Today is Monday, April 18 – the day we’ve all been dreading. And why is that, you ask? Well, because today’s the day that the tax man cometh!

If you’re like the 62% of Americans who say that they file their taxes as soon as they get their W-2’s, then no worries. You’re responsible, and you’ve developed a proficiency for adulting. But you’re also probably lying. So if you’re like me and the other 2% of honest Americans, you’re most likely Googling “how to file an extension with the I.R.S.” right about now. But if you are like me, then you’re also easily distracted. And while conducting my Google search, I learned that April 18 has significance beyond simply being Uncle Sam’s payday. 

For starters, did you know that today is National Velociraptor Awareness Day? No? Well, me neither. But not only did I not know that today is National Velociraptor Awareness Day, I also didn’t care. Now I have the utmost respect for paleontologists, so please don’t bludgeon me with dinosaur bones. But I fail to see the importance in elevating my level of awareness of an animal that went extinct 70-million years ago when my taxes are due in like 12 hours. Maybe tomorrow would have been a better day to be made aware of velociraptors – just sayin… 

Today is also National Lineman Appreciation Day. Yup, it sure is. And I have absolutely nothing sarcastic to say about that. These people keep the lights on, they keep us warm and they make sure that long-distance communication is a thing that can exist. Velociraptors are known as the “turkeys of the dinosaur world.” Line-workers are women and men who wear hardhats and climb 100-foot poles with 40 pounds of tools around their waists so I can sit here and write the nonsense that I write. Granted, these are also the same people who keep the computers powered at the I.R.S. office. But without them we wouldn’t be filing our extensions, so, you know – thanks…

And while we’re speaking of what goes well with paying taxes, it’s National Animal Cracker Day. This is really appropriate. After today, I’m pretty sure that Animal Crackers are about all I’ll be able to afford to eat. Maybe as a yummy treat, I can crush them up and sprinkle them over some Ramen noodles… 

And last but certainly not least – today is National Adult Autism Awareness Day. Now there isn’t a ton of data regarding the percentage of adults who have been diagnosed Autistic. But almost 2% of the kids in this country have been. And here in West Virginia, that number is closer to 4%. I know that on days like today – tax day – a lot of us wonder what Uncle Sam does with our money after he takes it. Well aside from fighter jets and foreign aid for countries we’ve never heard of, sometimes ol’ Sammy uses that money to help the people who are important in our lives. And sometimes he uses it to help those who are still a little too little to help themselves just yet. For example, over the past ten-years, more than 2.5-billion of our tax-dollars – our money – has been used to help fund Autism research in this country. I think that’s worth a few days of eating animal crackers. 

So for the honest 2% of us thinking about filing an extension on our taxes, here’s how to do it: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/extension-of-time-to-file-your-tax-return

And for anyone looking for some information or resources, the Marshall University Autism Center has some pretty helpful people: https://www.marshall.edu/atc/

Happy Tax Day, everybody! And if you see anyone working up on a 100-foot pole today, be sure to say thank you.