When I first lived in Colorado, I lived in the basement of an old Victorian home near downtown Colorado Springs, when one early Saturday morning, I woke up to the sound of water "gulping up"somewhere in my bathroom.

Inspecting the scene, I came across the most disgusting site I had seen in quite awhile: Raw sewage - yes, all the yucky stuff you flush down the toilet - was slowly spewing up through my shower drain! I freaked out and quickly called my landlord, only to find out that the old pipes and antiquated sewer system in the historic neighborhood had lots of problems, and occasionally this kind of thing would happen. Goodness! I washed and scrubbed the entire bathroom out but was still grossed out for a whole bunch of days afterwards. The "silver lining in the clouds" was that motivated me to move and find a new place in Manitou Springs shortly after.

Sometimes poop, er uh, you-know-what happens in life, doesn't it? ;)

A New Holiday To Put On the Calendar!

This newly-formed holiday is named the ColoradoGuy Poo Poo Day, and it's dedicated to honoring, reflecting, teasing, learning from and fighting back towards all things related to poopiness, poopy people, poopy attitudes and poopy circumstances.

So what is this new holiday really all about? Well, two images immediately come to mind when I think of the word "poopy". Let's start there:

1) Life really is hard and it can make things poopy! Anyone with life experience knows that life will deal you blows whether you like them or not. Let's see, off the top of my head: People get raped. Loved ones die. Hearts are broken. Friends betray us. Bankrupcy devastates us. We hate our jobs. Our bodies fail. Violence at home. Sexual Abuse. Addictions haunt us. Terrorism. Vehicles break down. We grow old. Unpaid bills loom over us. You're misunderstood. Divorce runs rampant. Fear immobilizes. Mistrust. We don't reach our dreams. And God seems quite aloof in all this sometimes. Enough said?

Well, for those of you who can really identify with the "poopiness of life" that's described in the above paragraph, then my heart goes out to you! I hope that this silly little holiday will at least put a smile on your face, or at most, rekindle a fire in your soul to press on with courage in your life path!

When I see someone hurting, I do my best not to give trite or patronizing advice as a thoughtless reaction. Heck, sometimes the most painful things can be said by well-intentioned folks who are just trying to help. Am I right or what? Heh heh!

2) Poopy people in general, regardless of their circumstances! Now this second image that comes to mind, I must confess, is drastically different from the "Life really is hard" category above. This part of the holiday is dedicated to those of us who have to put up with poopy behavior, poopy attitudes and poopy people in general. If you're a poopy person related to this category, it's my desire that ColoradoGuy Poo Poo Day will poke your heart with a fair amount of discomfort. Perhaps you'll even be a little annoyed! (Yes you! I'm talking about you right here!) This is, of course, all for the purpose of helping you lighten up a bit for your own good, as well as the people around you.

Now don't get me wrong! I am not saying that those of you who are struggling with real and significant problems in your life shouldn't necessarily feel disappointed, sad, depressed, down, etc. No, you very well should feel those feelings when they are over legitimate crises that life throws at us.

Rather, my challenge is to those who allow pettiness, negativity, insecurities, jealousy and moodiness to dominate their day-to-day behavior even when things are going relatively well in their lives. My very original idea for ColoradoGuy Poo Poo Day came when there was a recent flurry of "poo poo" posts on my forums: People personally attacking me, regular visitors announcing their leaving and dramatically "stomping off", folks giving into insecurities and highly overreacting and others being just plain ol' drama queens. (I apologize if this stings; Yet some of you need to read this.)

For those of you who (for what ever poopy reason) need to post negative crap on my forums, please do so only on the brand-new "Poopy Forum". Do all your fighting, drama, emotionalism and personal attacks towards me on that forum only. Like the old neighborhood I lived in, I've got to keep the verbal plumbing in check, and that means keeping all cyber-poopiness out of the other forums! Catch my drift? ;)

Other Ways to Celebrate This Ridiculous Holiday

When I first began telling people (just two days ago) about my idea of celebrating a ColoradoGuy Poo Poo Day, the most common response I received were those thinking of plain ol' poop. You know, turd ... feces. Uh, if that's what keeps coming to your mind and you somehow want to celebrate it with that icky brown stuff at the forefront, then I suggest that you get involved in the Bathroom Humor Lounge, read the Palmer High School Marching Band story, or see a photo of a buffalo taking a whiz in my Breckenridge roadtrip pictorial.

Then of course, there's poo poo platter that's commonly found on most Chinese restaurant menus. You know, I've never had the Poo Poo Platter in my life. Does anyone know what the dish is made with? Is it good? Please share your thoughts by clicking on this Poo Poo Platter link in the Food Forum! :)

Lastly, for those of you who regularly frequent the Politics Discussion Forum, then you may already be acquainted with the labels of "poopy liberal" or "poopy conservative". I'll just leave it at that and see if you allow yourself to get involved with that forum. Them folks have lots of fun in there! :)

Final Thoughts

Okay, I'll admit it, the ColoradoGuy Poo Poo Day is a messed up holiday alright, but hey, we folks in Manitou Springs have the annual Fruitcake Toss every winter, so what the heck? Also, I could always use a landmark holiday in late January that would mark the end of the holiday season and kick off the Hair Consultant election (which begins with candidates making campaign announcements in February and leading to voting in mid-April). The Hair Consultant election ... now there's a funky holiday of mine! ;)

Have a wonderful Friday celebrating this glorious holiday. HAPPY COLORADOGUY POO POO DAY! Celebrate it however the heck you like. Have a great one!

And uh, for those of you who still live in that downtown Colorado Springs neighborhood with occasional sewage problems, I offer my sincere condolences if you're still having back-up problems from time to time! Sheeesh! Maybe this holiday will been more meaningful for you! :O

Love, Steve :)