This is National Columnists' Day, courtesy of my brothers and sisters at the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
Full disclosure: Until today I knew nothing about the existence of either the holiday, or the organization.
My bad(s).
The Society was established in 1977 in part to honor the memory of Ernie Pyle, the WW2-era scribe renowned for his shoe-leather reportage, everyman eloquence and personal bravery.
The first Columnists' Day was celebrated in 1995 -- the 40th anniversary of Pyle's death while covering the war in the Pacific.
Today, charming customs such as "take a columnist to lunch" or, even better, "kiss a columnist" are surely appropriate ways to mark the occasion, even if a recent abundance of bad news (Boston, DC, Texas) has put many of us in a pensive rather than festive mood.
But here's wishing a happy National Columnists' Day to all of the people who read what people like me are fortunate enough to do for a living.