Doctors Day, Turkey Neck Soup Day, I Am in Control Day, Walk in the Park Day: March 30

It's no coincidence that Doctors' Day shares the date with a medical milestone. March 30 is the anniversary of the first time (1842) anesthetic was successfully used during surgery -- by Dr. Crawford W. Long. National Doctors' Day Doctors' day honors all doctors, and has since has March 30, 1991, when President Bush signed an official proclamation. Doctors' Day has its own official flower, the red carnation.

Turkey Neck Soup Day

Maybe it's because the brisk temperatures of winter have not made way for spring yet, or maybe it's a good way to eat hearty in cool economic times. The turkey neck is one part of the turkey that is on your grocery list, but it is one of those "leftover" parts on your turkey after a spring holiday meal of turkey. The turkey neck can be cooked in a pot of water as you would cook any other poultry carcass or parts to make soup stock.

In the spirit of turkey neck soup day, use what you have on hand, without waste, whether it's a ham bone used to make split pea soup or the leftover chicken you bake into a pot pie. The neck may also be used for gravy.

I Am in Control Day

I Am in Control Day in an ironic reminder that we are not always in control. President Ronald Reagan had only been in office for 69 days when an attempt was made on his life. His lung was punctured by a bullet. The date was March 30, 1981. Reagan survived the assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. and went on to spend two consecutive terms in the Oval Office.

In 1981, Secretary of State Alexander Haig said, according to "TIME" Magazine: "Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State in that order, and should the President decide he wants to transfer the helm to the Vice President, he will do so. He has not done that. As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the Vice President and in close touch with him."

Legally the vice president was actually in charge, although he was not at the White House while Reagan was incapacitated. Haig's "I'm in control" statement lives on in infamy.

Walk in the Park Day

If spring has sprung in your neck of the woods, enjoy a local park, leisurely. Bring your family or meet your friends and enjoy the fresh air. The origins are hard to pin down, the but idea behind the day is easy to figure: It's time to start playing and recreating outside again!