Quote of the Day:

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” –MLK

TB really enjoys MLK day. It is one of the most timely three-day weekends of the year, in fact, along with Labor Day, Memorial Day, and sometimes Independence Day. It still rankles that we lost Good Friday somehow–maybe if we paid more attention to the reason we celebrate Labor Day…..but that’s another subject for another blog.

The point is we’ve got a lot of weeks that could use a longer weekend. Coincidentally, or not, we also have a lot of reasons to celebrate that are going, um, un-celebrated. Yes, Third Week is gaining momentum, but that’s the big prize of the “add more holidays movement.” We must keep our eyes on it. In the meantime, it oughtn’t be so hard to achieve smaller goals. There is no shame in this. Somebody once said, “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

I have a dream that one day my own Little Scamp will not have to wake early every Monday, but just have to be on time Tuesday. Don’t be afraid to join the TB movement for more holidays! Just build “a dike of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” And remember, “the hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined non-conformists who are dedicated to justice, peace,” and long weekend road trips.

Whew, pretty much all of the above is a digression. All I really wanted to say was, we pretty much have MLK, Lincoln and Washington, and Columbus as the only humans sired by a mortal in all of recorded history who are honored by a holiday. I submit for your discussion a few more worthy options to get us nearer the utopian world of the permanent three-day weekend:

• Day of The Dude–Everybody just wears an old robe all day and walks around staring incredulously at whoever is dressed normally, whatever that is. The truly devout display a holiday rug, to really bring some room together.
• John Boehner Day–I think the cause of mental health in this country could really be helped if once a year, on a Monday, we all just stayed home, got drunk and wept, just for the hell of it. And then had to watch ourselves on video.
• Barack Obama’s Birthday–On this day, we’ll all agree not to believe the data on one another’s birth certificates (there is no way I was born as far back as 1970). Also, husbands get to take credit for things like reducing leakage from the bathtub seals 40 percent while everyone appears to ignore the continuing rot and mildew coming out the other side of the wall. Wives all get together for afternoon tea.
• Pete Rose Day–Every talk radio show in the nation can debate whether he belongs in the Hall of Fame on a February Monday after the Super Bowl. If the subject is raised at any other time, by anyone, anywhere, it will be a crime punishable by being made to watch 24 hours of Sarah Palin video without crying on the next scheduled John Boehner Day.
• Willie Nelson’s Birthday–Because too many musicians give dying young a bad name. We’ll contemplate the heights to which an old dude like Willie has risen. We’ll celebrate mountains, clouds, and Redwood trees in Willie’s name. We’ll say “hi” to everyone we meet or just flash’em a thumbs up if they’re grinnin’ wide enough. We’ll sing Willie-carols like John Prine’s Illegal Smile and Cross Canadian Ragweed’s “The Boys from Oklahoma” and Afroman and Snoop songs and we’ll wear bracelets that ask the eternal question, “what would willie do?” and we’ll all eat Twinkies for dinner and oh, man, Willie Nelson Day has unlimited potential.
• Buford T. Justice Day–we get to cuss all we want. In fact it will be considered socially unacceptable if you don’t drop an F-bomb or violate the relevant commandment in at least every third sentence. Diablo sandwiches and Dr. Peppers for everyone, but there will be no time for hush puppies.

Time to quit. I got things to do. Gotta make up for having yesterday off. Ya’ll help me with the forty-plus Mondays still unaccounted for.