Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Friday, April 19, 2002

Ah, the Infamous April 19th



Alright, some of you are going to think this is superstitious nonsense, but I've seen too much stuff in my life to discount "mere coincidence". I never know what to expect on this date, so I approach it with some trepidation. Why? Well, in recent years, the incident at Ruby Ridge happened, and the Branch-Davidian standoff in Waco reached its fiery conclusion on this day. The Oklahoma City bombing happened on April 19. So did the Columbine High School shootings. On a side note, April 19th was the date when the Roman empire suffered its two worst military disasters. In one, the emperor was killed in the midst of a Yugoslav marsh. In another, the emperor was captured, killed, and his body was set up in a Zoroastrian temple for all to see. I can still remember my history teacher telling us this, and I said April 19th? and explained the modern "coinicidences". We decided maybe the Romans were right that some dates were cursed. (Hey, they also fed sacred chickens and watched them to determine if an attack/war/battle would be auspicious. Sounds silly to a modern "scientific" viewpoint. I might add,however, that they conquered the known using this method. And of course, tomorrow is the birthday of Adolph Hitler. I don't know much about astrology, but it is the cusp between Aries (the sign of leaders, people of impulsive action, etc.) and Taurus (the sign of materialism). Maybe that has something to do with it.

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