Welcome back to the odd and whimsical poetery of the Peeps related to holidaze! Sorry to sick out on you last week, Peepers, but I’m back in full saddle! So let’s investigate what today is, because we need all the holidaze we can celebrate, right?
Lately, every day seems to be many holidays! Which is good, because we all have our favorites. So I will pick out one, and you can click the link above if you’re curious about the rest. This is an Open Thread, so please feel free to add your favorite pomes and photoes and holidaze for today in the Comments!
Today is Presidential Joke Day!
You will, of course, be forgiven for thinking, “Wait a minute! Isn’t that every day since November 2016?” But no. Well yes, but not officially. So today is the official day and it’s Reagan’s fault!
On August 11, 1984, Ronald Reagan was doing a soundcheck for National Public Radio, in preparation for his weekly radio address. Without knowing that his microphone was on and recording, he parodied the opening remarks of his prepared speech by saying, "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." The audio did not go out live but was later leaked. This was during the time of the Cold War, and not everyone thought the joke was funny. It was even reported that the Soviet Union went on alert after hearing Reagan's words. Nonetheless, the phrase is now looked back on as a comedic gaffe, and the date it occurred on is now celebrated as Presidential Joke Day.
So the president is supposed to make jokes, but now that we’re suffering under a president who IS a joke, we will make our own. Let’s try some memes!
Clerihews
by Bob Raczka
Spendthrift Thomas Jefferson
declared, “My shopping’s never done.”
He went to town to buy bananas
and came home with Louisiana.
-snip-
Fitness nut John Quincy Adams
lived by the words, “Up and at ‘em.”
Every morning, right at dawn,
he swam the Potomac with no clothes on.
-snip-
Gourmet Dwight D. Eisenhower
flavored his soup with nasturtium flowers.
Ike loved to cook, and here’s more proof:
He often grilled steaks on the White House roof.
[Bob Raczka is the author of Presidential Misadventures: Poems that Poke Fun at the Man in Charge, from Washington to Obama. It can be found at GoodReads.]
