Life Day 23673: Cinco de Mayo

May 5, 2012 at 9:11 am | Posted in Today is | Leave a comment

Good morning my Mexican American friends. Today is Cinco de Mayo. On this day in 1848, the Mexican army defeated the French army in the Battle of Puebla. This single battle signifies the defeat of European Colonial expansion in Mexico, and a victory for the Mexican People. I must point out that Cinco de Mayo IS NOT Mexican Independence Day. That day falls on September 16th. In fact, this holiday isn’t even celebrated in most of Mexico. It is celebrated in Puebla and a few isolated surrounding areas. It is also celebrated here in America in cities with  large Mexican-American communities. Unfortunately, much like when everyone becomes Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone becomes Mexican on Cinco de Mayo. Even non Mexican-Americans use it as an excuse to get drunk on too much tequila and make an A$$ out of themselves.  In my humble opinion, this dilutes the significance of the holiday for those who truly have reason to celebrate it. And Americans wonder why they are hated by most of the rest of the world.

Today is also the day of the Kentucky Derby. Yes, today is the 138 annual “Run for the Roses”. The Kentucky Derby is also the first race in horse racing’s coveted Triple Crown. It is touted by some as the “greatest two minutes in sports”. I urge you to watch it today if you can, if only to scoff at the grotesque hats that women who attend this race often wear.

Anyway, if you feel the same way as I do about non Mexican Americans celebrating Cinco de Mayo, here are some legitimate reasons to celebrate today. Today is also: Bladder Cancer Awareness Day, Childhood Stroke Awareness Day, Join Hands Day, National Hebrew Day, Cartoonist’s Day, National Scrapbooking Day, Space Day, and International Midwives’ Day. Choose from among these if you absolutely, positively must party tonight.

There are three food related holidays today. The first is National Chocolate Custard Day. I don’t think that I have ever had chocolate custard, but it sounds delicious. The second is Oyster Day. My dislike of seafood extends to Mollusks, so I’ll skip this one.  Last, but not least is National Hoagie Day. Nothing screams Cinco de Mayo louder than a good old-fashioned Hoagie.

One more thing, I have a day trip planned for today. I am going Santa Nella. My California friends should know what that means. Dinner at Pea Soup Andersons. I’m already salivating. Anyway, the reason for the trip is that Santa Nella  is the closest place to Palo Alto with an unobstructed view of the eastern horizon so that I can watch the moonrise this evening. The moon is going to be full, and also it is going to be at its closest orbit of the year in relation to the Earth, so it will appear about 30% larger than normal. Hopefully, I will be able to get some good pictures.

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