Most females love February because of Valentines Day. Guys, I think just sort of get roped into it.
Government employees like February because of that extra holiday – Presidents Day – a day invented by merging the real birthdays of George Washington and Abe Lincoln into a fictitious annual joint birthday, which curiously always falls on a Monday, extending the celebration into a holiday weekend, and no doubt boosting our economy with Presidents Day sales and holiday travel. Long after their demise, two of our most important presidents – Washington and Lincoln—are sacrificing their individual birthdays to boost our national economy. Great Americans, both. (As the brilliant minds in Congress are currently debating how to stimulate our sagging economy, let me put in my recommendation for a few extra holiday weekends. Government can take a day off, which is always good news. And those employees would take some of their tax-funded salaries they’ve been pocketing, and use them to go shopping or traveling. It’s genius!)
This year is a particularly special February. First of all, we get that extra day, which only occurs every four years. All those people who were born on February 29th have an actual birthday… which is a rarity. Most years, our smallest minority – statistically one in every 1,461 people – don’t have a birthday! For example, any of those Feb. 29th guys who happen to turn 40 this year will get to celebrate only their 10th birthday!
In addition to being a leap year, we have Three Big Days approaching early in the month, each of which may carry a very special significance. Two of the days are so big, we’ve actually named them Super Days: First the Big “Super Bowl” Full-Contact Professional Football Game; and second, the Big “Super Tuesday” Full-Contact Presidential Primary Election Day.
On these two days, separated by only a well-placed catch-our-breath Monday, the nation will participate in some of the most important decisions of the year – not necessarily in order of importance -- a) The 2008 NFL Champs; b) The Next President of the United States and Leader of the Free World; and, c) Which is the Best Super-Bowl TV Ad, which, this year will cost a cool $2.7million for a 30 second spot.
Super Bowl and Super Tuesday are Super-Special this year.
The New England Patriots are undefeated and can set a new record and a new standard of perfection with a victory… AND, in the process, crown quarterback Tom Brady as the new All-American, clean-cut, good-guy hero for the national news media to eventually strip of his luster and crush like a bug in the dirt.
Super Tuesday may well be the most important single election day in modern history. For the first time since Eisenhower in the 1950’s, there is no incumbent President or Vice-President seeking the office, so it’s a truly open election. And, for the first time, there is a real likelihood that either a female or an African-American will secure a major party’s nomination and may become President. On Super Tuesday, 22 states will hold contests to help choose the first new American president in the post-9/11 era. It’s a big day. The only thing I can think of which could make it more exciting would be if an incumbent Vice President HAD decided to seek the office. (I’d love to see Cheney in the middle of this. To help keep the campaigns civil, he could volunteer to take ’em all hunting!)
Super Bowl Sunday and Super Tuesday will be big, fun, exciting days… if we ever get to them. First, though, we have to make it past the biggest annual blow-out of them all: Ground Hog Day!
As I’ve cautioned you before: always be sure to wear comfortable clothes on Ground Hog Day, just in case the movie comes true. I’m planning on going even further this year. I’m going to spend Feb. 2nd doing everything I can think of that I like doing, just in case I get stuck living that day over and over and over. That would mean, of course, that I’d never actually get to see the Super Bowl or Super Tuesday… but at least I’d be frozen in time doing the things I like to do… starting with a big breakfast -- waffles, syrup, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, etc. for breakfast – after sleeping really, really late, then taking a shower so long the hot water runs out, then dressing in my most comfortable clothes (really old clothes that happen to have a few holes in them… but they’re real comfortable). Just in case.
Since the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday are so Super-Special this year, this could also be the year Ground Hog Day actually gets stuck on re-runs!
Three big days in less than a week. February 2nd, 3rd, and 5th.
No wonder it’s everybody’s favorite short month.
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You’re always welcome to let me know you agree, disagree, can’t make sense of, or simply don’t care about anything I’ve written here… or about any other topic that happens to be on your mind. You can email me directly at: RodShealy@aol.com.
And, if reading it once just wasn’t enough for you, read it again online – along with previous columns -- at my modern-technology Electronic Internet blog: www.doingthefirst.blogspot.com
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