Leap Day
Friday, 02.29.08 @ 12:50AM 
If I don’t post something about Leap Day today, I won’t have a chance to do it again for four years! February 29th is some sort of magical day that appears and then disappears for a long time. If a year has one, then you can bet that someone is getting ready to host the summer Olympics, and someone else is running for president of the United States. On February 29th, Leap Year babies (also known as “leaplings”) are partying hard enough to last them through three more years of no birthday. Imagine, getting your driver’s licence after your fourth birthday, and retiring shortly after your Sweet Sixteenth! There’s a lot of interest in the tradition of women proposing to men on Leap Day; thanks to search engines, my post on Sadie Hawkins Day has been the most popular page here for a week!
Leap Year
Since today is an “extra” day, how about I use it for a little housecleaning. Meaning, telling you about my award and my tagging.
I was surprised and honored to receive an Excellent Award from BAC at Yikes! in this post. The burden of receiving this award is that I have to name ten more excellent blogs to send it on to. That’s a hard one, because I’d like to name about a hundred. But that’s now allowed, and some that I would have named have already won one, so here are ten excellent blogs that are due the award.
Simply Left Behind
Driftglass
PAgent’s Progress
Omegamom
Clueless in Carolina
Old Horsetail Snake
Cynical-C
Scribal Terror
The Human Marvels
Under The Bridge
I was tagged yesterday with the old “page 123” meme from Actor212 at Simply Left Behind. The rules:
• look up page 123 in the nearest book
• look for the fifth sentence
• then post the three sentences that follow that fifth sentence on page 123.
I have a half-dozen books with page 123 marked up since I’ve done this in a few comment threads before, but this is the first time I’ve been called out to blog about it. The book is The Good Women of China
My grandfather was already over seventy when he was imprisoned. He survived his ordeal with an astoundingly strong will. The Red Guards spat or blew their nosees into the coarse food and weak tea they brought to their prisoners.
Is that depressing enough for you? As with all memes of this sort, consider yourself tagged if you’d like to participate. Now back to Leap Day.
The Straight Dope explains leap years.
Some folks celebrate Sadie Hawkins Day on February 29th, although most sources put it in the fall. It is traditional that Leap Day is the one day that women are “allowed” to propose marriage to a man. If he says no, he has to buy you a gift.
The Big Day
Ten Tips for Women Who Want to Propose.
Norway's Henriksen siblings are recognized by the "Guinness Book of World Records." The three siblings were born on three consecutive leap days. Heidi Henriksen, 1960; Olav Henriksen, 1964; and Leif-Martin Henriksen, 1968. The Keogh family has three consecutive generations born on Feb. 29. Peter Anthony was born in Ireland in 1940; his son Peter Eric was born in the United Kingdom in 1964; and his granddaughter Bethany Wealth was born in the United Kingdom in 1996.
The case of the missing birthday.
There are some special deals for leaplings from various businesses.
Where the Leap Day parties are.
Q: What do you get when you cross a kangaroo with a calendar?
A: A leap year!
Leap Year Joke from Way Back
A girl looked calmly at a caller one evening and remarked:
"George, as it is leap year..."
The caller turned pale.
"As it is leap year," she continued, "and you've been calling regularly now four nights a week for a long, long time, George, I propose--"
"I'm not in a position to marry on my salary Grace" George interrupted hurriedly.
"I know that, George," the girl pursued, "and so, as it is leap year, I thought I'd propose that you lay off and give some of the more eligible fellows a chance."
Ways to Celebrate Leap Day
6. Practise leaping to conclusions.
5. Ask a bunch of men to marry you. Remember, they are supposed to buy you a gift if they refuse!
4. Buy some Mexican jumping beans.
3. See if you are still able to jump rope.
2. Drive out to Lovers Leap.
1. Watch old episodes of Quantum Leap.
Scott Bakula
Thought for today: Thirty days has September, April, June, and no wonder! All the rest eat peanut butter, except Grandma -she rides a bicycle.
humor jokes video funny Leap Year Leap Day leaplings calendar
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Reader Comments (3)
It is a great story, though.
baboop53, I remember that last line as "except grandma, and she drives a Jag." lol
2. Take the nearest book (easy, since the book shelf is to my computer's immediate left), Page 123, fifth sentence, then post the next three sentences...from Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer..."If the movement was to become truly national, Hitler realized, it must get a footing in the north, in Prussia, and above all, in the citadel of the enemy, Berlin. In the election of 1924 Strasser had campaigned in the north and made alliances with ultranational groups there led by Albrecht von Graefe and Count Ernst zu Reventlow. He thus had personal contacts and a certain following in this area and he was the only Nazi leader who had". *what, you were expecting Peanuts or Bloom County?*