Mid-Century Report: October 18, 2050
Century College will cancel classes Thursday and Friday as part of the traditional holiday to commemorate “MEA.”
“It is a solemn time of year,” the college’s president said via virtual reality feed from Mars. “We must never forget what MEA means to all of us.”
Yet the college’s (adjunct) history instructor is unable to fully explain the holiday: “We know that MEA must have been very important to our ancestors, because they devoted a 4-day weekend to honoring it every year. So we try to honor it in the same way they did. Whatever it is.”
Similar confusion surrounds the holidays “St. Jimmy’s Day” and “Metro Allies Day” that take place sometime in the spring, although the exact dates of their celebration vary according to a complex formula understood by only a few. This similarity to Easter leaves some to believe that they were originally religious in nature, yet their observance continues even though Century College receives nearly 1% of its operating budget from public, government money.
We can only hope that the spirit of MEA lives on in our attempt to honor it.
