Rant #3,077: Hail To the Chief

Happy Presidents’ Day.

Notice where I put the possessive—after the “s” in “Presidents,” because I do believe it really belongs there.

I have put up “Presidents’ Day” with the possessive after the “t” in “Presidents,” and I have left it off all together in the past, but I do believe that the proper way to do it is to put the possessive after the “s,” because this is a day for all of our Presidents, whether we are talking about Washington or Lincoln or even Arthur or Polk or Obama or Trump or Biden or Carter.

Jimmy Carter is 98 years of age, and it was reported that he is in hospice care, that he agreed to live out his life at home in that situation, which means he is taking no further drugs, or will have no further surgeries, to keep him going.

I wish him well.

This is a guy who conquered brain cancer, and he has developed into a real fighter in his later years …

Unlike when he was on the international stage as our President, where he was a powder puff, probably one of the worst Commanders-In-Chief we ever had, a true one-term leader if there ever was one.

But today is his day too, and even though we know that the inevitable is coming, we wish him well.

Here are some of my thoughts on Presidents’ Day, as I posted them in Rant #1,845, on February 17, 2017:

“On Monday, we celebrate Presidents Day, the day we honor our commander in chiefs from all eras, from George Washington to Donald Trump, everyone in between.

It is really a day that we honor the office of the presidency, and what it means to us as a nation.

When I was a kid, since Washington and Lincoln--two of our most important presidents--were born in the same month, we used to have two holidays, one for each of their birthdays.

I don't know how many years ago we combined them into one, single holiday, but it has been some time, that I do know.

So Presidents Day it is, and most importantly, it is a day of respect, a day that we look at all of our presidents, and the office that they have held, and give it the respect that it deserves ...

Even if we don't like a particular president.”

Notice that I did not use any possessive way back six years ago, but since the day is for ALL or our Presidents, well, I do believe that a possessive is needed.

But just for the sake of that post, I did not edit it the way I think now; leave it as the way I thought back then.

One can change, you know.

And this is not a very good segue way, but ...

Over the weekend, Stella Stevens and Richard Belzer both left us, and while I don’t have that much to say on either one of them, their passings should be noted.

Stevens was another actress in the “Marilyn Monroe-wannabe” line of beautiful women who tried to pick up Monroe’s mantel of our top sex symbol, but she never really got even near that level, although she did have many successes in her career, including her roles in “the Nutty Professor” and “The Poseidon Adventure.”

And unlike the also recently-departed Raquel Welch, she was quoted as being pretty much satisfied with her career work and her place in Hollywood.

And she WAS a beautiful woman with an absolutely killer figure too, so Stevens proved that you can have it both ways if you really want to.

Belzer was a pretty funny and well-known comedian like several other comics of his day, but he proved that comics can act—and can be serious—if given the opportunity.

He became a mainstay of the “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)” TV franchise, and he was associated with that show for such a long time that I doubt most people even knew that he started his career as a stand-up comic who appeared on every variety and talk show that was around when he way plying that trade.

So kudos to Stevens and Belzer, and may they R.I.P.

With all that wrapped up into one Rant entry, have a great Presidents’ Day, and I will speak to you again tomorrow …

And let’s keep former President Carter in our thoughts; he surely needs all the help he can get right now.