The Ides of March Madness

Cynthia Adler

Ahh yes…March has arrived. No fanfare… no super holiday…and man, lots of wind!

March is the foster child of the calendar.

And it knows it, big time!

Think about it. We’ve come through January, still celebrating the joy of a New Year, unless we’re glued to the News reports. Sure, January has its cold spells and some snow spells, but do we care? We’re still high on the expectation of what might happen for us in this New Year…our resolutions freshly inked on a page somewhere in a journal buried in some drawer, and then comes February. Well yes, February can hand us some unbearable weather, but who cares? The expectation of a coming Valentine’s Day makes it a favorite for being able to overdose on love and cards and tons of chocolate.

But after that…after Vday…well…we’ve had it!

And then… there’s March.

March is the holder of St. Patrick’s Day. And yes, we could call it a national holiday, but in actuality, it is a tribute to the Irish and their heritage and it usually involves walking around “wearing of the green” and indulging in more than a bit of heavy drinking, so that many people don’t even remember it the next day. And some might call College Basketball an exciting thought, but for most, the main thing about March is battling too many weather conditions. Many, that are just freaky, some that are gentle and lovely, and others…so windy they are often too uncomfortable to even want to venture outside.

So I do think in some way poor March gets the message that we just want it to get

over itself…that we are waiting for a gentle April shower or some buds to be seen somewhere and a jettison of that heavy winter coat.. March is the passage month that most people don’t look forward to but mostly just endure, so we can finally get to Spring. And truthfully, March is not amused! I think that’s why after a lovely day, taking a long walk and looking forward to the next, March lurches in to freeze your ass off the next day. It’s retribution…

I think the only solution might be to create another holiday for this frustrated month.

And that could be, yes, The Ides of March, which could either be a “Feast Day,” or, as the Ides Scholars so beautifully put it, a day of “Settling Debts!”

You get to choose.

So let’s give March a little love, and you may see some interesting changes in the weather. And… you might not even notice the coming of April Fools Day. Which is a whole other story!