2/29

So here we are, landing on the day that only occurs every four years, because it takes Earth 365 ¼ days to rotate, but our calendar year is too full of pictures of cute little ducks and majestic waterfalls and purple mountain majesties, so we collect these 1/4 days for four years and have a big to-do on the end of February. 

Traditionally, this day used to be "Sadie Hawkins Day," after a character in the uncomic strip "Lil' Abner." Back in the pre-equality days, it was unthinkable for a woman to ask a man to get married, except on this special day, when Sadie's father rounded up all the eligible men for his single daughter to take a run at.

It's not true, anyway. Before I met the love of my life, lots of women asked me to get married. They were my mother, my grandmother, my sister, and two ladies who lived up the street. (Pause for laughter).

I had an Aunt Sadie, and she never mentioned it to me, probably because I was about 10 the last time I saw her, and also because she called ice cream "cream" like they did in the old movies.

In Scotland, today is Bachelors' Day, and women are encouraged to wear red petticoats. You'd have to ask a Scot why.

You can ask someone from Anthony, New Mexico, the town that claims to be the Leap Year Capital of the World. Today, Leapers with 2/29 birthdays will gather today from as far away as Australia and Europe for a ‘Mix and Mingle’ at the Sombra Antigua Vineyard and Winery.

Happy day to all those people born today with a built-in conversation piece!