February Blahs

February seems to be a weird time for holidays; in Ontario alone, we have Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, Family Day, plus as a crossing guard I have a P.D. day at the end of the month. I've already kind of gone after Valentine's Day, so I'll go after the others one by one.

First of all, I've never understood the big deal behind Groundhog Day. Well, actually that's not quite true, I used to buy into it, but I kind of outgrew that along with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. First of all, I just don't understand how a rodent seeing its shadow is supposed to have ANYTHING to do with whether we're in for an early spring or not. Maybe this is one of those things that's aimed at the kids, I don't know. How else can you explain celebrating a preposterous forecasting method, that has 40% accuracy? My cat constantly flinches at things that only he can see, but that doesn't mean I think he can predict tornadoes.

The second one, is Family Day. If you don't live in Ontario, you've probably never heard of this, and that's because it was literally made up by Premier Dalton McGuinty as an election promise. As the name implies, Family Day is supposed to give Ontario citizens a day to spend with their families... it makes it sound like we're all in jail the rest of the time, doesn't it? Where do I start, on this one? The name is repulsive, the whole idea is patronizing and redundant (at least in homes where the families actually have an inclination to TALK TO EACH OTHER), and to make it even more stupid, the only people who can take advantage of this are people who work for the government! Great! An extra holiday, for people who already work a fraction of the time that everyone else does (and remember I speak from experience here).

Now before I go, I want to say one last thing about Valentine's Day. At the risk of making a plug, Boston Pizza has this thing going on, where on Valentine's Day you can buy a heart-shaped pizza and the proceeds go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. This is a really big deal, heart trouble can happen to anyone, at any time. That's why my friends and family support this every year. Pizza with a date may seem cheap the rest of the time, but on February 14th it can save someone's life. That's it for me.