National Irritable Bowel Day

Last week, the Germans celebrated what we decided to call National Irritable Bowel Day.

Well, they didn't really celebrate. Observed might be a better word. And the name is made up by us, we think. If that's not the name, it did look it should have been. A full page and a half in the daily paper dedicated to the bowel and its malfunctions. Unlike the inhabitants of our favorite Isle to the West, Germans don't do all that much potty humor. Erica Jong's observation while traveling in Europe did not concern the humor part.

That morning last week was a bit of a shock, then. The coffee had not kicked in yet, which made reading about the different types of ejection that indicate an irritated bowel more difficult.

Call me squeamish, but reading about projectile sh**ting at breakfast is a bit irritating.

Invoking the aspect of the greater good, of public health in modern society dampened the irritation enough to continue to read.

Mind over matter.

More like mind over fecal matter, growled TheEditor.

Some 14 million (out of about 80) Germans will experience an irritable bowel at some point during the year, the main article said.

Sounds kind of like a large number, but we don't know what it really means. How do the neighboring countries fare? Is the number going up or down, and why?

The good thing, we'd say, is that it happens over the year, not on a single day. The image of such an event is not pretty.

We cannot make fun of a serious effort to help people?

Sure we can.

The all time favorite of the blogster is a piece in the Stars and Stripes of yore. When Suicide Prevention Month was October. It still is?

The author of said article asked "so, does this mean I should wait until November?".

Anyway, we are looking forward to National Pumpkin Appreciation Day in October.


[update] spelling fixed...