{"id":1432,"date":"2011-03-04T06:38:51","date_gmt":"2011-03-04T11:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/?p=1432"},"modified":"2011-03-11T09:34:36","modified_gmt":"2011-03-11T14:34:36","slug":"a-day-for-bold-and-decisive-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/?p=1432","title":{"rendered":"A Day For Bold and Decisive Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click play for a soundtrack to this post:\u00a0 Stars and Stripes Forever<\/a><\/p>\n

Happy March 4th!<\/p>\n

I like to say to my office colleagues on the 4th of March, “Today is my favorite day of the year.”\u00a0 Invariably they ask why.\u00a0 “Guess,” I say.\u00a0 “Is it your anniversary?\u00a0 Birthday,” they venture?\u00a0 I can’t remember anyone guessing it.\u00a0 Few people hear the date as I do, at least at first.\u00a0 Finally I explain that March 4 is the only day of the year that makes a sentence.\u00a0 Another pause.\u00a0 A furrowed brow.\u00a0 “A sentence,” they puzzle?\u00a0 “What do you mean?”\u00a0 Finally the punchline, stating what for me is the obvious:\u00a0 “March Fourth!\u00a0 Get it?\u00a0 March Forth!\u00a0 It’s a day for bold and decisive action.”\u00a0 Then the eye rolling, sometimes a laugh, and sometimes a funny look that sort of says, “Sheesh, brother, you’re a strange one.”<\/p>\n

Maybe I am.\u00a0 Maybe I wish more of us were.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

I can’t remember when I started commemorating this day.\u00a0 It’s been a long time ago when our children were still little.\u00a0 For many years, the extent of our celebration involved wishing each other a Happy March Fourth, then playing Sousa marches and marching around the house.\u00a0 It sounds absurd and odd, but we laughed and had fun doing it.\u00a0 My wife, ever dear, ever supportive, still laughs at the word play.\u00a0 In later years as our children grew to young adulthood, they all took it seriously, at least to the point of remembering it, asking to hear the marches, wishing me a happy March 4th.<\/p>\n

From 1798 to 1933, American Presidents were inaugurated on March 4.\u00a0 I couldn’t believe it when I learned that.\u00a0 It fit my idea for a holiday perfectly.\u00a0 Did anyone in all those years, particularly the presidents-elect themselves, think about the inherent word-play of the date and equate it with the awesome task each was taking on?\u00a0 Did Abraham Lincoln, a wordsmith himself, feel the weight of the pun that started his tumultuous presidency?\u00a0 In the early days of this Republic before interstates and cars, it took time to move from point A to B and also to close out an old and set up a new presidency.\u00a0 Thus the March 4 inauguration date, four months after the election.\u00a0 The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution established January 20 as Inauguration Day, a good move for our governance, but a loss of a great word play that nicely suited the moment.<\/p>\n

Last year, I wrote our children and their mates (they are all married) a March 4 Missive<\/a>.\u00a0 I’m going to do that again this year.\u00a0 I’ve actually been thinking of hosting a March 4th party or dinner next year.\u00a0 Maybe I’ll even send out March 4th cards.\u00a0 Why not?\u00a0 I think everyone could use a reminder every now and then to trust themselves and step out boldly to do or try something new, something exciting, something that may even be world-changing.\u00a0 Human society has been changed and carried along by people who boldly marched forth, not caring about the consequences or derision from others.<\/p>\n

Noah must have really looked the fool, building a huge boat in the desert. He was an early Forth Marcher.\u00a0 Saints, holy men and women of God, were often ridiculed for their lifestyles of selfless service, piety, and faith, marching forth according to what they knew God was calling them to.\u00a0 Moral leaders like Ghandi and King marched forth to make tax-free salt on the seashore or to walk from Selma to Montgomery to win the vote, both to win freedom for their oppressed peoples.<\/p>\n

Today is the day to act on your convictions, to set out on a path that may seem foolish, that may lead to ridicule, but that you know is the right and good thing to do.\u00a0 Maybe it will be the day you start doing a good work you’ve always wanted to do:\u00a0 help in a homeless shelter, volunteer at a nursing home, participate in an after school program for disadvantaged children.\u00a0 Maybe it’s the day to apply for the job you’ve always wanted or quit the one that’s slowly killing you.\u00a0 Could March 4th be the day you finally pop the question?\u00a0 Or say yes after it gets popped?\u00a0 Maybe it’s the day to start your own blog.<\/p>\n

One more point:\u00a0 You can make this into a literary event as well.\u00a0 Invite people over for a nice meal.\u00a0 Sing a song.\u00a0 Read a poem.\u00a0 Go around the table and share with your fellow Marchers what you’re going to do, big or small, that will be your way to march forth.\u00a0 Wouldn’t it be a grand joke worth a hearty belly-laugh if this caught on?\u00a0 Imagine a holiday based on a goofy pun that leads people to act, to serve, to boldly do what they’ve maybe always wanted to do but just needed the right moment.\u00a0 Or the right word play!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click play for a soundtrack to this post:\u00a0 Stars and Stripes Forever Happy March 4th! I like to say to my office colleagues on the 4th of March, “Today is my favorite day of the year.”\u00a0 Invariably they ask why.\u00a0 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,11],"tags":[163,165,1077,1073,164,26],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1432"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1432"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7398,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1432\/revisions\/7398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}