Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer got us thinking about that extra day in the calendar during leap year - that would be today - and the possibility of breaking free from the constraints of daily life. The mayor urged Annapolitans to reflect on the gift of an extra 24 hours and not waste it. Consider taking another 10 minutes for lunch, she said.
But why be stingy? If we've got an extra day, let's take it. Why not make leap day an official holiday? Heck, it only comes once every four years. And it would be a day when everyone takes a break from clocks and calendars and savors 24 hours of personal time, free of all the rigors of modern life. Like a well-deserved coffee break, that extra day off might pay productivity dividends by allowing us to recharge our temporal batteries.
It could be spent as the Italians might, kicking back with an espresso or, better yet, indulging in the sweet life. After all, this business of a leap year started with the Romans.
The practice of adding a day to the calendar every four years began in 45 B.C. when Julius Caesar returned to Rome. He cleaned up a chaotic calendar that had the spring equinox falling in winter by adjusting the lengths of the months so there were 365 days in a year, with only one extra day required every four years.
In medieval times, Feb. 29 was not recognized in English law. But folk tradition held that women could propose marriage on that day. If a man refused, he was required to offer compensation ranging from a kiss to a silk gown in order to soften the blow. A few hundred years later, women looking to woo on Feb. 29 were expected to wear a scarlet petticoat.
More recently, leap year has presented a special challenge for an estimated 4 million "leaplings" who were born on Feb. 29. In some countries and cultures, the birthday is observed on Feb. 28, in others on March 1. Still, there are advantages.
Leap day birthday celebrants are invariably younger than their peers and, as they age, should savor the discrepancy. For the rest of us, the holiday might be an occasion for gathering with long-lost friends, smashing clocks or speed dating.
But today, too many of us are likely to take those extra 86,400 seconds for granted. A Feb. 29 holiday would give us a chance to savor the gift of time and remind us to use it wisely.