Happy Smelly Cheese Day (And Other Fall Holidays)September and October are filled with a lot of days. I mean — of course — every month is. (Well, February, not so much.) But these early autumn months are filled with some "holidays" that are worth paying attention to. For instance, Sept. 11 was not just a national day of feeling terrible; it was also reborn as "Make a Difference Day" — a day dedicated to doing things like planting a tree or visiting an elderly neighbor. Seeing as I did neither, I'm glad we've got some other do-good days still looming. Coming up on Oct. 6 is International Walk to School Day. You'd think that something as simple as walking to school wouldn't need a whole event. What next? International Don't Forget To Eat Breakfast Day? But — just like breakfast — walking to school is something happy and healthy that's on the wane. Here in the U.S., only about 1 in 10 kids does it. Another 40 to 50 percent of kids take the bus. And the rest are chauffeured, usually by a parent. This is understandable in places where the school is on one side of town and the kids are on the other, with a superhighway or crocodiles or snipers in between. But even in places where the school is where it always was — smack-dab in the middle of a nice little neighborhood with sidewalks and crosswalks and leafy trees — only about a quarter of the kids walk. So Oct. 6 is a day to encourage/beg/SHAME kids and their parents into thinking: What have we lost? The walk to school is a good way for kids to get their ya-yas out and connect with nature, but studies are even suggesting that kids who walk in the morning do better ACADEMICALLY. It's also so simple to implement ("Walk, kid!") that it's too bad at least one school I heard of is asking adults to help "facilitate" the event.
Talk about sending the wrong message! "Hey, kids! Come walk to school! These pre-screened adults won't molest you like all those other non-screened folks in town. What are you waiting for?" In the guise of making kids "safe," that school has actually made the walk SCARIER. But the good news is: Most schools are a lot lower-key. And by the way: Kids ARE safe walking to school; the crime rate is down since most parents were walking to school back in the '70s and '80s! And while we're on the subject of school, Oct. 5 is World Teachers' Day. It recognizes the date, back in 1966, when the United Nations drew up a resolution officially acknowledging that teachers make the world a better place yet often aren't treated (or paid) very well. Considering we celebrate the heck out of Mother's Day and Father's Day (and sometimes Mother-in-Law's Day, Oct. 24), Teachers' Day makes a ton of sense. Why NOT thank the folks who bring us from illiteracy to adulthood — or, at least, to AP chem? Globally, 1 in 5 people still cannot read. If you're reading THIS, thank a teacher. (And an editor, just because that helps me.) Oct. 5 also happens to be the birthday of Ray Kroc, the man behind McDonald's. He's lucky, for public relations reasons, that it doesn't fall on Oct. 1 (World Vegetarian Day) or, for that matter, Oct. 3 (Child Health Day). Finally, it wouldn't be October without Bald and Free Day (bald pride, Oct. 7), Smelly Cheese Day (Oct. 9) and Boss's Day (Oct. 16). Bald, smelly bosses have yet to get a holiday. But clearly, October is their month. Lenore Skenazy is the author of "Who's the Blonde That Married What's-His-Name? The Ultimate Tip-of-the-Tongue Test of Everything You Know You Know — But Can't Remember Right Now" and "Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry)." To find out more about Lenore Skenazy (lskenazy@yahoo.com) and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
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