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Show ' JUST STUFF Vs PY IflW It seems to me that I am often about a day late and a dollar short In my column. Every now and then Ideas are a little hard to come by, so it is refreshing to have a holiday or some special occasion tucked neatly into a month to offer me something "extra" to write about. Unfortunately, by the time I realize there is a holiday or special occasion, it is already upon us. It's always nice. around Mother's Day and Father"? Day to write a special tribute to those parents we all love. Both days fall on a Sunday, and I usually write my column on a Friday, which means I should be able to write about the upcoming day quite easily..., right? WRONG! I write my column on Friday, but the paper doesn't come out until the following Tuesday, after the celebrated holiday that I would write about. This means I would have to write about Mother's Day or Father's Day a week in advance, and for some reason it's a bit difficult to do that. Valentine's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, even my very own birthday are days that tend to creep up on me, and by the time I get around to writing about them, they've been marked off the calendar, gone for another year. Thanksgiving, which by tradition falls on Thursday, works out O.K. My salivary glands let me know well enough In advance that Turkey Day Jjs just around the corner and I am able to declare my thankfulness in my column the Tuesday prior to the big day. And Christmas. Well, it's a biggy. Christmas is usually good for at least one or two columns, and with New Years right behind it, I can usually count on two or three columns under my belt in December. But those holidays that just sneak up on me, all worthy of a column, are difficult to work with. We're reminded that Christmas is only "days away," at least 45 days before it's here, but for some reason it's hard for me to gear my thinking towards Memorial Day or Mother's Day even a few weeks before the day. I would probably have let these "sneak-up" days slide right by, but last Saturday (a day late) as I sat down to my typewriter, fingers poised, ready to bang out a wonderful expose on the virtues of voting and the rewards of being a registered voter, I realized that my column would hit the streets about the time the polls closed. I realized that when people read my column encouraging them to register to vote, time for registering would be long gone. When they read my excerpts on the responsibility of voting, most conscientious voters would already have cast their ballots. And by Wednesday or Thursday, when people read my comment that "If you didn't take the time to vote, you really have NO RIGHT to complain about the elected officials," people would already be complaining about who won this year's election. So I didn't write about my strong feelings toward voting, how it IS a responsibility, not merely a constitutional right. I didn't say that I feel privileged to live in a country where we're given the opportunity to choose the people who govern us. I was going to, but post-hoc columns just don't pack the punch they need. Needless to say, once again I was a day late and a dollar short. ..but I did get out and vote! Did you? |