Brentrance and Blue Monday

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Inauguration of Dunces, the case has never been stronger for retrocession. I am not talking about the actual retrocession in 1846 involving the return of the land to the Commonwealth of Virginia that was part of the original District of Columbia; nor the proposed retrocession of D.C. (as it exists now) to Maryland.  I mean approaching Her Majesty the Queen, acknowledging that our attempt at self-governance has taken a horrid turn, and re-joining the United Kingdom. 

Granted, we would have to deal with Theresa May for at least a while…but she (unlike the current American Chief Executive) can pass the oddly formidable sanity challenge.  Better yet, with Labour gaining electoral strength, the odds are better than 50/50 that we will have Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn as our Head of Government soon enough.  Frankly, this is a good deal at thrice the price…which I suppose would be in pounds sterling.

In other news, we are approaching “Blue Monday” which some claim to be the most depressing day of the year.  There is a simple yet scientifically unsound mathematical formula that allegedly “validates” this hypothesis; it involves (among other variables) the weather, debt levels, and the end of the Holiday season.  Let’s be reductive, yet no less accurate, and just call it the third Monday in January.

While the present author appreciates the whimsy inherent in attempting to identify and quantify the nadir of our national mood, as someone who has written about mental health, I would like to remind you, dear reader, that this can be a tough time of year for those who contend with issues such as depression.  So, be kind. And if you are personally dealing with such matters, please reach out to someone – a friend, a family member, a loved one, a medical professional, a crisis hotline, anyone…in this era, there is someone out there who is accessible to you and who will listen.        

In solidarity.