I’ve always held a resentment towards Columbus Day. As a kid, it was because we had school that day in our district, while everyone else in the tri-state area had a day off. (The fact that we didn’t have school on the Jewish holidays or the two days off for the teachers’ convention did not make up for this in my mind.) As a young adult, the resentment towards the holiday was directed at the fact that Columbus was kind of a jerk, and celebrating him with the same level of holiday as Martin Luther King, Jr. seemed a bit messed up.
And I think this is a good place to note that there were some polititians who weren’t that supportive of a separate but equal holiday for the Reverend, until they were.
Then, as I got older, my resentment towards the raping, pillaging and wanton religious converting done by Columbus simmered down a little as most Americans seem to feel that way about him. These days I’m just annoyed that I have to go to work today, but I don’t get the mail delivered. Netflix, making mail fun again! (Seriously, call me, Netflix people. We should talk deal here.)
Despite my resentment towards the holiday, when I was a kid, I loved the Columbus story, and pretty much any story about early explorers. I loved to go into the woods behind my house and pretend that I was discovering new lands, and I loved to watch the ocean’s horizion and pretend that I was the only person who believed that it didn’t just end there. Those were fun times, exploring in the woods.
Yesterday, I went to Hunter Mountain for Octoberfest with some friends. We took the ski lift up to the top of the mountain, and explored our way down through mountain bike paths and ski trails. Sometimes we ran down the mountain, just letting gravity take over. And while the well-groomed trails of a ski slope are not anything near uncharted territory, they were new to me, and for just a moment, I got a whiff of the 10-year-old me, taking part in an adventure.
And in other news of the weekend, the wedding on Friday was much fun. I did get my dance on, and I was not wearing pants. I was wearing a dress with a swishy skirt. I had some fun breaking out the moves I’ve learned from swing dance nights at the coffee shop. Sadly, when the DJ played “Take on Me” no one else on the floor was there with me to sing the alternate lyrics. So I just kind of bopped around, muttering “close up eyes” to myself. Good times.
Posted by Stefanie on October 13, 2008 at 9:42 am
Shit. I will join your annoyance over Columbus Day, because I had totally forgotten there was no mail today, and now my water bill payment is going to be late. Stupid fake holiday for which I still have to work. Boo.
I hate when my bills are late and it’s not my fault.
Posted by The Modern Gal on October 13, 2008 at 10:18 am
I so would have had your back on Take on Me.
I don’t ever recall getting Columbus Day off. I’m not sure we care that much about him in the South. We did, however, get a day off to go to the regional fair, so that was awesome.
I wish you had been there with me!
Posted by lizgwiz on October 13, 2008 at 10:39 am
Yeah, Columbus Day is pretty much just an annoyance, unless you work for a bank.
I love picturing you dancing and singing the alternate lyrics. “Band montage.” Hee.
And I saw my friend who worked at a bank on Sunday. He was already making plans to sleep in.
Posted by Amy on October 13, 2008 at 11:24 am
Yeah, that’s a fabulous place. No apologies!
(winks)
Word~
Posted by courtney on October 13, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Stupid Columbus Day. I’d feel much better about it if I could protest that genocidal maniac from the comfort of my home, but alas, I am also at work.
Since I’m new at work, I asked someone on Friday if we had the day off today, and she said, “No way! We’re not honoring that rapist and murderer!”
But if it means getting cheap crap at the mall…
Posted by sadieandleo on October 13, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I realized the other day that I always complain about Columbus Day to my Fed-ex guy, Paulo, at work. Every year. He reminded me of that as I started bitching about my whole “how can you discover something that has already been discovered” soapbox. Paulo is Mexican and just laughs and gives me the same answer every time, “that’s because white people are crazy.” He’s right on this one.
We are a little crazy, no?
Posted by Vicious Headbutt on October 13, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I am celebrating Amerigo Vespucci Day instead.
Word to that. I’m going to celebrate Captain John Smith day.
Posted by Allie on October 13, 2008 at 2:08 pm
We were walking around singing the alt. version of Take on Me ALL weekend!
Swishy skirts rock. Columbus Day, not so much.
Maybe we need a swishy skirt day.
Posted by cadiz12 on October 13, 2008 at 3:56 pm
i’m at work too. obviously it’s only in protest of columbus, not because of the mountains of work i have to do or anything.
Exactly.
Posted by Dingo on October 13, 2008 at 6:27 pm
“I had some fun breaking out the moves I’ve learned from swing dance nights at the coffee shop…”
I’m sorry, did I just wander onto the set of a Nicholas Sparks movie? Next you’re going to tell me that you’ve fallen in love with the emotionally wounded but looking for love drifter that just got into town.
Now that you mention it…
Posted by Aaron on October 13, 2008 at 8:20 pm
This is why I’ve taken back Columbus Day and turned it into Columbo Day, because goddammit, there need to be more holidays based around seventies television. Side note, Columbo Day is the holiday when the cool kids have to work.
I would get behind that if I didn’t have first-hand knowledge of Feter Paulk’s assholeishness.
Posted by LadyRock13 on October 16, 2008 at 5:49 pm
When I was a kid, we didn’t get MLK day off, one of two states in the nation that didn’t acknowledge it and I remember the adults being proud of that.
Posted by Len on April 22, 2009 at 2:56 pm
i always believed that CPT John Smith raped Pcohontas. The story my teachers told me just didn’t add up. Imagine a 27 yr old man and a 13 year old naked girl. Do you really believe her father was trying to kill Cpt John Smith for wondering around? I do not think so.