Seriously folks, if you own a cat then chances are your awareness of hairballs is pretty damned high already…

Truer words have yet to be uttered.

Some of these days/weeks/months of “awareness” really intrigue me (and not in a particularly positive way). What, seriously, are we to make of such nonsense?

“Get Caught Reading Month�?

This seems to imply that reading is a shameful activity. Low-blow: perhaps it is in the South. I’d prefer a “Get Caught Masturbating Month.”

“Respect for Chickens Day�?

So I guess this means no Mandarin chicken from the local Chinese restaurant on this day. I’m curious, though, what the rationale was behind elevating chickens to such a level of status for a day. Why not eels, for instance, or wildebeest? A “Respect for Bengali Tigers Day” would be an idea that I’d consider getting behind (though I generally love all animals, with the exception of snakes).

“More Than Just A Pretty Face Month�?

I have no idea what the hell this even means, nor why it must last for an entire month.

“Do Dah Day�?

See above. I assume “Oh-Bla-Di-Oh-Bla-Da Day” looked better on paper than it did in action.

Do Dah Day I seem to recall some connection to jazz, or New Orleans, or parades?  Help me people what is it?

That explains the jacked up sound my cat made whilst puking.  She was making me aware of it. 

Science Diet® Hairball Control cat food that has “natural fiber technology.�?

So that’s what happens to old carpet.

“Respect for Bengali Tigers Day�?

I don’t think any animal that makes up its own mind as to whether or not you’ll be dinner has respect issues.

Chickens, on the other hand… well, when vegetarians make an exception for you (chickaterians), you got respect issues. 

And when’s “All the live long” day?

Momma- this is what “doo-da” brings to my dated mind:

The Camptown ladies sing this song,
Doo-da, Doo-da
The Camptown racetrack’s five miles long
Oh, de doo-da day

And while Bengali tigers, although dangerous one-on-one, are disappearing and thus in serious need of attention, hairballs have little or no awareness problem with cat owners.
Tom Lehrer, as usual, has something pertinant to say about the whole idea of holidaying lofty concepts.  He closes his song “National Brotherhood Week” thusly:

It’s only for a week, so have no fear
Be grateful that it doesn’t last all year

I did a search for Do Dah Day and found their homepage:

In 1979, a small group of friends got together and decided to have a party — or so the story goes — and Do Dah Day was born.  The following years saw the party grow into an event raising money for local charities such as the Birmingham Zoo, Avondale Library and the Alabama Theatre.  With so many Do Dah Day volunteers being pet owners and animal lovers, it was a natural progression for the fundraising focus to turn to local animal charities.  Soon Do Dah Day was no longer a party — it had become an all-out festival.

Today, Do Dah Day is Birmingham’s oldest event.  A music festival that in its infancy was enjoyed by 200 fun-loving Birmingham citizens, now sees more than 40,000 people from all over the United States converge on Birmingham’s Historic Highland Parks for a day of fun, food and music with their pets.  Raising more than $536,000 since 1992 for Jefferson County animal shelters, Do Dah Day is one of the city’s most cherished springtime events.

Do Dah Day has always been — and still is today — a 100% volunteer organization, managed by a board of directors that consists of a diverse and eclectic group of local professionals.  The event could not be successful though, without the countless volunteers contributing their time both on the day of the event and, for some, even months before.  The event has proven addictive for many of its volunteers, some of whom can tout more than 10 years of volunteering in T-shirt booths and the like.  People that once lived in the area and volunteered at the festival now fly in from Chicago or drive from Atlanta – their new homes – to man their posts in beer tents and on the music stages.  It’s obvious that without the volunteers and their passion for Do Dah Day and its causes, the event wouldn’t be what it is today.

What began, in the simplest of terms, as an idea, has become a true tradition.  Here’s to 27 years of Do Dah-ing!

Apparently it’s an event specific to Birmingham Alabama.

ooooO! ooooOO! what about “National Dingleberry Awareness day”
or “Stupid Fucking Co-Worker Awareness day”??!?! tell me those wouldnt be good?
You could get the office moron flowers and shit
and tell them your sorry and its not thier fault..

better yet: “Butt babies dont live and its just not fair day”

i get this shit crammed down my throat all of the time..
along with the “be considerate of your co-worker”
bullshit and the “when coping a feel is a
bad thing in the workplace training.”

it all smells like buzzword bullshit to me. once its uttered
theres no taking it back. society has grown way too touchy-feely with
(litigous repricussion[s] too) if you ask me.

you hit this one on the spot Les, another stupid holiday.

..although do-dah day has peaked my interest.
Damnit. Now i’m all ‘aware’.

Hello, my name is leguru and I’m a recovering disrespecter of chicken infertility . . NO, NO, NO    

“Stupid Fucking Co-Worker Awareness day�?

Celebrate that one every day you go to work.

You could get the office moron flowers and shit and tell them your sorry and its not thier fault..

and they’re so busy working that they didn’t remember putting Loctite all over their chairseat.

“Butt babies?” Do I even want to know, Qoayn?