Honoring the President; what holiday?

Another holiday – President’s Day – has come and gone. Yet I doubt many of us noticed a thing.

Monday was supposed to be the day we paid tribute to the many men (not quite four dozen) who have served as U.S. president during our nation’s history. But I wonder how many of us worked our way through the day.

OR IF WE had the kind of government-related post where work actually shut down for the day, did we just waste it away sitting in front of a television set watching whatever mindless junk happened to be on for our viewing?

Personally, about the most impact the day had upon me was the fact that there was no mail delivery. Not that I was expecting anything of significance. Although I did notice one of my neighbors got a package delivery; courtesy of United Parcel Service.

I don’t think many of us gave a thought to those people who have served our nation with the ultimate ego-boost of a political position – that of president of the United States.

As in the guy who in theory is in charge of the country (and often is referred to as “the most powerful man in the world”), but whom we often see can easily be thwarted by Congress and the Supreme Court.

PERSONALLY, I WOULDN’T have the ambition to run for president – I’d feel like I had to make too many ideological concessions to have any chance of getting a significant number of votes.

Plus I’d have to kiss way too many behinds to come up with the kind of campaign cash it takes to run a credible electoral effort. Personally, I don’t see the point of running for political office if one is only capable of taking 1 percent or so of the vote.

So what should we think of the men who have made the effort to be the chief executive of U.S. government? It’s a thankless job, and one that probably draws way too much hostility and abuse from the opposition.

And there’s always opposition! Someone is always going to think you are wrong. And someone is always going to think that the world would be better off without you in it – even if they don’t have the nerve or intelligence to carry out such insane thoughts!

PERHAPS THE CONCEPT of a President’s Day (instead of the old-fashioned notion of celebrating the birth of George Washington – the first president) isn’t the most absurd holiday we offer.

It’s more practical than trying to honor all 43 men who have held the office (and you just know some people would go out of their way to ignore the holidays of those presidents they want to disrespect.

It reminds me of an old “The West Wing” episode where actress Allison Janney’s “C.J. Cregg” character was appalled to learn of a religious group that devoted a day to its members praying for her soul – because they were convinced that as a Democrat who sided with liberal causes, she was going to Hell.

Most people, however, aren’t willing to put that much thought into the day. In fact, I really believe most people let Monday pass by without any thought.

IT WAS A day for retailers to hold weekend-long sales – the one that caught my attention was held by the Guitar Center chain. Fifteen percent off selected items, and it was possible to get a Stratocaster make of guitar for $99.

No, I didn’t go out and buy a discount guitar on Monday. Or a new mattress or sofa or even a car (the latter of which I could use these days). I didn’t give in to commercialism on this day where we’re supposed to honor the concept of our government – although not as intensely as we do on Independence or Memorial days.

Although I have to admit what I actually did do during the morning hours isn’t something I’m proud of – I watched the one-millionth (or so it seems like) airing of the Sandra Bullock film “Miss Congeniality,” a film I'd never seen before, where the attractive actress has to play the part of a frumpy FBI agent who has to disguise herself as a beauty queen to undermine a plot to disrupt the “Miss United States” pageant.

So what’s my punishment for wasting away a federal holiday morning – perhaps I should have to sit through several hours of tapes of George W. Bush’s incomprehensible presidential rhetoric without actor Will Ferrell to translate?

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EXTRA: No more Bennigans? I didn’t realize they were even still around!

I recall Bennigan’s chain of pseudo-Irish bars first becoming popular some 30 years ago about the time I was in high school – I remember a gathering of my high school newspaper staff that went to the restaurant (I had the chicken fingers – I don’t know why I recall that) for some sort of celebration.

I’m also aware that for awhile, the chain became a big deal with locations all over the world. I even recall the story that Michael Jordan met his first wife, Juanita, at a Bennigan’s on North Michigan Avenue.

BUT I HAVE to confess. When the company itself went bankrupt some five years ago, I thought that was the end. Just about every one-time Bennigan’s location I could think of had become something else. My "favorite" former Bennigan's location is the one that now sits empty inside the ballpark in Gary, Ind., where the Southshore Railcats play their ball games.

I didn’t realize the brand name still existed anywhere in Chicago. Until I stumbled across the Chicago Tribune report that says the Bennigan’s located at 150 S. Michigan Ave. (across the street from the Art Institute) is closing by mid-December. Some nearly 90 people could be out-of-work.

It’s the last Bennigan’s location in Chicago. Although it seems I have been unobservant enough to notice it still existed!

I’m not sure how big a loss this is, since I wonder how many others already figured the chain was a part of history – something along the lines of how Sinclair Oil used to have a slew of gas stations across Chicago or how Jack in the Box used to have local locations to peddle their burgers and tacos while giving us the image of Rodney Allen Rippy in their television commercials.

SOMEHOW, WE HAVE managed to survive. Other gas stations provide us our motor fuel – while also charging us ridiculously-high prices!

We’ll also manage to find restaurants with cutesy themes on those occasions when “eating out” is more about atmosphere than the quality of the food.

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