cuatro de julio

There are times I really enjoy living in Melaque.

Such as opening to the first page of The Oregonian and finding this headline:

"Hump-day holiday a dud for travelers"

I am right with you.  Headlines are supposed to attract our attention and provide a hook summary of the news content.  I had no idea what to expect.

But it worked.  I read the article.  Now, I wish I hadn't.

The article was about the great dilemma faced by American workers and the "leisure activities" industry.  And what is the genesis of this angst?

For the first time in five years -- the Fourth of July falls on Wednesday.  My goodness!  Can you believe it?  No wonder the world is falling apart.

Workers are torn whether to give up a full week of precious vacation time or to simply stay at home for the stand-alone holiday.  One of the few holidays that is still tethered to a specific day.  The fact that "Fourth" shows up in the title is a hint.

Hotels are reporting a lack of bookings.  Campgrounds have open spots.  Airlines have open seats.  What is a nation to do?

Of course,it is easy for me to make mock.  The Fourth of July is not a big holiday in Mexico (except in some of the American reservations that dot the country).  Americans may have stolen Cinco de Mayo from Mexico (a holiday almost unknown here), but the Mexicans have very little interest in celebrating American independence from the Hanoverian tyrant.

But there is something else in the story that simply would not happen here.  The land of my birth seems to be turning into neurotic central.  Getting upset about a holiday on a Wednesday in Mexico would not be a problem.  If it happened here, workers would simply take the day off and stay at home enjoying festivities with their family. 

And then, they may or not show up for work on Thursday or Friday.  Amazingly, the world would keep rotating around the sun. 

Americans seem to think every day off has to be a major event.  As if they were starring in a Bertie Wooster novel.

So, I will celebrate the Fourth of July just as I celebrated the Third.  On my patio.  In the breeze.  Reading about President Polk winning a war that expanded the United States by one-third.  And left my neighbors not very interested in how many fireworks I am not going to shoot off today.