The first day of the year. A bogus holiday if ever there was one. The malls were open, as were movie theaters, restaurants, liquor stores and supermarkets. The cashiers at the supermarket got "holiday pay" but the cashiers at the liquor store (next door) did not. Happy New Year.I figure, it's a holiday mostly because the hungover revelers couldn't get their asses up for work on January 1, so the government figured, "Screw it. Take the day off."
I was awakened last night at midnight by the sound of store-bought fireworks from down the street. It continued for 23 minutes, and I found myself wishing that a tree would catch fire so that there would be some real excitement. It disrupted my sleep and did nothing for the cat's heart murmur. He didn't know what day it was.
Here in the Philadelphia area, it's the day of the annual Mummers Parade. It started 3 hours late because of rain, and should be over by noon on Saturday. It's an acquired taste that I never acquired. As parades go, it's "Ben Hur". Musically, it's ... well ... imagine banjos, saxophones and xylophones. Together.
For all the fuss, you'd think something more important was going on. I'm not big on the even-numbered celebrations - 500th win, 50th birthday - all those things are just numbers, and making a big deal out of changing a calendar is pretty much an excuse for drinking. Not that it's a bad thing, necessarily, but I'd like to have a better reason.
Happy New Year! Guns, fireworks, parades, bowl games and a day off work. Meanwhile, we'll still be writing 2007 on all our stuff for three weeks.
