(CK)

Always on the lookout for a way to break up the monotonous work/school week, this March 3 we celebrate National Anthem Day! The day that “The Star-Spangled Banner” was birthed.

While often overshadowed by the ever-popular Fourth of July on the patriotic Richter scale, National Anthem Day is still worth celebrating, particularly for those of you looking for a distraction between post-Valentines/pre-St. Paddy Day brew ha has.

The Star-Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key on Sept 13, 1814, was originally a poem and not adopted as the Nation’s anthem by Congress until 1931. The story behind the catchy tune that’s graced ball-games, monster truck shows, and fancy firework exhibits from state to state, from sea to shining sea, is really, quite inspirational.

When Francis Scott Key boarded a British Vessel in the Chesapeake Bay to secure the release of fellow countryman and patriot, Dr. William Beanes, Washington D.C. had just been burnt to the ground. Fort McHenry, visible from the Bay, was under heavy fire. To Key’s dismay, he was detained on the British fleet overnight, unsure of whether or not the Fort would still be standing in the morning.

When the first light of dawn shone on the ragged soot stained flag over Fort Meyer, Key was so overwhelmed and inspired he felt compelled to pen our national anthem.

Slightly less inspiring is dodgy March weather, where sporadic rainstorms have a tendency to spoil odiferous beach side bon-fire BBQs, normally associated with patriotic holidays. If stormy skies are looming on the horizon, an in-door weenie roast, complete with pasta salad (see recipe) and washed down with an all American lager, such as PBR, may be just the ticket.

In any event, whether you’re stuck at your cubicle, work desk or classroom, anywhere the “foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,” take a moment to appreciate our Star-Spangled Banner and meditate on libation, I mean liberation.