Veterans Day I and II

Who can complain about a holiday that gets celebrated twice?

Today is Veterans Day and tomorrow is Veterans Day. Well, sort of ...

The real Veterans Day is Nov. 11. That's Saturday this year. But the federal government -- which loves its holidays, big and small -- actually celebrates it today, Friday, Nov. 10.

Why? November 11, 2006, (the legal public holiday for Veteran's Day) falls on a Saturday. For most federal employees, today is treated as a holiday for pay and leave purposes (There's even a law that says so. See 5 U.S.C. 6103(b).) As is often the case, other local governments follow suit ... Beaumont and Jefferson County offices are closed, but some other area government offices are open. It's potluck.

Your mail will be delivered today, but the U.S. Postal Service (a quasi-federal agency) won't be visiting your mailbox tomorrow.

As for The Enterprise, even hurricanes don't shut us down completely. On the real Veterans Day (Saturday) we'll feature several veteran-related pieces, including a story about how the known number of World War I veterans is now down to 12. That's not a typo. Only 12 American veterans of the Great War are known to be living today. Their average age? 108.

We'll also salute all veterans and current fighting men and women in a new installment of our "Those Who Serve" feature.

Semper fi.