About Robert
Robert McKay. Still a 20 something, but not for much longer. Married. Writer. Geek. Vegetarian. Technophile. Bibliophile. Audiophile. Lover of learning. For more about me, check out the about me page.
| I Reject Your Holidays and Substitute My Own |
| Written by Robert McKay |
| Monday, 05 October 2009 06:18 |
|
Today I would like to talk about holidays. I haven't been much of a holiday person since the magic wore off of Christmas and Thanksgiving. That happened about the time I realized that nobody understood me well enough to get me something I really wanted for Christmas and that Thanksgiving was just a reason for my family to get together and fight. I was probably about 10 or so at the time.
It was shortly after those enlightening times that I figured out that Christianity was bullshit* and pretty much all remaining feelings I had for the holidays drained away. Yes, there were still a time of some excitement because I was still optimistic that someone would figure out a way to not make them suck, but they never did. I always felt like an outsider that nobody really cared about or understood.
When I grew up and got out on my own I still came back for holidays because it was expected, but I feel more like an outsider than ever. Everybody knew I was smart, but I was still working at McDonald's and I had dropped out of college. They had no idea what to say to me and I didn't want to talk to them about the backwoods hick things they wanted to talk about.
Some time later I met my lovely wife on the interwebs and I moved away to the lovely city of Seattle. I found a good deal of acceptance there and my wife loved the holidays. She'd never let her optimism die, though she too knew the religious aspects to be bullshit*. So, for the last few years we've celebrated with gusto and it's been great fun, but I've never been able to shed those old feelings. I still feel like an outsider around those times and I hate all the marketing. Why should I be seeing Christmas decorations in the middle of September?!
Anyway, what I'm really trying to say is that I don't want those stupid holidays any more. I don't want the feelings of guilt. I don't want the loneliness and depression that they bring me. So, I've decided to celebrate my own set of holidays which are yet to be determined. I will also be making a real effort to celebrate those “made up” holidays that I already think are awesome. I think my knew high holiday will be Towel Day. I celebrate others such as Star Wars Day and Pi Day as well, but Towel Day has a special place in my heart and I think it deserves the highest rank among the holidays. For those of you who don't know what Towel Day is or who Douglas Adams is, I suggest you hit up Wikipedia immediately. It could change your life.
I sadly didn't know the work of Douglas Adams until he had already passed. I believe it was a discussion of his passing that got me introduced to Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy. Now to this day I am saddened that the world is without a man that brought so much into my life with a few thousand words on paper. I've never truly celebrated Towel Day with any real fervor, but that will change. I don't believe in Jesus, but I do believe in Douglas Adams. He helped shape my life in ways I can barely articulate. So, I will mark May 25th on my calendar and celebrate intelligence and laughter with a holiday that encourages you to carry a towel wherever you go. I don't care if that makes me an outsider from the world at large; my wife understands it and that's all I need.
If I haven't offended you too greatly, please stay tuned for more posts about the holidays I will be celebrating in my life and how I intend to do so. I think it will be a fun ride and I encourage all of you to join me. I will probably even make up some brand new holidays that some of you might enjoy.
*I thought about editing myself there and making it sound politically correct, but that would not be how I feel and this is my fucking blog so I will not edit myself like that. I need to be ME here. If that offends you I am truly sorry, but please feel free to not read my stuff.
|
I've not been blogging on here much because it feels like everything here needs to be a masterpiece about my experiences as a writer. Well, I haven't been doing much writing lately so I haven't been doing much blogging. I think it's high time that I started blogging anyway.