Lack of sleep, lots of green madness

Nick Silver

     Despite being the shortest month of the year, February 2010 was filled with disaster. Earthquakes in Haiti and Chile and death at the Winter Olympics could not help March get here fast enough.
      March is home to Passover, Palm Sunday, the first day of Spring and even Dr. Seuss’ birthday. He would be turning 106 years old.
      There are three dates in March to circle on your calendar – two to look forward to and one you are going to lose sleep over.
      Starting with the negative, Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 14, and is going to cost you one precious hour of sleep.  
       For those who need that hour of beauty sleep or are too lazy to change the clock, ask yourself this: “Why can’t California be more like Arizona and just ignore Daylight Saving Time?”
      Arizona is not alone, in fact, Hawaii and Puerto Rico don’t “spring forward” either.  Even though Daylight Saving Time became a federal law in 1986, it isn’t mandatory to participate.
      Some people enjoy that its stays light out longer and others enjoy using the excuse for tardiness “I forgot to change my clock.”  
      Those of us with early classes, however, recognize how painful it is to wake up at 7 a.m. when it feels and looks like 6 a.m.  
      A minor chink in the awesomeness that is March, Daylight Saving Time is followed by the beginning of March Madness.
      Arguably the best tournament in all of sports, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament officially begins Tuesday, March 16, 2010 with an irrelevant game to reduce the field of 65 to 64.  
      The bulk of the tournament begins two days later and will stretch into the first week of April. School spirit takes over the nation as students, alumni and worthless bandwagon fans support their favorite team.
      The tournament is always full of shocking upsets, buzzer-beating shots and Cinderella stories that help make the games unforgettable.
      Anyone and everyone can “participate” in the tournament by filling out a bracket.  Points are awarded for each correct prediction made.
      Filling out tournament brackets is a fun way to follow the tournament and could even be financially lucrative.  Office pools are very common and usually pay the winner a cash prize.
      Yahoo Sports even offers a $100,000 prize to anyone who submits a perfect bracket, one that predicts the winner of every game correctly.  
      While the NCAA tournament lasts almost a month, the pinnacle of the month is March 17, Saint Patrick’s Day.  
      An Irish holiday honoring the most recognized patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is a day of feasting and celebrating for Irish Roman Catholics.  
      Saint Paddy’s Day is looked forward to in the United States, not as a religious celebration, but as a fantastic day of partying and drinking.  
      A love for Saint Patrick’s Day is instilled in children at a very young age. Classrooms are decked out in green, rumors of Leprechauns and pots of gold are in the air and a fear of being pinched almost forces children to follow the worldwide tradition of wearing green.
      While making Leprechaun traps is a common practice in first grade, drinking copious amounts of alcohol is a common practice among adults.  
      Whether it is pounding Guinness or drinking Irish Car Bombs, Americans use Saint Paddy’s Day as another great excuse to drink with your friends.  
      Even though the holiday only lasts one day, the hangovers will inevitably out last Saint Patrick’s Day.  
      Enjoy March, because April, home to Tax Day, will leave you asking yourself – How long until Cinco de Mayo?

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