I’ve been wiggly with anticipation to celebrate National Split Pea Soup Week and now … it’s FINALLY here. It kicks off today and lasts until the 12th. That’s a lot of split pea soup. You could use some of it to recreate that scene in The Exorcist. You’ll have plenty. Really.
What? Pea soup isn’t your thing? Okay, then you can celebrate Saxophone Day to honor the 1814 birthday of Adolphe Sax who invented it. Perhaps throw some Gerry Rafferty on the ‘ol 8-track and get jiggy with it.
No? Then maybe you should observe the Feast Day of Saint Leonard of Noblac. He is, ironically, the patron saint of both childbirth and imprisonment. He asked the king for, and won, the right to release any prisoner he deemed worthy. (Apparently it worked for babies in the womb, too.) Legend has it that if you invoked his name while you were in prison, your chains just fell off. (I hope that’s not how the pregnant women did it.) Eventually Leonard was given a bunch of land where he lived like a hermit, but the prisoners he freed would not let him be and many came to live with him. Instead of bringing him wine or cupcakes or a box set of my books as a thank you, they brought him their broken chains as homage. Worst. Gift. Ever. I will honor Leonard by running my hand lovingly over my shelf of books and then partaking of cupcakes and wine.
How about commemorating the 1947 debut of “Meet the Press” with some binge-watching. It’s the longest running TV show in history. Its creator and host was Martha Rountree, who has been the only female moderator. And believe it or not, she doesn’t always get credit for creating the show! Knock me over with a feather. The first guest was James Farley who was Postmaster General, DNC Chairman, and FDR’s campaign manager back in the New Deal era. I bet they had a polite conversation and didn’t even shout at each other.
If none of that puts you in the par-tay mood, you have one last possible rumpus … National Nachos Day. Did you know nachos date back to 1943? They were created by a guy named, yes, Nacho, which is a nickname for Ignacio. Legend has it he was working in a restaurant on the Mexican border when just before closing a bunch of wives of military officers came in. The cook had already left, so Nacho ransacked the kitchen for whatever he could find and came up with cheese, chips, and jalapenos … [insert Spanish voilà here]
But pace yourself and get home at a reasonable time because you’ll want to be fresh for tomorrow’s National Notary Public Day hoopla.