By Craig P. Dixon, southcoast247.com correspondent Social Commentary 98
February 15, 2007
I hate February. Why? There're just so many reasons.
Finances always seem
tighter in February. The gluttony of the holidays have come and gone. I've
spent and spent and spent, and now the squeeze is becoming a crunch. Taxes
are right around the corner, and I don't get a refund. I owe. It's one of
those drawbacks of being a tipped and/or freelance employee.
Then, there's
The Grammy's. Perhaps the worst awards show on the planet, The Grammy's
showcase all that's bad about popular American music: Live performances.
These people just can't perform live.
There's nothing quite like watching
America's favorite songsters take the stage and butcher the fuck out of
their big hits, squawking like dying sparrows over bombastic background
music.
This train-wreck mentality drives American pop culture. We love to
have screw-up celebs in the public eye. Love the downward spiral. And
nothing draws the eye of the people like the screeching of metal upon metal
before that satisfying, yet sickening, smack of steel on steel. The carnage
of the aftermath, however, keeps our attention only so long. Then it's off
to the next mess.
And there's no greater mess than Valentine's Day. What a
cheesy waste of cash. Lovers schmoozing, making kissy faces over cheap
glasses of Merlot at an expensive restaurant reservation made a month in
advance. Sloppily smooching upon the exchange of red roses, two dollar
Hallmark cards, and overpriced chocolates. So cliched, it's enough to make
me puke. Yet people keep throwing cash at it.
In my humble opinion, love
should be celebrated daily and multiple times on the weekends. Setting aside
a holiday for it is pretty fucking weak.
In February, the weather is
generally the worst of the year. We always go into this deep freeze. People
(especially girls) huddle under layer upon layer of clothes, trying to keep
the cold out. Nobody wants to leave the house. Outdoor recreation is
absolutely out of the question, as flash frostbite is always a constant
threat on those 20 below wind chill days.
February is usually winter's last
gasp. But who knows when winter will end this year? The cycle's been thrown
off so much we may end up with some 20 below days in March. Or maybe it'll
be in the 80s?
Everything's so grey. Disgusting. Depressing. The trees bare
and skeletal against the icy blue sky. So quiet. So near death. Hell, if
January is supposed to be the beginning of a New Year, the great change, the
old man ushered out for the baby, then why doesn't the death of the seasonal
year immediately follow? I guess that's one of life's great mysteries.
Ohh,
I hate February. Next year I'm heading someplace warm and far away from here
for the entire month.
I hate February. Why? There're just so many reasons.
