Happy Morse Code Day

You probably didn't know that April 27th, Samuel Morse's birthday,  is Morse Code Day and even if you did, my guess is that you forgot. So I have been pondering on how to celebrate Morse Code Day. What is the appropriate protocol for gift giving, celebrations, etc...?

A quick scan of the Hallmark Card site yielded no Morse Code Day cards. I suppose if there were any celebratory Morse Code Day cards they would be written in Morse Code characters, which non-Morse Code knowing people think is clever. The problem is we hear morse code, we don't write it. so it is painful to sound out the characters in your head to interpret the clever message, ....  .-  .--.  .--.  -.--   -- --- .-.  ...  .   -.-.  ---  -..  .  -..  .-  -.--  .-.-.-. Irritating isn't it. So I dimissed the card idea.

Then I went to the party supply store to see what party favors might be available, you know, Morse Code Day plates, napkins, forks, center piece ideas, little plastic morse keys and other morse related party items.  I was very disappointed at the selection. Basically there was nothing. When I asked for assistance, the lady looked at me as if  I had gone mad. "Morse Code Day, is this a joke? I insisted that there must be some unboxed supply of Morse Code Day merchandise in the back of the store. After a frustrating debate with the lady on the relavance of Samuel Morse, I thought I should leave before she called security.

Not to be discouraged, I went by the local bakery so see what Morse Code Day cakes they might have prepared in advance to beat the rush. Either I was too late or the baker forgot. There were no Morse cakes prepared, so I inquired about a custom cake. After I heard the cost of the cake, I realized what a waste of money that would be since there were no Morse plates and no Morse forks with which to enjoy the Morse cake with. How inappropriate.

Then I thought about dropping hints to my wife about Morse Code Day so that she might surprise me with a thoughtful Morse Code Day gift. But how? She probably has no idea who Samuel Morse is  and I'm  sure she probably thinks is "morris code" anyway. So I thought about starting a Morse Code Day awareness campaign with a public demonstration at the park, with news coverage, a collection of old code keys and even a "Learn Your Name in Morse" workshop. But then I thought of all the work that might be and it's very possilble the turn out might not meet my expectations and I would become frustrated. So like the other ideas, I abandoned this one as well.

Then I thought of getting myself a gift in celebration of Samuel Morse's creation, so what would be the appropriate gift? Obviously a morse code key would be appropriate. However before I even knew of  Morse Code Day, I had to self impose a "morse key in , morse key out" rule because of the space my morse key museum were taking up. I couldn't decide which key I wanted to sacrifice, so I gave up on that idea as well.

So what to do, no cards, no cakes and no keys. As I pondered the situation, I concluded to just forget about Morse Code Day, which is what most people do anyway.