What I've Learned

My grandfather saw Geronimo.

"Dad looked in a cell window at him," my aunt said. "Geronimo looked back. Neither man said anything."

At age 57, the Apache chief had surrendered, hoping to convince the U.S. government to let him and his people return in peace to their Arizona homeland. He later saw his surrender as a mistake and regretted it. Though he participated in Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade in Washington and met with the president to plead his cause, Geronimo was never allowed to return to Arizona.

What I've Learned

In Alaska, February 2 is known as Marmot Day, because the state has few, if any, groundhogs.

Marmots and groundhogs belong to the Squirrel family (Sciuridae). They are also both part of the genus, Marmota, which has 14 species spread across the world, including the groundhog, woodchuck or whistlepig found in the lower 48 States and the Alaska marmot, found, well, in Alaska.

So substituting a marmot for a groundhog for Groundhog Day is not much of a stretch.

What I've Learned

Much of the dreck that passes for songwriting these days can't hold a candle to Go Tell Aunt Rhody.

First of all, Rhody gives enough information about the story it's telling, but not too much. Also, its words are well-married to its tune, and the tune is well-formed and singable.

It starts with action. Someone is being sent to deliver a message, to tell Aunt Rhody that the old gray goose is dead.

The name Aunt Rhody and the mention of a goose suggest a country setting, perhaps a farm.

What I've Learned

In a London park, there is a plaque honoring the bravery and self-sacrifice of Alice Ayres.

Born in Middlesex, England in 1859, Alice was the seventh of 10 children.

At age 25, she was a household assistant to her sister, Mary Ann, and brother-in-law, Henry, and was nursemaid to the couple's four young children. Mary Ann and Henry owned an oil and paint business in London, and Alice lived with them above the shop.