As I’ve pointed out several times in the past, every day of every month has some sort of special designation, and usually more than one.
As I’ve also mentioned, most are sort of ridiculous, even if they don’t mean to be. Here are a few of November’s examples of “national” days.
Nov. 3 is both National Sandwich Day and National Men Make Dinner Day.
I’m a big fan of sandwiches. I like to make them myself and for years and years have taken them to work for lunch.
I also like to cook now and then, and I don’t believe any guy should be allowed to get away with making a sandwich and calling it “cooking.” In turn, it better be spaghetti, hamburger steak or some other dish that requires actual preparation and heat, or it doesn’t qualify.
Nov. 7 is National Hug a Bear Day.
How you decide to celebrate this day is up to you, but I don’t recommend heading out into the forest in an attempt to find a willing participant that has four legs, weighs hundred of pounds, has huge teeth and claws and personifies the meaning of the word omnivorous.
Maybe it would be a better idea to find a stuffed version in a child’s bedroom and give it a big ol’ “bear hug.” Safety first, right?
Nov. 10 is National Civic Pride Day.
Sure, it would be easy to think that this day is reserved for citizens to step back and ponder how much they have to appreciate with regard to their town and its leadership, and that’s a good idea on multiple levels.
But I submit that it also might be a good time for a civic leader or two to stop taking themselves so seriously for 24 hours and actually consider what’s best and what can work for said citizens. Civic pride begins at the top, you know?
Nov. 12 is National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day.
I’m also a huge fan of pizza, and I totally agree with leaving the salty little fishies off.
Pepperoni, sausage, onion, peppers, mushrooms – pile them on. Even chicken, spinach and sauces other than tomato – it’s all welcome.
But not the little fish. No way.
Nov. 14 is National Teddy Bear Day.
If you survived National Hug a Bear Day and made do with an artificial participant, you can celebrate again the same way you did on Nov. 7.
Nov. 15 is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day.
While I could argue that this day badly needs to be celebrated about twice a month rather than once a year, at least it gives people an incentive to get in there and dig around.
The potential is there for some serious mysteries to be solved, even if it’s like, “hey there’s that glass container that’s been missing forever, but jeez, what’s that nasty-looking stuff inside it?”
Nov. 16 is National Button Day.
You know that big jar full of buttons that your grandma has in the closet?
Pour it out on the kitchen table and have fun wondering where the heck they all came from.
Nov. 19 is National Have a Bad Day Day.
This could certainly take the pressure off of anyone who feels it when someone tells them to “have a nice day.”
If that happens on this day, you can simply reply, “no thanks, I’m in celebration mode.”
Nov. 20 is National Absurdity Day.
It seems to me that there are a whole lot of people in positions of political leadership who have taken to celebrating this day 365 times a year.
Honestly, look around, listen and process objectively, and you’ll be amazed at the double-standards, contradictions, and unabashed, unbridled absurdity out there. Too bad it’s not actually limited to a single day.
So now you know some of the special days in November. And since it’s still early in the month, you have time to make plans for them.
Or not.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.