No Mysteries Under the Sun

Today is April 15th and in America, that means Income Tax Day. I must apologize that the day kind of sneaked up on me so once again I'm caught without buying any Income Tax Day presents or putting up the Income Tax Day tree. I don't know, I guess I've lost the old Income Tax Day spirit of my youth. I mean, does anyone appreciate the true meaning of Income Tax Day? 

OK, smash up Christmas with filing income taxes and beat it mercilessly into the ground? Check!  

I finished and filed my federal taxes Friday. State taxes have always been a bear for me so I tend to put those off longer. I also tend to always have to pay money to the state. Here in North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory is a Republican and the legislature is solidly in GOP control. Yet my state income taxes are higher? Weird! I thought those damn free spending liberal Democrats were causing my high taxes. What the hell, guys? 

Besides tax time, mid-April brings us full court press into spring. It teased us a bit in the previous weeks but it's here now for sure. Grass is growing, flowers are blooming and the golden yellow coat of weaponized pollen is everywhere!

God, I hate spring! And summer too! And it's a hatred driven by fashion choices. Or my lack there of. 

On the BBC series Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch, our high functioning sociopath loves to strut about London in a long black overcoat. He looks so cool, so badass.  

When it's cold, I love to wear my Sherlock coat. Actually, to call it a "Sherlock coat" is an insult to the actual "Sherlock coat." It may be in fact an insult to all coats. It's a long black overcoat that's over 20 years old and has seen better days. But damn I love that coat. I love the way it flaps about me like a cape in a winter wind.  I may not actually look badass in my coat but I certainly feel that way. 

In the warmer months, I must forego my coat. I must forego all my preferred fashion choices in favor of polo shirts and (ugh!) khakis. Nobody has ever looked badass in a polo shirt and khakis. Nobody! 

Well, that's life in the real world. In the world of Sherlock, the skies are mostly grey and the wind always has the brittle edge of a winter's chill. Sherlock Holmes is never called up to solve crimes in hot weather. Or if the lure of a nigh-impossible case does come around in the depths of summer and he still insists on the coat, the world's greatest consulting detective is heading for some serious heat exhaustion. Maybe Sherlock has special cooling equipment lining his coat?  Could I do that? 

Before I wrap this up, here are some reheated Tweets on the subject of lesser known cases of Sherlock Holmes.

All righty then! I can't cause any more damage around here. Thanks for dropping by! Here's hoping you have a Happy Income Tax Day. And may you find someway to look badass, even in (yuck!) pastels.  

Until next time, be good to one another. 

Dave-El 

I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You