He's Smiling at Me

Not that I think George Washington was a dour old soul, but something deep inside me says that the paintings and engravings we see of the Father of our Country are a lot less disconcerting when, as my father was wont to say, "he's not showing any teet[h]."

I'm sure Washington would smile at Cokesbury's odd admonition as it introduces the Washington's Birthday Party, by saying "Washington's Birthday is celebrated in all parts of the nation. In many places it marks the height of the social season."

Now, we don't need Cokesbury to tell us that the difference between 1932 and 2009 is more than a mere span of years, but as Washington's Birthday today is considered the height of the used car and furniture sales industries, that offers us a little hint of the magnitute of the change the nation has witnessed. And perhaps such a leap of change will be witnessed between 2009 and, say, 2132, when, among other questions asked of our times, one will be "What's a car dealership?"

In the meantime, get ready to celebrate Washington's Birthday Party. Guaranteed hilarity. And hatchets.