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It's good day to leap into action
(by Barbara Christian - February 22, 2012)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
It's good day to leap into action
It happens every four years. Leap Year, Feb. 29, that extra day on the calendar which was computed eons ago by the big brains of early times.
According to one Internet encyclopedia, "Seasons and astronomical events do not repeat in a whole number of days, a calendar that had the same number of days in each year would, over time, drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting or intercalating an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected." Get that?
Here's another interesting tidbit we learned about Feb. 29. Babies born on that date are called "leaplings" or "leapers," not to be confused with lepers.
An annoying thing about leapers is how they tell the rest of us they are a quarter of their real age and are 12 years old when they are 48. Non-leapers get the last laugh -- four times more birthday cake.
If you are female, you probably know Feb. 29 is the traditional day when its OK to ask a man to marry you. The custom is traced to Britain. Depending on your ethnic loyalties, it began in Ireland or England.
Leap Year or Leap Day, it is still an extra day, and an extra day in our lives is a welcome event. So how should we celebrate? It's not a day off, so don't think about spending it in your bathrobe in front of or attached to your electronic device of choice.
We think we have some better suggestions. How about a little art to start the day. The Hamlet Atrium is showing the graphic art and paintings of former adman Ed Kagy, a longtime Chagrin Falls resident. Fairmount Center for the Arts is featuring the work of painter Stanka Kordic. Solon Center for the Arts is showing the photographs of Ryn Clarke. And the Valley Art Center is under way with its red-inspired group show.
OK, culture vultures, your next stop is the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre box office, where you can purchase tickets for what is shaping up to be a sell-out of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "The Drowsy Chaperone," opening March 16.
Details on all of the above and a whole lot more may be found in the Times' arts listings. Check out Valley Doings and Town Crier while you are at it. Tons of stuff to do is available in those columns.
You could spend this extra day doing some good for the economy. Translated: shopping. Great idea. But vow, at least for one day, not to spend your hard-earned dollars in those big-box operations and stay out of the soul-less chain stores while you're at it.
Seek out the individual, one-of-a-kind places. The Times pages and those of sister publication Currents are loaded with shopping suggestions and interesting ads featuring such shopping experiences.
Space dictates we end this tribute to Feb. 29, but one more thing before we go. If you are reading this over someone's shoulder or while waiting in a dentist's office or at the hairdresser, be advised Feb. 29 is the perfect day to get your very own subscription. The Times is the best hand-held information device in Ohio, you know. Better yet, take out an ad. Call 440-247-5335 to do either or both.
Shameless self promotion? You bet. Happy Leap Year Day.
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