Beware the Ides of March!

If the Ides of March could prove the end for the great Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., I choose to take the warning at age 44 as I‘m looking at this morning through unusually suspicious eyes.

But first, a brief history lesson on the Ides of March. It is a marriage of historical significance (the assassination of Julius Caesar) and re-creating the fateful day in literature (the famous line comes from William Shakespeare’s celebrated play, Julius Caesar).  Historically, Caesar was heading to the Roman Senate where he was due to appear at a session when he was warned by a seer on the way that harm would come his way. He dismissed the warning, and accordingly, Caesar was stabbed to death by a mob on the Senate floor. This act of violence set the stage for the end of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.

So, Beware the Ides of March! Though this warning was clearly meant for Caesar there are plenty of things I have a healthy fear of today.  A nuclear crisis in Japan, along with massive human suffering; the unpredictable antics of Mouammar Khadafi; the constant fear of job layoffs; and on a less serious note, playing the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.