Shots heard 'round the world; or, why I get a 3-day weekend

When I first moved to Massachusetts, I was pleased to see that they have official observance of a holiday that, afaik, no other state, nor the feds, seem to recognize: Patriot's Day, which commemorates (even if doesn't always fall on) April 19th. April 19th of 1775, in case you didn't recall, was the battles of Concord and Lexington, the date many use as the actual start of the War for Independence, aka the Revolutionary War. I've toured the Concord battle site a couple times, and it never fails to elicit a little misting up around the eyes. I can't help but be impressed with the guts it must have taken for the colonists to have not only decided they'd had enough of British oppression, but that they were going to do something about it - and then to face fire from actual British troops. Impressive, amazing. Just as we commemorate July 4th, I think it's important to commemorate April 19th. A lot of things about Mass. may irk me, but I'm glad they celebrate this here.

In other "things to commemorate" news, it's Passover. You don't have to be Jewish, or even religous, to find it worth celebrating the liberation of the Jews from slavery, and by extension, the very idea of liberation from slavery and oppression. How nice that, this year at least, these two holidays coincide.