Monday, October 11, 2004
I Claim This Blog For Spain
We both have today off, so I’m actually not late for work even though I have a long list of household obligations to fulfill today. Well from where I’m sitting there’s no better reason than that to kill a few minutes getting blog all over myself.
We’re off work for Columbus Day, a government holiday in California - long known by Columbusianaists as one of the places Columbus most wishes he’d discovered. I don’t know if the rest of you saps in the outer 49 &etc get to take Columbus Day off, but we sure as hell do and we will. I vowed to discover a new continent this weekend in honor of the event; I’ve succeeded in clearing out my big ol’ file cabinet and consolidating a lot of the paperwork that’s been lying around the house. While it may not be a feat on par with that of Columbus, I do think it compares favorably to those of, say, Vasco de Gama, so go suck a breadfruit, I’m satisfied with myself.
Moreso, anyway, than I’d be if I was counting on San Francisco to satisfy my Columbus jones. This city has a long and storied history of making a huge deal out of Columbus Day, with the (7th?) fleet coming to town for a coordinated “Fleet Week” and thousands of sailors on sore leave [sic] flooding the streets; the warships streaming in under the huge bridge made their own parade and the airshow from Chrissey Field was all the more thrilling for being based right here in the middle of town. And huge parades for Columbus Day would be held on Columbus Avenue, the broad thoroughfare cutting through the heart of North Beach which they rename in italian for the event, a real slice of italy in california and a gorgeous, exciting avenue connecting the wharf to downtown’s biggest landmark. What a party.
Or so it used to be. For the past few years Fleet Week has been deflating. Military shutdowns drained troops and facilities from the area. The vibrancy of North Beach began to succumb to the inexorable power of Chinatown. Military obligations elsewhere have reallocated resources and priorities. This year the proud tradition of Fleet Week cited as its culmination, as it has been for years past, an airshow. But this time it’s not the proud power of the U.S. Military (plus friends :P) on display - it’s an aerial spectacularama mounted by our friends at the AirShow Network - “the recognized leader in air show entertainment, offering event management and production throughout North America.” When I see their sleek jets shred the sky above my home as they circle around for their next death-defying yet threateningly bellicose maneuver, I am no longer troubled by thoughts of “at least they’re on our side” or “my tax dollars at work” or “oh, shock and awe, I see how that works” - I am now thinking mainly, as the awful craft soar and scream above me, how glad I am that “ASN sponsors professional management of every detail of their activities and care to ensure that their investment offers impressive value when compared to other marketing mediums.”
This is our “Fleet Week.” This is our celebration of post-colonial might. And the capstone of the air show, which has always before been the U.S. Navy’s rightly renowned Blue Angels? Well this year it’s the Canadian Forces SnowBirds, who are probably just fine, very skilled pilots, etc etc, but they fly a CT-114 Tutor, a Canadian built jet used by the Canadian Forces as its basic pilot training aircraft until 2000. The Blue Angels used to tear around overhead in F/A-18 fighter jets capable of flying just under mach 2 (1400 miles per hour). When I saw them abovedecks I knew that something serious was going on, even if it was just a celebration. Now with the SnowBirds buzzing around in their little airplanes, it just isn’t the same.
And since it isn’t the same, here’s a list of new names for this holiday that’s giving me a day off work:
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Ingenious Peoples’ Day
Indigenous Pimples’ Day
Clodumbus Day
Get The Hell Off My Continent Day
Have a good one - it’s time for me to start celebrating I suppose.
