May

Ok, so maybe I do have a little bit of Irish in me, maybe. It depends on how you look at it. My great-great-grandfather on my mother's side was Abner May (born 1848 in Coosa, Alabama). Now the surname May might or might not be Irish. In fact, some sources say it is derived from the Gaelic meaning the descendants of Miadhach. The name Miadhach in the Gaellic means 'honorable' or 'proud.' However, it is sad to note that the Abner May from whom I am descended died young when he was struck by lightning. I never knew this story until recently. I only learned this story about the lightning strike maybe a year ago because my mother visited some relatives and asked a lot of questions that we never thought of asking before I started doing my family research. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know anything about that or think to ask. It appears that my great-grandmother Ida May is said to have been raised by her grandmother while her mother, Betty Mitchell, married someone else and had another family somewhere else. We don't know those people and have no clue about them, probably nobody important, just some superstitious cretans. All we know is that my great-grandmother was known to refer to herself as Ida Bell May but not because she was ever related to the Bells or had that name in her family tree but apparently because she was born in Bell County, Texas, and that somehow was a way that she differentiated herself, apparently although I am not sure why. Ida May was known to attend the Baptist church and taught Sunday School there even though her daughter, my grandmother, picked Methodist not to be confused with the Presbyterianism of my grandfather. Anyway, the Smith kids have the same May connection that we do so I don't see where are adding anything significant to this discussion.

I personally was born in the month of May (Incidentally, my sister also was born in May but I came first) but that does mean that I was ever struck by lightning although all this induced mental confusion does make you start to wonder. Actually it was Shannon Reese, a Baptist MK, who was struck by lightning in Guadalajara, Mexico, although it did not kill her. She survived. She was very lucky in that regard. However, I do not recall anyone making an issue out of Shannon. Only if you are killed, I suppose, will they say it was an act of God. If you survive, the doctor will get some of the credit, probably.

Anyway, lots of people die from lightning strikes every year. According to the National Weather Service about 55 fatalities attributed to lightning strikes occurred annually between 1981 and 2010 in the U.S. However, only about 10 percent of people struck by lightning are killed. Another 90 percent survive with injuries and disabilities of varying degrees.

Your chances of being struck by lightning in any given year are one in 1 million and in your entire lifetime one in 10,000. The odds that you will be affected by someone who was struck by lightning are one in 1,000. Thus, it is best not to go running outside when it is raining and thundering but sometimes people forget this bit of common sense.

So anyway, this omen perhaps does not portend well for the Irish in me, one could say. On the other hand, the odds are good that it really does not make a bit of difference. May is as good a month as any for me to be born, I suppose, if I really must exist on this earth for the purpose of being kicked around by whomever, I am not sure who or why. If I had millions in the bank I could hire P.I. and lawyer to sort this out and/or sue someone but alas I have nothing to go on.

However, it perhaps should be noted that it was actually my grandmother who wrote to the The Delineator, a New York-based women's magazine that apparently focused onsewing and sewing notions, submitting her entry to some sort of article which apparently advertised a personality analysis based on a picture. This is always a bad idea, thinking that you can judge someone's personality by their appearance. As they say, you cannot really judge a book by its cover. This might be a useful exercise for novel writing and fiction but not for assessing the reality of everyday life or one's vocational aptitude as judged by some total stranger isolated in their hermetically sealed ivory tower.

Editorial Rooms
Butterick Building, New York

The Delineator

London - Paris - New York

July 24, 1914

My dear Miss Strickland:

We are returning the picture sent is in answer to our article in the May Delineator.

Type #1 shows rather a forceful character; good executive; would do well in domestic science, and trained nursing. Type #2, rather unusual business sense; forceful; would suggest training for business, if circumstances warrant. Type #3; less forceful; more affectionate; a great deal like type #4 on page 16 of the May Delineator.

Very truly yours,

VOCATIONAL DEPARTMENT

Miss Strickland
Boonsville
Wise County
Texas