Happy Columbus Day, Fellow Adventurers!

Did you ever wonder what it’s like celebrating Columbus Day in another country? Me either. I’m going to tell you a little story anyway.

The following is a (mostly) true conversation that The International Man of Intrigue had with his co-workers on the subject of Columbus Day. One co-worker is an American we’ll call Glenda the Good Witch. We do have a Wizard of Oz theme going on in this blog, and also Amelia Earhart and Gertrude Bell think she really is Glenda the Good Witch, just in hiding from the Wicked Witch. Why do they think this? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because Glenda the Good Witch told them so. The other co-worker is Sri Lankan and perfectly dapper, with an impeccable British accent. We’ll call him Sri Lankan James Bond, because he is also ex-military and I’m pretty sure he likes his martinis shaken, not stirred.

Anyway, on Friday, The International Man of Intrigue, Glenda the Good Witch, and Sri Lankan James Bond had the following conversation:

Glenda The Good Witch: “We have Monday off work!”

Sri Lankan James Bond: “Why?”

International Man of Intrigue: “It’s an American Holiday.”

Sri Lankan James Bond: “What holiday?”

Glenda the Good Witch: “Columbus Day.”

Sri Lankan James Bond: “But Columbus didn’t discover America.”

Glenda the Good Witch: “Don’t tell anyone or we’ll have to go to work.”

Sri Lankan James Bond: “Understood.”

International Man of Intrigue: “I plan on observing Columbus Day by rowing out to a sparsely populated island in The Maldives and claiming it for God and Country.”

I should let it be known that The International Man of Intrigue did not, in fact, take over an island in The Maldives. Instead, he took time to sit back and enjoy a day of leisure. By leisure, I mean we cleaned out closets and went through the kids toys and got rid of things they don’t use any more. I’m not sure how Glenda the Good Witch spent her day. Probably hiding out from flying ninja monkeys.

Dorothy Gale's Day Off

Grr...I've been trying to post this for several weeks, but Blogger and I are locked in a battle of wills, apparently. I will it to go back to its old interface which kept my font uniform and nice without a lot of trouble, and it wills me to throw a tantrum while it repeatedly refuses to upload any pictures for me. Blogger was winning until today. Now, here I am with the post you didn't know you've been waiting for since September 14.

 

I think I mentioned in passing during my last blog post that my sister was here to visit. Well, on one of our adventures, our lives took a turn for the awesome. There we were, driving up Galle Road when we suddenly found ourselves in a parade! Oh yes, it was exactly like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, if Ferris had skipped school in Sri Lanka and wound up in a cricket parade instead of a German themed one--so, not really the same at all. But seriously, how often are you just driving around and suddenly find yourself in a parade? Never? Well, Fellow Adventurers, I can now say, "This one time..." and I have photographic evidence! For some reason, since we were on a quick shopping trip, the only camera we had with us was my sister's phone camera. Pardon the not-the-best photos, but imagine yourself there, driving along, realizing the entire right lane of the road (but not the rest--this is Colombo after all) has been blocked off for a parade and there is music and dancing and fun!

 

 

The parade was to celebrate the big T20 Cricket Tournament that is still going on here.

 

These are traditional Kandyan dancers and drummers.

 

All through this, I kept texting The International Man of Intrigue to tell him we were late meeting him for lunch because we were in a parade and it was awesome!

 

Ok, so really, the parade wasn't that great, but any parade gets about a thousand times awesomer when you're in it by accident!

 

Go Lankan Lions!

 

 

Well, Fellow Adventurers, there you have it. Go forth and enjoy your Thursday. If things aren't going your way, close your eyes and imagine yourself in a parade, or Google the nearest parade and try to have your own Ferris Bueller's/Dorothy Gale's Day Off!