July 2024 has already made a lot of noise besides the fireworks we heard on the Fourth of July. Like us, as we grow older, America has had its share of growing pains.
In reality, our entire world is suffering from growing pains, and it’s hard sometimes to have patience or think. Oh well, it’s just going through a phase.
Let’s face it: many of us wish the world would grow up already and let us all live in peace. But the world and our nation continue to have growing pains.
We watch the news this July and sigh as Russia continues its war on Ukraine, devastating it with bombardments. European countries worry about the integrity of their boundaries, and distant memories of world wars haunt them. The war in Gaza continues.
The world is grateful to have the Summer Olympics ahead in Paris. It’s good to have something to cheer for and be proud of. We can all use a pleasant diversion.
Closer to home, we are amid a heated political campaign to choose our next president this November. There is turmoil in the Democratic Party over the winnability of their candidate — as if we needed something else to argue about.
At a recent campaign rally, the Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, was the victim of an attempted assassination, which has only added heat to an already darn hot summer.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 57 forest fires are blazing nationwide. People in Houston, Texas, have died because of heat and power outages.
Across the nation, temperatures reach new, record-breaking highs. Any of these events are enough to make someone hot under the collar.
Even so, take heart, my friends. As the Shirelles sing in their song “Mama Said,” “Mama said there’ll be days like this / There’ll be days like this, mama said.”
In his classic novel “A Tale of Two Cities,” Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
There have always been “chickens one day, feathers the next” times in July throughout history.
Think you’re having a hard month? According to the Library of Congress, on July 24, 1567, Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate and give her Scottish throne to King James VI and I—her one-year-old son — and his regents.
In July 1603, English explorer, soldier, statesman and writer Sir Walter Raleigh, who was so loved and respected, learned that favor and fame were fleeting when King James I of Great Britain imprisoned him for 13 years.
Czarina Catherine II of Russia—better known as Catherine the Great—overthrew her husband and began her long reign on July 9, 1762, according to History.com.
Thus, Helen Mirren had a role to play in the 2019 TV miniseries “Catherine the Great.” And a very good one, too: Catherine was a shrewd gal.
History.com also states that the storming of the Bastille, the event that started the French Revolution, occurred on July 14, 1789.
Eventually, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette — who supposedly said, “Let them eat cake”—lost their heads. Without these events, we wouldn’t have Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables” (and the musical!).
According to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), former Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel on July 11, 1804.
Even though it was sad for Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote an amazing musical called “Hamilton” a little over two centuries later.
Royal.uk says England’s beloved Queen Victoria became the first sovereign to live in Buckingham Palace in July 1837. Hoards of Americans have journeyed over the ocean to see it ever since.
According to History.com, a French court sentenced Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari to death on July 25, 1917, for allegedly spying for Germany during World War I.
Encyclopedia Britannica states officials claimed her spying contributed to the deaths of about 50,000 French soldiers despite the lack of evidence. Who can you trust if not an exotic dancer? I jest.
According to Untapped New York, the New York Crystal Palace opened its first World’s Fair (also called the Exhibition of the Industry of All the Nations) on July 14, 1853, during which President Franklin Pierce delivered a speech.
Adaircounty.iowa.gov says that notorious thief Jesse James organized the world’s first robbery of a moving train with his gang of outlaws on July 21, 1873, causing many to question the proverb, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
Think you’re having a rough July? History.com states that members of the Bolsheviks, an extremist political group, murdered the Romanov family, Russia’s last imperial dynasty, on July 17, 1918. Revolutions have left their bloody trails since humans began to walk the Earth.
Every year, many remember the Virgin Mary’s miracles and apparitions to three shepherd children—Lúcia dos Santos, Francisco and Jacinta Marto—in Fátima, Portugal.
According to the National Catholic Register, one of the apparitions took place on July 13, 1917, when the Virgin Mary showed the children a vision of hell and explained how to avoid it.
Horrible events flooded July 1942 when the world was about halfway through World War II, with one such atrocity being the Holocaust, during which German soldiers killed millions of people.
This event is just one example of how history repeats itself: in the last few years, there has been a marked increase in antisemitic behaviors. We’re still watching the sad battle in today’s Ukraine.
These July days over time remind me of one of my favorite quotes by Winston Churchill: “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
I will lighten things up now. According to the Chicago Tribune, baseball legend Babe Ruth made a big hit (pun intended) in 1934 when he scored his 700th career home run against Detroit on July 13.
The Library of Congress says that crooner Frank Sinatra made his first recording on July 13, 1939, creating a host of swooning fans as he continued doing things his way.
Not to be undone, Elvis Presley swung his hips into history when he released his song “Hound Dog” in July 1956.
According to the Guardian, one of my heroes, Serena Williams, successfully defended her crown by overpowering Russia’s Vera Zvonareva to win the Wimbledon women’s title in July 2010.
We all have our personal dates in July. My deceased husband, Ron Ingram, was born on July 12, and I married my children’s father, Lawrie MacMillan, on July 28.
Yes, July—like every other month of every other year—fits the description of the opening line of “A Tale of Two Cities”: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” My goal is to learn from both — while trying to stay cool, of course.
You can reach Diana Ingram at DIngramThurston21@gmail.com.
