A year ago in this space I opined how February was the worst month of the year and that it sucks beyond measure. I know this to still be the undisputed gospel truth.

But my recent Christmas column made more than a few readers really, really angry. Some said really, really mean things about me, and because I am so ‘woke,’ I have spent the better part of 2023 in tears. I can barely be sarcastic anymore, what with the constant pain of criticism.

But every problem is just a hidden solution, as they say (or at least motivational poster freaks say that). With a chin up attitude, I decided to re-examine any previous controversial takes to see, God forbid, if I had perhaps missed some nuance, or gasp, an opposing view. No matter that an opinion column is just that -- one take from one idiot on one day and it needn’t be balanced. 

But I have been privileged to write in this space since April 2019 and I have touched on more than a few topics. With plenteous tears that could drown the world (to paraphrase Shakespeare), I flipped through paper copies of the Advocate, just to double check.

My take on climate change? Nah it’s real, it’s happening and we will make the planet uninhabitable if we don’t change our ways. So that one’s good.

What about my several statements saying that today's Conservative party is really just the Reform Party and great progressive conservatives like Leslie Frost would not recognize it? Again, that’s pretty clear. Even a gymnast couldn’t find a beam that balanced.

There were of course a few COIVD-related pieces. Nothing to walk back here, folks: COVID is real, vaccines work and the freedumbers weren’t truckers and the hot tubs had little to do with COVID.

How about my claim that raisins are the devil’s work and don’t belong in a butter tart? No, that checks out. That is past fact. It’s possibly scripture.

But then I got to my February 2022 column, which was a straight-out, full-on attack on the month itself. I’m clearly biased, but the piece made several amazing and irrefutable arguments. (It’s worth a Google if you happened to miss it.)

But, and I am more than ashamed to admit this, I totally missed Extraterrestrial Culture Day. Somewhat fortuitously, it lands this year on Feb. 14. (I’ve always thought Feb 14 deserved a special occasion.) As probably everyone knows, Extraterrestrial Culture Day celebrates and honours all past, present, and future extraterrestrial visitors. To those of us who have spent any time living with someone who is seemingly from another world, this day is sacred. It should have been weighed against the cold, bills, depression and weird spelling of February. 

And for that I would like to sincerely, and without reservation, apologize. All I can do is to try harder. And wish everyone a most joyous Extraterrestrial Culture Day.