Whitsuntide!

Holy kapowski. Not many Germans appear to worship Jesus, but a whole lot of them do worship holidays. We have ANOTHER one, tomorrow, "Whit Monday," following Whitsuntide, the day of Pentecost.

Two people have already told me I'll have to find something else to do tomorrow, since it is a "holiday." Then I point out that (a) the state cannot deny me the chance to work, if I want, by declaring religious holidays, something the state has no business doing in the first place; and (b) I have a key, a device that magically turns a wall into a door. A glazed look appears on my interlocutors: "But...it is a HOLIDAY." Yeah, well, I got yer "holiday" right HERE.

Reminds me of a joke. An American, a Polish guy, and a German walk into a bar. The barkeep is cleaning the bar, so they have a seat at a window table, which they normally don't do. Suddenly a huge truck, with failed brakes, crashes through the wall and kills all three of them.

Seconds later, all three stand before St. Peter, rather dazed by the rapid turn of events. St. Peter checks the "Big Book," and then slams down his fist. "Oh, HELL!* The schedule is wrong. You weren't supposed to be at that table."

The three blink at each other.

St. Peter gets a stack of papers, and says, "Look, fill these out. I know the bureaucracy up here is a problem, but if you fill out these forms, and pay 500 euros each, I'll get back each of you back into your bodies and you won't have to die until your real time comes."

All three start protesting. "Not our fault! 500 euros? Are you kidding?"

St. Peter, busy and harrassed, says, "FINE! Fine. I'll give you 50% off. But that's my final offer."

A few minutes later, the American wakes up with a sheet over his face. He sits up rapidly, and a nurse in the room starts screaming! "AHHHHH! HE'S ALIVE! HE WAS DEAD, BUT HE'S ALIVE!"

Doctors rush in, and ask the guy how this could happen, since he had been dead for an hour. The American tells the story about St. Peter and the paperwork and the 250 Euro.

The doctors are skeptical, of course. They point to the inert bodies in the next two beds. "Okay, but then why aren't the Pole and the German back, too?"

The American shrugs, and says, "I'm an American! As soon as I heard it was a 50% off sale, I whipped out my credit card. Last I saw, the Pole was trying to negotiate an even LOWER price. And the German guy just sat down on the curb, and was waiting for the state to come pay the bill."

The point being that "The State" is just something that you people made up, a bogeyman, no more real than Santa Claus or unicorns. It doesn't actually exist, except as a bunch of grasping and conniving politicians. The State certainly cannot tell me not to go to work. I can pay my own way, if the State will just leave me the hell alone. If all of Germany wants to sit on the curb tomorrow, and wait for the state, that's fine, but let me work.

*Heehee.