Until a decade ago, Casimir Pulaski was a stranger to me. Then I moved to Chicagoland with school-age children. Ok, I'll admit, Casimir Pulaski remained a mystery -- except for that there is a street named after him not far from our home.
"Pulaksi," I said, "Sure I've heard of it. There's a Walgreens on the corner."
Of course that's almost every corner around here, but nonetheless I learned new American history in my new hometown -- and I thought I knew it all. After all, I grew up in Philadelphia where Americana polka-dotted my childhood -- the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross' house, Independence Hall. Then, through the power of the internet -- yet nary a native Chicagoan or my children -- I discovered Pulaski was born in Poland and fought bravely in the Revolutionary War. He is a known as a war hero in both Poland and the United States -- and with a few Polish roots running under my family tree I was glad to add the Pulaski portrait to my mental library of colonial fathers. And on September 13, 1977 the Illinois General Assembly declared the first Monday in March be observed as a holiday throughout the State.
Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw, so it makes sense the community would revel in honoring one of its own. But with a day at home -- when parents have to schedule the day off or arrange for supplemental childcare? When garbage doesn't get picked up (depending where you live) and libraries are closed? A parade? On a weekend? You bet. But the "let's close the schools in honor of our heroes" philosophy seems foolhardy. Many children are under-educated and unsupervised and in need of more hours and days in school, not fewer -- not to mention many parents need to work a full day and get a full day's pay. As a work-at-home divorced mom with two teenagers, it's easier for me to embrace an extra day off than it was when my kids were younger -- but that's not the case for everyone.
In Illinois -- as in the rest of the United States -- the pinnacle of appreciation and respect is to declare someone 'a holiday' -- and to let our kids watch extra TV and put mattresses on sale. I don't mean to single out Casimir Pulaski -- he and the discounts are in good company throughout the year with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
And how about the kids? They just know it's a long weekend. And while they're fully versed in all things Washington, Lincoln, Columbus and King -- when I just asked them about Pulaski they said, "You know, that's where Walgreens is."
I nodded my head and added history into the day for good measure.
