning Victims
Our friends at ABC News went to Milan, Italy to meet Ferruccio Pilenga and his dog Reef, who is a certified lifeguard dog. Pilenga began the Italian School for Rescue Dogs nearly 30 years ago and he and Reef, who’s now one of its instructor dogs have trained and licensed more than 400 canine rescuers.
Partnering for Progress
Training and Employing Residents of Homeless Shelters to Help Put Food on Their Tables
The Lucky Duck Foundation’s employment and job training initiative is partnering with the Salvation Army to fund a new program to train and employ residents of it homeless shelters to drive pickup runs of viable food from groceries, chain stores and restaurants to be used in shelters throughout San Diego, California.
Young Artist
A Wonderland of Balloons to Help Sick Kids
More than 400 balloon artists from 22 countries turned an Orlando hotel ballroom into a fantasy land to benefit critically ill children. A replica of Kissimmee’s 90 acre non-profit resort Give Kid’s the World Village.
Fun Facts about Fall…
“Fall” came from a phrase
The season is called Autumn. So, how exactly did Fall become a term? People started moving into cities, saying “fall of the leaf” to refer to the year’s third harvest. Because this was the time leaves would be falling from the trees. Over time, “fall of the leaf” was shortened to just Fall.
Earth’s Tilt
Our distance from the sun does not cause seasons. Earth’s tilt causes them as when the northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun, we get warmer, and vice versa when it tilts away, we get colder.
Pumpkin Spice has Nothing to Do with Pumpkin
Crazy enough, there isn’t even any actual pumpkin used to make pumpkin spice. Studies have shown that what we love about pumpkins is the sense of nostalgia they make us feel. Pumpkins represent farm life and tradition, a romantic idea for many Americans. We love the imagery and the tone they set for Fall.
Why Fall is associated with Harvests
Fall was called “harvest” because the “harvest moon” occurs when the full moon is closest to the autumn equinox. Before artificial lighting, this moonlight was essential to a prosperous harvest.
Halloween
Celtic tradition believed ghosts roamed the Earth on Halloween, so it was encouraged to wear a disguise to hide you from these spirits.
Leaves Bring Good Luck
It’s a superstitious belief, but they say many falling leaves will lead to so many happy months to follow as can be caught in the hand.
Greek Mythology
In Greek mythology, Autumn began when the underworld god, Hades, kidnapped the daughter of the Goddess of Nature. Hades fell in love with her and wanted her to be the queen of the underworld. The Goddess was so upset she caused all the crops on Earth to die. They wouldn’t come back to life till her daughter returned, which symbolized spring.
Leaves Don’t Change Colors
All of those colors in a leaf have always been there, but they’re dependent on the sun. Leaves are full of chlorophyll, which makes them green. When leaves receive a lot of sunlight, they stay a vibrant green, but when they get less light, less chlorophyll is produced, and the green begins to fade. This makes the natural, always-present, even dominant colors of leaves, red, yellow, orange, and purple-green clearly appear as “fall foliage.”
Bobbing for Apples was a Courting Ritual
Bobbing for apples has been a popular Halloween party game for decades. But, it wasn’t always about the spooky holiday and instead started as a British courting ritual. Each man was assigned an apple, and this apple was placed in a bucket with everyone else. Females would bob for them and try to get the right apple from the man she wanted. If she successfully got the apple, it meant they were destined to be together.
From Find It Health
“Notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.”
– Fredric Nietzsche
Kathlene Mc Govern
Kathlene Mc Govern is a graduate of UCLA with a BA in English/Creative Writing. She is the winner of the David Wong Louie Creative Writing prize, has served as the fiction editor for PCC’s Inscape Literary Magazine and worked as a staff writer for Blindfold Magazine, a print mag that combined activism with pop culture and fashion where she wrote features on several actors and directors including Darryl Hannah and Aaron Paul and Casey Cooper Johnson.
When she's not writing, Kathlene teaches a performance workshop for dancers around the country called Acting Dynamics for Dancers. The workshop teaches dancers to create story and connect emotionally to choreography, allowing for more dynamic performances.
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Thank you once again for the plethora of Happy Headlines. I am looking forward to a delicious recipe or 2 from Jean🤗