Sadie's only giving me one shot

This may be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me. So break out your dancin' shoes, Sadie Hawkins, and jump on over here - it's Leap Day!

Finally we have a day that Hallmark hasn't run into the ground. It's a fun day. A historical day. The 366th day. Or maybe just the 60th day every four years depending on how you look at it.

Regardless, I write a column that runs every Friday. The chances of my weekly comments falling on the same day as Feb. 29 seem as far-fetched as the Chinese replacing their chopsticks with sporks.

I look at it as the beginning to the rest of a fun year. Why? We have the Olympics and presidential elections every Leap Year. So let's have some fun.

Want to know why today is called Sadie Hawkins Day? It goes back to an old cartoon that got the tradition from a much earlier time.

The Romans designated this as an extra day on the calendar once every four years because the days just didn't add up right.

So what about Sadie Hawkins? Well, women began pursuing men in leap years during the fifth century in Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about having to wait for men to propose. Patrick relented and allowed women to propose to men on Feb. 29. Bridget then proposed to Patrick, only to be rejected!

Tradition continued in Scotland in 1288 when Queen Margaret declared this day as a day when women could pop the question. The men who refused were faced with a fine in the form of a kiss, a silk dress or a pair of gloves for the lady. Hey, women of today, don't get any ideas, OK?

Then in Al Capp's popular cartoon Li'l Abner, Sadie and every other woman in Dogpatch were allowed to pursue and reel in the most eligible bachelors. Sadie Hawkins Day and Feb. 29 have since become synonymous.

Whatever you do, enjoy this most unusual day.

Thirty days hath September,

April, June and November;

All the rest have thirty-one

Save February, she alone

Hath eight days and a score

Til leap year gives her

one day more.

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