Leaping on the Leap Day of the Leap Year

“Ten lords a-leaping” is the familiar line from the 12 days of Christmas children’s song, to some, “10” symbolizing the Ten Commandments. Others with a more secular bent, as the French song’s origin seem to support, the lords may just be leaping over the prospect of their lady’s petticoat captured on Epiphany, given that the children’s song first found print in Mirth without Mischief.

Hardly the kind of thoughts one might be hoarding at the onset of Lent. But then, there ain’t no more petticoats around, so that’s academic. Still, the leaping in Arizona and Michigan on Leap Day this Leap Year has nothing to do with thoughts over Christmas, though mirth and mischief seem to have prevailed.

Mitt Romney’s candidacy did get a boost over his lead versus Rick Santorum in the primaries, but not too much. Santorum got a boost in Michigan from Democrats who mischievously went out to vote for Santorum on the assumption that the former Pennsylvania senator would be a better patsy to handle come November.

There is not much leaping from the White House one way or the other though it is true that a Santorum-leading ticket would polarize the Republicans to the religious right. The senator’s singular issue of homophobia and anti-abortion plays to a limited audience. Newt Gingrich would be a Democrat’s dream Republican candidate, but that would invite too much leaping we can’t afford with the tenuous tectonic plates already loosened up by the extra liquid from climate change!

Islamic Malaysia is leaping on its concert toes as a group of Muslims got ruffled by a promo photo of Dallas-born Erykah Badu with the word “Allah” tattooed on her shoulders, resulting in the abrupt cancellation of her stage appearance until feathers are unruffled, if that is possible at all.

Feathers are ruffled in Kashgar, the cultural center of the Uighurs in Xinjiang province, better known for last year’s Urumqi unrest as the majority Uighurs reclaim their power from the perceived carpet-bagging dominant Hans of China. From the western gate of the ancient Silk Road, Kashgar’s Uighurs are Turkic, among the many residing in oases cities ringing the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang Province. Nestorian Christians using Syriac writing before converting to Islam and the Arabic Koran, they nevertheless retain Cyrillic among its functioning letters.

Street riots exploded in Kashgar this week killing at least 10, timed serendipitously while the United Nations condemns Syria, after its representative walks out of the Human Rights Commission’s meeting, and Syria attempts to convince the world that its hastily approved constitution in a recent referendum, the first in 50 years of authoritarian rule, legitimately retains President Assad at the nation’s helm and approved another 14 years of his rule if he gets re-elected. Many members of the international community led by the United States and Europe immediately characterized both the referendum and the constitution as a “farce.”

A lot of turbaned leaping in the desert this week, south of the Tian Shan, the heavenly heights shared by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. “Ten lords a-leaping” would be more like ten thousand Mujahedeens!

Our mild leaping today is more over puddles as last week’s freak snowstorm melts under the sun. We do relish the rare experience of a campus still shrouded in silence even as neighboring Normal Teachers and Liaoning Universities welcome their returning students. Our students are not slated to come back until tomorrow so our fancy footwork over the puddles in the deserted university avenues is nothing but sheer quiet delight.

Not so with the folks over at CHC where their head honchos are elbowing it with their counterpart in California while the hired medical help struggle with their own internal issues of support and service against a seemingly opportunistic CNMI Legislature and an acquiescing administrative staff. We will leap one for the two MDs braving it before the Senate on Capital Hill, along with the news that Al Santos will be handling CHC’s financial books henceforth!

So, what has this got to do with leap day on leap year? A lot of leaping friggin’ chefs in UK, if I know. But the additional day in February has been known to hold crazy decisions and unusual occurrences where the ordinary rules are suspended and anything goes. Almost like the traditional sense of the fiesta. With our getting more dependent on the feds rather than our local means, a crazy day may just be what the CHC MD ordered! Since Liberation month is forthcoming, we might start liberating ourselves from many of the pieces of luggage that tie us to our illusions.

Where do we begin? First, the obvious. Casino is not the messiah. Besides, it is not coming. So forget that one and move on. See, it is easy. Second, Governor Fitial and his ilk are not the problem, nor are perceived deficiencies of the past, the constraint and contradiction. We are the ones we have been waiting for! Until we decide to be the solution, there won’t be any. This is the day we have. We can dance this day, or whine it away. This is the day we have!

It’s a Leap Year. Take a leap of faith in ourselves. We might just find the answer we have been waiting for.

Jaime R. Vergara (jrvergarajr2031@aol.com) is a former PSS teacher and is currently writing from the campus of Shenyang Aerospace University in China.