The Extra Day

What plans do you have for the extra day we all are provided with this year?

Sure pholks, I know it was last week, Feb. 29, but here's something the vast majority of you probably don't realize. February was chosen for to get the extra day only because it had the least amount and needed some help. Each of us is entitled to spend that extra 24 hours any time we want, as long as it's before Dec. 31.

Birthdays are celebrated on specific days. Sometime the actual celebration is a day or two before or after but the celebration is for that specific date. They even have greeting cards for those who forget someone's birthday or are simply late in getting the card or mailing it. Belated birthday cards are extra-ordinary. I've yet to see a belated Thanksgiving card, a belated wedding card or a past-due sympathy card. Perhaps they are out there somewhere but I haven't seen any. Honestly, I haven't even looked.

But trust me, each of us has an extra day coming this year and it only makes sense that we plan for it. Make the most of a good thing. Our own special day. My day. My very own day to do whatever the hell I want to do. My wife even said it was okay.

I have been mulling over various things I want to do on that day, but honestly, it isn't an easy task. So far I've narrowed it down to about a dozen, maybe 15 things I want to do on "my' extra day.

The list started at 280 but these are the ones which have survived the whittling:

––Listening to my favorite baseball team winning a double-header. Spring training is here and the real season will start in about a month. My "extra day" would have to wait at least a couple of months. Plus, it will probably be late in the season if my team has any double-headers.

––Playing three rounds of golf with my golfing buddies. Of course, that means they have to be able and willing to spend their "extra day" on the same date as mine. Prospects are pretty damned slim. About as slim as my breaking 100 in any of the three rounds. Or, as slim as the chance of a flock of white blackbirds flying away from a deep, dark roost.

––Catching up on my reading. I would like to read two, maybe three, 300-page thrillers. Since, I read mostly in a reclining position, it would be hard to refrain from nodding off and having inadequate time to read. I'm not a slow reader and I'm not a fast reader. Actually, I'm a half-fast reader.

––Taking the whole day to watch movies in the theater. Movies which I want to see on the big screen and ones which have some meaning. If I can save up enough cash to afford a big popcorn and a big drink, this plan has some hope.

––Spending the whole day on a pleasure trip in the green hills sprinkled with wild flowers, babbling brooks, and chirping birds. A warm sunny day. My wife by my side. My faithful dog riding in the back seat. A picnic lunch. Being able to afford a days worth of gas is the major hitch here. The prediction of $3 per gallon by this summer is no joke, pholks.

––Walking along the beach for hours and hours. Playing tag with the tide. Checking out throng bathing suits while hiding behind some really cool sunglasses and getting pleasant smiles in return. (Sorry that is a just a day dream, It won't happen}.

––Spending the whole day at the horse races and betting just enough to have fun and maybe hitting a long shot. Not so much to get rich, but to make other betters think I know what I'm doing.

––Watching a whole day of "Jeopardy" on TV and averaging 78 percent right answers. No categories of "13th Century French Literature," or "Rap Artists" or "Fun At The Opera. And getting all the "Final Jeopardy" answers while all three of the contestants in each game missing them.

Thank goodness pholks, I've been working on paring this list down. Now all I have to do is make the final cuts and then select the day.

After all, a Mulligan in golf and an "extra day" once every four years each are terrible things to waste.

---

Return to Archive

The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.