People know I like odd little holidays. Sunday is one them. It is national For Pete’s Sake Day.
That may sound silly, primarily because it really is, but Tom and Ruth Roy submitted it to the Chase Calendar of Events, where it was accepted and listed. So, it’s as official as, well, anything like that can be.
It even has its own Facebook page, proving once again that everybody and everything in the world does.
The phrase is a minced oath, a euphemistic expression that is socially and politically more acceptable than similar expressions that contain unacceptable words, especially on Facebook. But it’s a surprisingly useful one that you may find yourself using Sunday in any number of situations.
Recently, for example, I noticed a faucet I had purchased was leaking. The thing is I spent a ridiculous amount of money on the faucet because the company swore it would never leak. What can you say in a situation like that except, “Oh, for Pete’s sake.”
Or, what can you say when you’re at a wedding reception, and those trousers you haven’t worn in 10 years splits its seam just as you stand up to make the big toast? Yup, there’s only one thing, especially if you’re in a church. You might think other things, but you’ll say, “Oh, for Pete’s sake.”
Say you have to call a help line because something you really need has stopped working, and the recorded voice says in broken English, “Your call is very important to us. The next representative will be available in …” Then the computer kicks in and says, “45 minutes,” when you have to be at work in 30. What can you possibly do except roll your eyes and cry, “Oh, for Pete’s sake.”
The phrase is especially convenient when you discover the cat has developed some sort of weird litter box phobia and has chosen to use a spot in the living room behind the philodendron instead. That way the kids will know you’re going to send the cat to a pet psychologist instead of someplace worse, like a wood chipper.
I remember a time many years ago when a couple of friends and I were watching an American Football League game on TV. In the last critical couple of minutes, when the game was at stake, the network suddenly switched to the movie “Heidi.” A lot of extremely unkind things were said about Heidi, Grandfather and even some of the goats, but it would have been more civil to say, “Oh, for Pete’s sake.”
It’s a phrase that may come to mind when you open your Naperville utility bill and find it has gone up again, despite the fact that you’ve put a timer in the shower and switched all the lights to low-wattage LEDs. The house now has the gloomy ambience of a drafty Medieval castle.
Perhaps, on your way out of town for a meeting, you drop by the library to return some overdue books and find there isn’t a parking place anywhere. I mean anywhere. You use the phrase, then seriously consider, if only briefly, mailing them the stupid books.
I say the phrase when I turn on the news and learn that instead of just shooting each other, which we would frown upon but probably tolerate, gang members have again killed some cute kids, or when I learn the standoff in Springfield is costing folks their educations and their jobs.
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I recently used it when I picked up the paper and read that, in its 2016-17 report, Amnesty International now lumps the United States in with the Philippines and Turkey as countries whose administrations are pushing back human rights.
Tuesday is Fat Tuesday. I hope you enjoy your Mardi Gras celebration and have a bunch of fun. But when your friends find you in your costumes and finery, I hope they don’t have to say … well, you know.