Sent:        4/17/97 10:23 AM
From:        Message Mistress

This is a reminder that next Monday is Patriots Day.  

As a result, the University has moved Monday to Wednesday, and Wednesday
has been cancelled.  Monday Morning Coffee, bucking this trend in the true
revolutionary spirit, has been moved to Tuesday.  (Members of the
collective especially, please try to remember this.)

Throughout the department, citizens and non-citizens alike are wondering,
"What the heck is Patriots Day?"  As one of the few native-born
Massachusan...  Massachusettsite...Massa...ahem, Greater Bostonians, I will
attempt to give a brief explanation of this holiday.

The observance of Patriots Day dates back over 200 years.  On the third
Monday in April, Colonial Americans would turn out to line the streets from
Hopkinton to Boston, drinking beer and debating whether the Red Sox's
season-opening winning streak would take them to the World Series, or fail
to see out the end of the week.  One year, Concord silversmith Paul Revere
was seen by early tailgaters charging up Heartbreak Hill at midnight.  He
raced to the Not-So-Old-Back-Then North Church and hung a single lantern in
the steeple.  This bright beacon incited the Boston rebels to action.
"Lets dump tea into the harbor!" cried one eager young revolutionary.
"Been there - done that." said all the cool revolutionaries.  "I know,"
said another, "let's ride to Lexington, dress up in funny costumes, load
our muskets with blanks, and have an authentically recreated battle at
dawn!"
 
And the rest was history.  


-MM