To the
Fools and
Sages1 of April
A Letter from
April Associate
Executive Editor
Mikael Thompson
It is often said that Valentine’s Day is a commercialized monstrosity created by the Frankensteins of the greeting card industry to make a few extra bucks as people celebrate once a year what they should celebrate every day. Similarly, Mother’s Day is a sop to the consciences of unfilial children everywhere, Elvis’s birthday is a one-off observation of the spiritual power in all of us, and Labor Day is inherently contradictory. To which we can only say, Thank Elvis Arbor Day’s just one day a year!
By the same token, we at SpecGram abhor the very concept of April Fools’ Day, which is an effort of those bereft of wit and zest to limit to one day the trade we ply year-round. The concomitant commercialization of the leading holiday of western civilization, however, we view as a feature, not a bug. And so, enjoy; and if you do, please tip your server generously.
1 Managing Editor’s Editor-in-Chief’s Note: For those who may feel a sense of déjà vu reading this editorial and the Poisson d’Avril interstitial that preceded it... well, so you should. Those pages and the idea for the false table of contents have, in fact, been stolen borrowed recycled upcycled from our April 2013 issue. The Holidays & Observances Interns figured that after more than a decade, most readers wouldn’t notice—though, of course, true devotees of SpecGram surely spotted the ruse right away! (And a hearty welcome to all of our subscribers at the Palimpsest and higher tiers!)
