Leaping around, behind, ahead

I was watching an episode of the new iteration of Quantum Leap last week. The show is based on the premise that the main character, Ben Song, leaps from one person’s consciousness to another, helping solve problems in that person’s life, and all this takes place back and forth across history. 

 

(It really is an excellent show, and if you were a fan of the original version of the show with Scott Bakula, you will likely enjoy this one. The first two seasons have been very good.)

As I watched this show, which airs on NBC, I noticed they had the Olympic logo under the peacock symbol that represents the network. 

 

Then I looked at a calendar and serendipity slapped me right in the face.

 

This very column will be published on Leap Day, February 29, 2024! What are the chances of that? 

 

Of course, I looked that up. It won’t happen again for another 28 years when Leap Day will fall on a Thursday, the day this newspaper is distributed. The chances that I’ll still be in this space in 28 years is somewhere between slim and none… and slim already left town.

 

Leap Year happens every four years. Seeing the Olympic symbol, another event that happens every four years, is what put me on this path. Okay, so there are technically Olympics every other year, but the summer and winter versions each happen once in four years. 

 

The Olympics are fun. There are always some events I want to watch. Swimming, volleyball, and gymnastics are cool to watch in the summertime. Downhill skiing, the luge, and curling can be enjoyable in the winter. 

 

But do I want to watch those events every single year? Negative, mi amigo. Watching athletes compete at the highest level is enjoyable for many things, but not being a major fan of any of that means that the Olympics are spaced just far enough apart to keep me interested as they occur. 

 

I could do without the nonsense of a presidential election every four years, but here we are again. Wait, didn’t this just happen? It looks like we’re in for a rerun this year. 

 

Having an election for the highest office in the land every four years does make sense. It gives a person an opportunity to accomplish something while also limiting the time in which that person could do too much damage.

 

But more and more, it seems like the election cycle starts soon after the last one ends. Don’t these people ever want to get some work done? Instead, they’re campaigning right away. I’ve often said that if I were elected President, one of my first actions would be trying to make it so you can’t do anything for the November election until January of that calendar year, at the earliest. 

 

I remember the first election I voted in, when I chose Bill Clinton for President in 1992. It was so exciting to go and cast my vote, but it seemed like an eternity until we had another election! Now, I wish we could go longer before hearing about the power-hungry circus acts who get chosen to run.

 

We count on Leap Year every four years to even out the 365 and a quarter days it takes us to go around the sun. However, in my research, I discovered that there actually isn’t a Leap Day every four years. Due to some math beyond my ability to explain, the year 2100 will not have a February 29! I won’t be around for that, but there’s a chance some of my students might be! (Look it up for why this happens. I read it a couple of times and still don’t quite get it. But I don’t really have to worry, do I?)

 

Events that happen every four years are known as quadrennial. The Olympics, presidential elections, and Leap Year are the three things that we all know about. Perhaps there are other things that happen every four years. I couldn’t find anything in nature, but those things tend to be cyclical, relating to a trip around the sun. Class reunions tend to go in five-year cycles. I’m sure there are other happenings, but they are probably localized and not well known to the general masses.

 

Having a birthday on February 29 is the rarest of occasions. When I looked it up, it was thought there are about five million people alive with that birthday. There are plenty of jokes about when they actually are old enough to get your driver’s license or buy an alcoholic drink. I looked up famous people with that birthday, but most of them were unknown to me. Except for Superman! He’s not from Earth anyway, so February 29 seems apropos.

 

Take a leap of faith on February 29! Or go outside and leap across the streams of melting snow. You could play leapfrog with someone. Or you could just get ready to turn the calendar to March and leap ahead to the next month.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is nutant, which means drooping or nodding, as in, “His nutant head struck his chest as he fell asleep early after all the leaping around that day.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!