Today is a special day.
Not today the day I’m writing this. It is a special day, I suppose, as I am writing these words right here on Valentine’s day. Last week’s issue is coming out tomorrow, and this evening, we’re picking up a charcuterie board and watching romantic movies. So, yes, today is a special day.
Nor do I mean the day you’re reading this, which could be any time in the future. For all I know you broke in to my house and are reading tomorrow’s news (or rather, two weeks from now news) today.
But the date the paper comes out? It’s a pretty special day.
It’s coming out on February 29.
Yes, first leap year in four years. But more importantly, this is the third newspaper in February.
The way the newspaper works is that every month, there are two issues. And because most months are 30 or 31 days, that means every month each issue comes sooner and sooner in the month until one month you have three issues that month.
And every year, there are two months with the potential of three issues.
The one month that doesn’t happen in, though, is February.
It’s mathematically improbable. If the first issue comes out February 1, the next issue comes out on February 15, and the third issue comes out February 29.
And February 29 only happens once every four years.
Since the paper is published on a Thursday, the chance of three issues happening is slim.
But not, as you have discovered, impossible. Just improbable.
The leap year cycle repeats every 400 years, or 20,871 weeks with 97 leap days.
Over this period, February 29 falls on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday 13 times each; 14 times each on Friday and Saturday; and 15 times each on Monday and Wednesday.
Leap years go: Thursday, Tuesday, Sunday, Friday, Wednesday, Monday, Saturday, then back to Thursday.
So that means every 32 years sees three Thursdays in February.
Which doesn’t seem like a long time, but the last time this happened was 1996. I was 26 years old (sigh). Bill Clinton was just starting his second term as president. The first flip phone (not iPhone, flip phone) went on sale. It was the year that unleashed the Macarena on an unsuspecting world. Independence Day was the biggest movie of the year, followed by Twister and a little movie called Mission: Impossible.
On TV, the show Babylon 5 made the turn from being just another sci-fi TV show into the best show ever. I remember watching it and thinking that was the best season finale ever. Then the voice over came on: “Next week on Babylon 5…” and I would squeal in glee. The following week, the same thing would happen.
Here’s the thing, though. In another 32 years, I’ll be 85 years old, Lord willing. The chances of me still running the paper will be slim to none.
So not only will this be the first time there’s three of this fine newspaper in February, it’s most likely going to be the only time, unless we go weekly.
So, wait. Having three papers in February means that there are five Thursdays in the month. And if that happens once every 32 years, maybe that meme I saw that said “March 2024 has five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays. This happens only once every 823 years. The Chinese call it “silver pockets full” or “money bags,” might be overstating its case, too.
Yes, indeed.
The next time there is a month with five Fridays, Five Saturdays and Five Sundays will be August 2025.
The next time after that will be May 2026.
Indeed, nearly every year will have a month that has five Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
By which I mean, other years will have two such occasions. Some years have three.
The last time March had five weekends in it? Was 2019.
That’s five years, or about 818 years sooner than the meme predicts.
The next time it will happen is in 2030, or six years down the line.
So, nowhere close to every 823 years.
But here’s the thing. Time passes. The number of times I’ll see a Thursday, February 29 in my life, (again, Lord willing) is three times. The number of times I’ll see Hailey’s comet is once (1986). The number of times I’ll see the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in my lifetime is … never, maybe? (That’s okay by me. Go Habs.)
Time passes. Life passes. And the things that we thought would be forever? We learn aren’t.
Which brings us back to Grace. She lived her life every day, following where it led her.
She lived a life dedicated to helping others, to pitching in, to making this place a better place.
There are not enough Grace Walshes in this world and now there’s one less. One less person to pitch in. One less person to step forward and define the Tumbler Ridge experience for so many people.
As we mourn her loss and celebrate her life, I would call on all of us to consider doing one more thing: to emulate her example.
There’s not enough coaches for soccer you say, but the only difference between you and the coaches that are there? Is they stepped forward and volunteered.
Because it’s those people—rhe ones who volunteer to flip pancakes for the Lions, or to plan next year’s Grizfest or to clear the local trails or help set out chairs for Remembrance Day—who make this community more vibrant. More alive. More exciting and interesting for us all.
Yes, it’s okay to get paid to do your job, but to do something to help others simply because you love the people of this town? That’s grace.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.