Short but sweet: Enjoy February before it’s gone
Maybe it’s because this is the shortest month. But February seems engorged with special occasions. Heck, we’ve already had the one national event devoted to a weather-forecasting rodent – Groundhog Day. And the second month is just getting started. So, quick, before any more of February slips past, let’s take a somewhat random look at what’s coming up on the calendar.
Feb. 3 (today)
Super Bowl Sunday
Beer commercials, American priorities held up to the mirror and even some football.
If a cultural phenomenon turns itself up to 11 but you aren’t watching, does it still make a sound?
The month of February
Black History Month
Why is this important?
“We need to be intentional when it comes to learning about the experience of people who still struggle to make it into the history books,” said Robert Bartlett, interim director of the Africana Education Department at Eastern Washington University. “We are so ignorant about understanding people who have been marginalized.”
And don’t just think in terms of problems and struggles that existed in the South, suggested Robert Bauman, a member of the history faculty at Washington State University. “Segregation and (advocacy for) civil rights took place in communities across the country, including places like Spokane and the Tri-Cities.”
Feb. 5
Super Tuesday
You could watch televised coverage of this day’s cluster of presidential primaries and mock the gasbag pundits on the screen.
“Hey, you in the suit! Yeah, you! Aren’t you the know-it-all who once said the GOP race would come down to a cage-match battle between Thompson and Giuliani? Where’s your messiah now?”
This is also Fat Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras. To each his own. But if Lent has no significance to you, robust partying on the eve of its beginning might suggest to some that you are not a deep thinker.
Feb. 6
Ash Wednesday
The first day of Lent in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. It’s a time of spiritual reflection and self-examination.
Next year it won’t be until Feb. 25.
That means Easter will come early this year – March 23.
“I believe Ash Wednesday is about truth telling,” said the Rev. Beth Jarrett, a pastor at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Spokane. “Marked with ash and the words ‘remember you are dust and to dust you shall return’ speaks the truth of our humanity, our vulnerability, our brokenness and our need for God.”
Feb. 7
Chinese New Year
(Also known as the Lunar New Year.)
Which animal symbol is celebrated in 2008?
A) Horse. B) Sheep. C) Monkey. D) Rooster. E) Dog. F) Boar. G) Rat. H) Ox. I) Tiger. J) Rabbit. K) Dragon. L) Snake.
OK, ready? It’s G. We are coming up on a year of the rat.
Feb. 11
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
This is the first night of televised coverage of the annual canine competition in New York City. (It’s on USA and CNBC.)
Even people who don’t own dogs have been known to get hooked watching this parade of pedigreed pooches. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but it says here that the working group is the most appealing. Though, it should be noted that the herding group is pretty good, too. And the toy group is always good for a laugh.
There’s not a mixed breed competition, because the winner of that group would almost certainly take best in show every year.
Feb. 12
Darwin Day
Observed on naturalist Charles Darwin’s birthday, this is an occasion dedicated to the idea that, as organizers put it, “Science is our most reliable knowledge system.”
Next year is the 200th birthday of the author of “On the Origin of the Species,” the foundational work on evolution.
Also, this is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. You could read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals.” It is approximately a million pages long, but has a great index and rewards selective dipping.
Feb. 14
Valentine’s Day
Let’s consider this from a divorce lawyer’s point of view.
“Use Valentine’s Day as a recommitment day,” said Spokane’s Gina M. Costello. “The marriage comes first. The kids, finances, job, pressures from the outside world, et cetera should come in second.
“Remember, in all cases with children, if the parents are fine the children will be fine. In a divorce setting it is the job of the responsible attorney to remind clients of this fact. The trick is to know and understand this concept before you have to come to my office.”
Feb. 18
Presidents Day
What to do? One option is to track down a copy of a 1975 book called “The People’s Almanac” by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace.
“When I need something off-the-charts on presidents for my class, I go to this book,” said Robert Carriker, professor of history at Gonzaga University.
He said the chapter on the presidency is full of fun quotes and unexpected observations.
Feb. 22
George Washington’s birthday
He never saw the state named after him, of course. But a decent dinner conversation might be jump-started by asking, “What would the first president think if he could come back for a few days and tour the Evergreen State?”
Feb. 24
Academy Awards
Here are half a dozen reasons to watch the Oscars on TV. (Your mileage may vary.)
1. To find out who wins.
2. Cleavage.
3. To hiss and fantasize about calling in a surgical air-strike during those species-degrading red carpet interviews and breathlessly shouted fashion critiques.
4. To find out what the fallout will be from the writers strike.
5. To see this year’s overblown yet oddly captivating film-montage special production.
6. To watch the nominated losers turn in their best performances of the year.
Feb. 29
Leap Year Day
Here is a passage from a popular online encyclopedia.
“Seasons and astronomical events do not repeat at an exact number of full days, so a calendar which had the same number of days in each year would over time drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track.”
Got that?
Put another way, we add a day to February every four years to tweak the calendar and keep it lined up with the seasons.
There are several folk traditions associated with leap years, the origins of which tend to be hazy. But there’s nothing saying you can’t start your own custom on this day. Perhaps your idea will catch on.
Then, years from now, someone compiling a guide to February during a leap year might write: “One Feb. 29 folk tradition begun in Spokane, Wash., years ago calls for the partaking of lemon cheesecake while household pets are served sausage and tuna.”
Have a good month.
Oh, one last thing. If March comes in like a lion, what does that say about how February goes out?