If only Julius Caesar had listened to the Soothsayer in Act I . . . But then there would have been no slaying in the Forum, and Marc Antony would never have delivered that famous speech at Caesar’s funeral. And there would be one less play by Shakespeare with which to torture all of today’s high school students.

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But what have the Ides of March meant to us in the 20th and 21st Centuries? Well, in the United States, it used to be income tax filing day, until 1954, when it was moved to April 15th.

To some, preparing and filing those tax returns is nearly as unpleasant as the prospect of being stabbed to death by a group of people you thought were your colleagues and friends. So you might see how remembrance of the Ides of March could be an issue.

But today, there are far better ways to pay homage to this oddly-remembered day. It is, for example, the birthday of a number of more-or-less-famous individuals: actors Eva Longoria (49 this year) and Judd Hirsch (89); Bret Michaels (61); Fabio (65 – remember him?); Lindsay Lohan (38); President Andrew Jackson (born March 15, 1767, too old to calculate); and the sorely-missed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who would have celebrated her 91st birthday this week. So, happy birthday to this varied group of celebrants.

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And for the rest of us, there is a surprisingly large number of holidays assigned to March 15th. So get out the cake and ice cream, blow up a few balloons, and let’s party, because it’s . . .

. . . Red Nose Day, just for the fun of it. Well, not “just,” but also for charity. It’s celebrated in the UK as well as the USA, and supported by many comedians and other celebrities for the benefit of various charities worldwide. So feel free to be a clown for a day, and do some good while you’re at it.

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. . . World Sleep Day. Believe it or not, this internationally-recognized day is celebrated on the Friday before the Vernal Equinox each year to focus on sleep-related problems. It is suggested that one might choose to celebrate the day by taking a nap. Oh, yeah . . . this is my kind of holiday! Zzzzz-z-z-z . . .

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. . . True Confessions Day. I’ll pass on this one; it just sounds like trouble in the making, doesn’t it?

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. . . Look On the Bright Side Day. This sounds great, but after reading through the day’s news reports, looking on the bright side can be really difficult. So you go ahead without me; I’ll try to catch up after my nap.

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And one that was clearly not designed for me, but is perfect for a lot of people I know who only think they’re smarter than I am:

. . . It’s called EverythingYouThinkIsWrongDay. At first glance, I was hoping this would be a day when I could tell the world everything I think is wrong with it and with the people in it. It would have been a long laundry list. But as it turns out — sadly and yet appropriately — I was wrong.

Instead, my research tells me that this is “a day where decision-making should be avoided, as your thoughts are (according to the founder of this holiday) wrong.” Or, at the very least, not always right. And this is how we are encouraged to observe the day:

“While you might think it would be ok to point out how wrong others’ thoughts are, you’d still be wrong. You’d still be wrong for thinking that. However, it would be a good day to scroll on by all those Twitter comments that annoy you. Of course, if you’re wrong on this holiday, take solace in the thought that so is the person to the right and left of you. Then again, you’d still be wrong, according to the name of the day. Share your thoughts and let us know just how wrong you think you are using #EverythingYouThinkIsWrongDay to post on social media.”

I’m definitely not going to do that. But I might recommend it to a few presidential front-runners in the U.S., Russia, and a couple of other countries, who seem to get it wrong all the time . . . every . . . freakin’ . . . day.

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So choose your holiday, celebrate in your own way, and if you’re bummed by the fact that you’re wrong about everything, remember that it’s only for today. You’ll be all right again tomorrow.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/15/24